SAFARI DAY 2 - LITTLE VUMBURA

May 4, 2019

Last night we slept better but once again had visitors in the night. A hippo was “grazing” right outside our window and when he does that he makes a continual splashing sound like a giant swimming pool full of people diving in one after the other. We could make out his dark shape through the screen even though it was dark and found out this morning that we are allowed to use our flashlight to look at them if we want, we weren’t sure if that was harassing the animal but it’s ok as long as we don’t shine in their faces. The hippos talk to one another all night bellowing from each other’s ponds, making noises that are a cross between a loud cow braying and a giant pig snorting. The crickets, frogs and cicadas are deafening, and to top it off we have this tree above our tent called a sausage tree that drops giant sized pods on our roof with a bang. Somehow we managed to sleep through most of it, but we both enjoy laying in the darkness just listening - we can sleep when we get home. Our tent has screens for walls so the air and the sounds transmit right through.

So this morning Sam our guide wanted to hit the trail early so we could try and get to the drier parts of the area and look for Cheetah and Zebra. They are expert animal trackers and came upon the scent of the lions so diverted us to look for them. We quickly found the same pride resting under a tree but with heads up and more alert today. Just as we got there a very unaware impala wandered into range which had all the lions on alert. They hunt during the morning hours. We watched as they became more mobile and one by one slunk off in the direction of the impala thinking about making a go at catching it. Impalas are very fast and lions while have a short burst of agility, are easily winded so the fast prey has to be pretty close for them to conquer. We got a ton of great closeups as once again they could not care less that we were there. We spent the rest of the morning on the tracks of a cheetah that were fresh but just never found him. Zebras were nowhere to be found either. We weren’t too disappointed as we ran across two “journeys” of giraffe (that’s what a herd of giraffe is called), more elephants, jackals, warthogs and birds galore. Sam told us we needed to get going and passed up pictures of baboons and other creatures we ran across, we couldn’t figure out what the big hurry was! We then rounded a corner and before us was an incredible lunch spreads complete with table linens, open bar, and another spread that was just over the top. We are all worried about our waistlines and we are only 2 days into this safari! After the usual afternoon siesta, we opted for a Mokoro ride which is a dugout canoe we sit in while an experienced guide uses a pole to push us through the reeds of the shallow delta. It was a peaceful ride and we saw tiny frogs and water plant life. Of course they had packed “sundowners” yet again so we landed at this small island and they whipped out a portable table, gin and tonics, wine and snacks. Oh my goodness, the food. Our pants will not fit by the time we get home. Back at camp an hour later it was time for a quick change and then regathered around the fire for more wine then a fabulous dinner yet again. Lights out right after dinner.