| KENYA 99 |
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Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
Kenyan Safari Part Four
(Pictures will be available once scanned)
Willy is not responsible for any misspelled or wrong names and claims the right to use poetic license. If anyone who was there feels offended or can remember the correct facts, feel free to email Willy and he'll decide whether or not to change it based on it's entertainment value.
From the desk of Willy B:
The next day we got up early and headed out for one of the most memorable days yet. I switched vehicles on this day and I had to spend time away from my native Muzungu Bus. The denizens of the Love Bus were friendly yet there was an air of danger and mystery. We started out on our next safari and before long, we ran into a pride of lions. They sized us up momentarily and then they went back to winking at the flies and generally being impressed with themselves. Barely and through the tall grass, we spotted a male, but he sank back into the grass, leaving us with only a shadowy outline of a mane. After spending a long time taking many pictures, we traveled on and ran into a lioness with her cubs up on a island of rock in a grassy sea. There were at least ten tour vans parked around the rock like little boats, full of expensive camera wielding humans. We got in the lineup and fired away with the rest of them. Beth and I got a few really good pictures of the lioness and her two cubs. It was quite a sight.
We finally moved on and rescued a bus that was high centered on a dry gully about a mile away. It was interesting to be outside of the van knowing there were lions on the prowl nearby. After we saved the Korean tourists, we moved on and picked up some guy with a gun. I audibly and embarrassingly mistook him for a mercenary. I was promptly corrected: He was a para-military soldier who would accompany us to the river. The river? What river? I hadn't realized it, but we were very close to the Tanzania border. We drove for a while with this guy who I thought was hitching a ride to the river. I must say that we were all wondering what this guy with a gun was doing walking around when there were lions about. It turns out that he accompanied us to the river where we got out and did something incredibly stupid.
Now, I'm not sure where I heard this, it must have been the Discovery Channel or something like that, but they say that hippos kill the most people of all the animals in Kenya. Well, we walked down to the river where there were a bunch of these huge animals along with some really big crocodiles. and we sat on the rocks at the waters edge. All I could think about was the Discovery Channel episode where the wildebeest are trying to cross the river and getting eaten by the crocodiles. I also remember the wildebeest that stood at the water's edge and got snatched up in about a second. Although there were several para-military fellows with automatic weapons up on the bank, I still thought it was rather foolish to be sitting at the edge of the water where I could see crocs and hippos less than thirty yards away. Needless to say, I walked up the bank and hung out with the guys who had guns. For some reason they wouldn't let me hold one though. Attempting to impress them with my expertise with firearms, I pointed out my Marine Corps background and this seemed to only make them hold their weapons more tightly. I believe one even went so far as to remove his weapon off of "safe." I promptly maneuvered the discussion on to other things.
After the river trip we went to go find our lunch spot. Along the way, we came upon a cheetah and her cub meandering in the meadow. We drove very close to them and snapped off a multitude of pictures. She eventually spotted a small group of Thompson's gazelles and stalked them with the hindrance of her inattentive cub. I think she was trying to teach her cub how to stalk but it wasn't paying attention. As a result, she missed the kill because she took too long and spooked a lone wildebeest in the midst of the gazelles and they all bounded away. We stuck around for a little while longer, hoping she might spot another herd so we could get to see our first kill. Alas, she sat on an old termite mound and preened herself until we drove away.
When we got to our lunch spot I was a little nervous. We pretty much just sat down in the grass on this hill and ate. We had seen a cheetah only about a mile away and I knew there was a pride of lions out there somewhere. Brian climbed the tree we were sitting under and I joined him. While we were looking around I noticed an awful lot of scars in the bark. I surmised that they were from a leopard who must use this tree for kills and sleep. We finished our meal and I got on "my" bus again. No more of that "Love Bus" for me. I missed Terry's quick wit and biting sarcasm, not to mention his trading abilities as we were about to go back to the lodge. My memory is getting a little blurry but I think we spent another night there and I passed out yet again. The next day we went to Nairobi and boarded a plane to Mombassa. The last leg of our adventure is an interesting one...
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
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