From Heather, our Executive Director:
Khalid Din joined us for breakfast. He will be dropped off at the airstrip during the morning game drive. What an outgoing, generally happy guy. As we ate, a vervet monkey ventured into the dining room. Our waiter, Lucinda, grabbed a switch and chased the monkey away. Then she summoned a Maasai warrior whose job description apparently also includes guarding the premises from intruder critters.
This is our last game drive of the safari. We are ecstatic with the animals we have had a chance to marvel at in the wild, in their natural habitat. We have seen four of the “Big Five,” and that ain’t bad. A half-joking/half wistful request is made for Peter to round us up some zebras and a rhinoceros.
Peter very seriously explained that there are very few zebra residents in the Mara. During the Great Migration, June—August, many will come up from the Serengheti in Tanzania to graze, but this time of year, resident zebra are rare indeed. Also, rhinoceros are rare at all times. Peter said there are only 13 left in the entire Mara, an area of 1.5 thousand square kilometers. To boot, the black rhinoceros is a leaf-sampler, not a grass-grazer like the white rhino, and thus is shy and tends to hide in shrubberies.
As we departed the Mara Simba compound, a family of baboons is loping along. A baby is latched on to a mother’s back. There is one in the group that has white hair—an albino baboon.
We drove and drove, snapped photos of giraffes, elephants, impala, heart beasts (a deer-like creature whose 2 horns come toward each other to form a heart shape), and a bush buck. We saw a Grants gazelle, more topi, and a turtle! We looked for the leopard but didn’t see it. As we climbed the hills, Peter spied a lion. We approached and got within ten yards of a male lion, sitting up tall, his mane being combed leisurely by the breeze. We are anticipating getting some great photos—maybe even my little Kodak EasyShare will capture more than a fuzzy spot in the grass—when our 9 passenger Land Cruiser encountered a rock. This rock managed to put itself between the earth and the rear axle, lifting both rear tires clear to spin feely. Liz asked Peter, “Is it bad?” Peter bravely got out and took a quick look, “It is very bad.” Gulp. We were stuck one first down away from a huge male lion. Gentle readers, fear not to read on—if you are perusing this story, at least you know that Simba (actually this guy looked more like Mustafa, by the way) did not consume my journal.
Peter hopped out of the safety of the vehicle a second time—what a guy—and got the jack. Khalid did too, keeping the mood light all the while, saying, “Don’t worry, the lion can get me first, but not before I hit him with this rock. Actually I’m more concerned about a cheetah or a black mamba snake sneaking up on me.” As we are scanning, we notice a patch of flat rock nearby with various bones scattered around it, white and dry and bleached by the sun. We are parked between the lion and his dining table. Gulp again.
I hear praying from the front seat. Sister Liz is invoking help from Saint Gerard Majella and Saint Jude, known for their empathy in sticky situations. All of us are pretty calm, we don’t want to give the lion any reason to sense that we are distressed. Which we’re not. We are fine. Really, it’s all … going … to … be … just … fine (sorry, I was mentally hyperventilating there).
After listening to us gunning the engine in hopes that sheer horsepower would make the difference, the lion yawned, stretched, and ambled off toward a farther hill, and out of sight. This is even more nervewracking because now all of us are scanning 360 degrees to warn Peter and Khalid of any movement. They find a piece of dead wood and a rock, wedge them under each tire, and lower the jack. The truck naturally eases down the created slope and is free of the rock. Hooray Khalid and Peter!
We tell both men that they are BOTH handsome and handy (Khalid had shared a story that his mother had given him advice that women find men either handy or handsome.)
And off we went. Delivered Khalid to the airstrip, and went on to the rest of our game drive. Our safari is quickly coming to a close. We have hit four of the Big Five: leopard, lion, cape buffalo, and elephant. We are content. Zebra (not one of the big five) are unlikely, and a rhinoceros pretty much is out of the question.
Peter has slowed to a more leisurely pace as we head in the direction of the lodge. We are scanning the brush half-heartedly, but expectations are minimal. We are replaying the events of the day in our heads. Suddenly, Peter accelerates and point halfway up the ridge to our right, “Rhino!” he cries, and the pursuit is on. We speed along the dirt path toward a crossing that will double us back. There are two rhinos! No, three! A mother, a big baby, and a bigger baby! We are there, snapping as many photos as we can, as the rhinos hustle into the trees. They are fast, and they are gone. Black rhinoceros—we have completed the Big Five.
Around the bend, there are a couple of safari vehicles, dwarfed by a two-story bull elephant standing right next to the road eating grass. We marvel and shoot pictures, and then finish the drive to Mara Simba. What a day! And it’s not even lunch time.
After lunch, Peter drives us to the airstrip. We board a DHC 6, a 20 passenger prop plane for the trip back. The Maasai warrior villages are circles within circles, temporary structures of twigs and sticks, so that when they move on to other land, the land they are on shows minimal impact. Flying back to Nairobi, I notice some really huge houses, shiny high rises, and many clay tile roofs. There are swimming pools, and manicured estate lawns, and golf courses. New house construction is happening as well. Just like St Louis, the approach to the airport includes flying over a cemetery.
The day ends with tasks. We collect our extra luggage from the retreat center, and head downtown to check into the Hilton Nairobi which will be home base for the duration of the Microcredit Summit, which starts tomorrow. In the midst of the urban business and crowds of people, and noise of mechanical things of all sorts, it’s hard to believe that this same day started in such a different setting. Dick and Elizabeth arrived before us, and we are six once again.
From Heather, Toni, Liz, Maureen, Dick, and Elizabeth, all the best from Africa.
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