Day 4: Serengeti

We were pretty beat after the long, hot, dusty drive and, personally, I slept great in the fresh air; so much so that I missed out on many of the night noises save for the hoot of some hyenas against the background of crickets. A simple (new) foam mattress on a wrought iron sure bed beats a sleeping bag on the ground any day. I awoke just before dawn and listened as the birds greeted the sun in a variety of hoots and screams and whistles; nature's alarm clock. Soon after dawn we saw a herd of impala just running back and forth across the wash in front of the tents. They were wheeling and darting at full speed between and around the brush seemingly for the sheer joy of it. I suppose they need to stay fit; a fat and lazy herbivore is a dead and bloody herbivore. When Zak woke he spied a large column of big black ants that flowed toward the river wash splitting and rejoining paths as they passed around obstacles like water trickling inexorably along gravity's path. Even the ants are larger in both size and volume here. On the morning game drive, we saw a lioness pacing right near the road. They are such beautiful animals. As she looked off in the distance the black spots on the back of her ears were quite prominent. I speculated that the evolutionary advantage of the incongruous dark patches might be to help the cubs to follow her through the grass. Ezekiel (our guide) agreed and added that they also use the spots as a signal to coordinate the movements of other lions while they hunted as a group.

Soon thereafter we came across a hippo pool in which a couple was actively engaged in amorous activities. Actually all we could see was the male with half of his body out of the water. It was Maya who commented that it seemed unfair that the female was the one held underwater. However, the setting was beautiful. The sky was blue and studded with white fluffy clouds. The surrounding grass was green and the glassy water reflected both the sky and the trees. In addition to us tourists, a crocodile lay on the bank seemingly indifferent to the two-ton love nearby. A bit further down the road we parked next to a rock outcropping or “kopje” on top of which a male and female lion are perched. The male was standing almost as though he were posing. Ezekiel says that a male and female will leave the pride like this and go off by themselves in order to mate in some privacy except, of course,

for all of us tourists with our cameras. The spot was so picturesque, I was not the least surprised at their intentions. Or, perhaps I should congratulate the male for his prowess in choosing a setting to set the proper mood. There were even colorful butterflies fluttering by (Ezekiel says this is a sign of impending showers). As the lions moved to the other side of the outcropping (the male with his nose closely following the raised tail of the female, the old dog) we, and the other voyeuristic camera-toting tourists, dutifully followed them around to the other side of the rock. Perhaps the animals become so habituated to the land rovers simply because they have no other choice.

The word of the day seemed to be love and the impalas have a variation on the theme. One lucky male will take care of a large harem of females while a group of bachelors hang out nearby waiting for an opportunity with a female or perhaps even to challenge the male and take over the whole bevy of beauties for themselves. It all sounds a little stressful to me. I think I'll follow the lead of the dik diks and hang out exclusively with one mate for life. Ah, the beauty of true love.

Jim said this first morning game drive on the Serengeti was his favorite of the trip. He liked the big expanses of the plains. Carol said there were too many Thompson's gazelles (by which I'm sure she means she can't believe the massive numbers of gazelles on the plains).

That afternoon we went to the Retima Hippo Pool. Very beautiful. The sunlight was shimmering on the water as it splashed over the rocks behind the hippos while they splashed about leaping and frolicking (honest) in the afternoon sun. The resonant grunts and calls were otherworldly and the hippos themselves certainly need to be considered contenders for the animal oddity category. With their bulbous eyes, nostrils perched on stalks on the top of their snouts, and curled ears that swivel back and forth, Julie says she can't decide if they are cute or ugly. George worked on perfecting his hippo call which he would occasionally use throughout the remainder of our trip on safari, much to the delight of Ezekiel our guide.