8 February: Amboseli to Tarangire

We had a 6 am wake-up call this morning to give us plenty of time to finish packing, put our bags outside our rooms by 7 am, and go to breakfast. I spent a few minutes browsing in the gift shop and bought a small book on common East African birds (by Dave Richards) that proved invaluable. We settled our bill (for drinks and the bush walk) at the front desk and then headed out to the waiting trucks, which were now packed to the ceiling with our big green duffels.

Kilimanjaro was shrouded in a thick fog as we said farewell to Amboseli (with the top down, as our mission today was traveling, not game driving). We had time to stop and look at a couple of hyenas taking a snooze after a long night of scavenging. We drove through the Ghost Camp (a.k.a. Baboon Town) and saw a female carrying her baby and several baboons playing on the soccer goalposts again. We spotted a huge Kori Bustard, a flock of African Jacanas, and lots of cattle egrets. Near the edge of the park we saw three giraffes browsing on acacia – our closest view of wild giraffes thus far.

We passed through the park gate, where brightly-dressed Maasai women called out, “Hi!” repeatedly and tried to thrust beaded necklaces and bracelets through our open windows. We proceeded through a series of ramshackle towns on our way to the Tanzanian border, stopping at a large curio shop to use the bathroom and fill out our Kenyan immigration forms. At the border we stopped to go through passport control on the Kenyan side (I was really tempted to take a picture of the sign that said, “Do not take photographs around here”), then drove about a hundred yards across the border and went through passport control again on the Tanzanian side. The souvenir vendors were pretty obnoxious, but they are forbidden from coming within a certain distance of the immigration buildings. We had to wait in line for quite some time inside the crowded, sweltering building. Then we said farewell to Tonnie (who we will see again in Kenya in five days’ time), met another Micato staffer who would be taking us to meet our Tanzanian safari director in Arusha, and boarded a comfortable air-conditioned bus with seating for fifteen. (We were originally scheduled to fly from Amboseli to Tarangire, but a bridge was out on the road from the airstrip into Tarangire, so we had to drive instead.)

Once in Tanzania we started seeing many more Maasai (I will never get over the sight of Maasai herders talking on their cell phones; Leonard, our bush walk guide, also had one!). We left the rutted dirt roads behind for a while, taking a paved road (with only the occasional bus-swallowing pothole) past rugged mountains, including 15,000-foot Mt. Neru. We passed many Maasai villages en route to Arusha, Tanzania’s fourth-largest city. We stopped at the Arusha Hotel for a lovely buffet lunch, with a fabulous salad bar, delicious curries, tandoori chicken, chickpea stew, and rice pudding and cream puffs for dessert. Here we met Renny (short for Renatus), our Tanzanian safari director, who lives with his family near Arusha. He was not able to meet us at the border because he had just finished a safari in another part of the country.

As we drove out of Arusha, we passed numerous coffee plantations; they grow a local variety of coffee called Robusta. Renny told us a bit about Tanzania’s history and economy. The area that is now Tanzania was colonized by Arabs involved in the slave trade in the 16^th century (which is why there are so many Arabic words in Swahili); at the end of the 18^th century the Germans arrived and abolished the slave trade. The country originally consisted of Tanganika and Zanzibar, which combined to form Tanzania. After World War II, the area came under British control, and Tanzania won its independence in 1961. The country has an area of 400,000 square miles and a population of about 37 million. The capital city is Dodona, but Dar es Salaam on the coast is the biggest city and the largest commercial center. Renny comes from northern Tanzania, from the Sukuma tribe near Lake Victoria – the largest tribe in Tanzania.

We passed through a beautiful lush landscape en route to Tarangire. Renny pointed out a long, straight, paved road disappearing into the hazy hills and explained that it had been build by the Japanese to provide a smooth tourism route between Tarangire and Ngorongoro. He jokingly called it “the best road in Tanzania” (and probably all of Africa!). Renny explained that we were now in the eastern Rift Valley, which extends 5,000 miles from Turkey to Mozambique, formed by the separation of two massive tectonic plates. As we approached the park we saw our first Baobab trees – magnificent specimens with impossibly thick, ropey trunks. One had a long hole worn through it by elephants, which scrape off the water-retaining bark during the dry months. We bounced along on gravel roads, passing more Maasai homes, and stopped at the park gate to use the restrooms, apply bug repellent, and board a pair of shiny green Micato Land Cruisers.

Game viewing would prove to be difficult in Tarangire because the recent heavy rains had resulted in an explosion of thick, chest-high grass. Renny warned us that we wouldn’t be seeing many of the short-grass grazers like zebra, wildebeest, and gazelles and it would be harder to spot predators and snakes. Our first new sighting was a young male Dik-dik, one of the smallest of the gazelle species, looking decidely cartoonish as it stood wide-eyed and watchful in the middle of the road. We also saw our first impalas - several bachelor males hanging out with a warthog.

Tarangire National Park is known for its birds – and we saw a lot of them! Lilac-breasted Rollers and Helmeted Guinea Fowl were common on our drive in. (The latter competes with the Red-necked Spurfowl as the dumbest bird in Africa – they seem to prefer scampering along desperately in front of the truck instead of taking flight; right when you think you will have to run them over, they finally dart into the grass along the side of the road.) We saw the flooded bridge that we were supposed to have taken on the way from the airstrip and got a kick out of the sign blocking the road that said, “Out of Order.” We saw our first African Sausage Tree, which has fruit that look exactly like, well, giant white sausages. Apparently they are mildly alcoholic and the animals that eat them can get a little tipsy on their juice.

We watched several elephants browsing in the marshy grasses along the Tarangire River, which was swollen almost to the tops of its banks. The tall palm trees and unusually lush vegetation made for a very prehistoric-looking scene. We stopped to watch a Dik-dik pair by the side of the road – I believe they mate for life, or at least until one makes a tasty snack for a lion or leopard. Renny pointed out a giant Baobab tree with a large hole carved out of its trunk; poachers used to hoard their elephant tusks in such spots.

My bird list grew rapidly as we continued into the park: Ring-necked dove, Speckled Mousebird, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Magpie Shrike, Gray Hornbill, Woodland Kingfisher, Ashy Starling. The road was almost impassable in spots, which made jotting down bird names quite a difficult task!

Tarangire National Park covers 1,000 square miles and is home to a laundry list of Africa's most dangerous snakes - Black Adders, Green Mambas, Tree Pythons, Cobras, Black Mambas (which will "kill you in seven steps" and are the most dangerous because they move so fast), and the dreaded Boomslang, whose venom is the most deadly, but is fortunately quite shy.

We crossed several dry riverbeds, driving through deep sand, and finally had our sighting of the day – two pairs of black-backed jackals, which trotted right up to our trucks. They were gorgeous animals, their coats gleaming in the late afternoon sun. They looked at us curiously for several minutes before continuing on down the riverbed. We saw a tree laden with weaver-bird nests, a large harem of impala watched over by a regal-looking male, and two more warthogs (the official comedians of the African plains).

Finally, after nearly ten hours on the road, we arrived at Tarangire Sopa Lodge. The cavernous main building resembles an elephant’s head and the rooms are built to look like large Maasai huts. Our room was not nearly as nice as at Amboseli Serena lodge. For one thing we had two double beds instead of a single king, and the bathroom was aged and a bit on the grimy side. We did have a nice balcony overlooking the pool and surrounding woodlands – I figured a leopard was probably out there somewhere, watching us. We saw a funny small rodent-like animal crouching on the roof and later determined that it was a Rock Hyrax, which is the closest living relative of elephants. We had seen something jumping around in the trees at night at Amboseli (not a monkey) and Renny figured that it was probably a Tree Hyrax or a Bushbaby. The hyrax are quite cute – they look like a cross between a squirrel and a koala bear.

We had forty-five minutes to clean up before our safari briefing at 7:15. It had been a long, hot drive so I was very happy to take a refreshing shower. We met the group for drinks (courtesy of Micato) in a private room in the main building and after downing two large vodka tonics I felt much better. Renny gave an overview of the Tanzania portion of our trip, and then we went to dinner in the large dining room. The meal was rather ordinary – cream of vegetable soup, a rather sparse salad buffet, and a mediocre selection of meat entrées, but there was a nice sherry trifle and coconut cake for dessert. When we returned to our room we were surprised to be escorted by a hotel employee (although we found out in the morning that not everyone got an escort!). We are just spending one night in Tarangire, so we will pack up again in the morning, go on a game drive, and then press onwards to Ngorongoro.

7 February: Amboseli

I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn’t go back to sleep; I guess I was just too excited about continuing our safari! Our wake-up call came at 5:45 (right as I was drifting off again) and we rolled out of bed and dressed quickly for our pre-breakfast game run. It was still dark and cool and we were glad we had our fleeces and windbreakers, especially with the brisk breeze coming into the open trucks. A few minutes after leaving the lodge we stopped to watch the sunrise. Kilimanjaro was clear but hazy; the mountain appeared as a periwinkle mass against a pale peach sky. Slowly the huge orange orb of the sun levitated over the distant horizon, shining brighter and warmer as it rose. As the first rays hit Kilimanjaro, the snows on the western face of the mountain gleamed gold. We spotted an elephant train in the distance and drove towards it, stopping to capture some amazing images of the elephants silhouetted against the sunrise. (Of course I had to stop mid-stream to change the memory card on my camera!)

We came upon another group of elephants and watched them for a while as the sun rose higher. The morning light glinted off their tusks and transformed their wrinkled hides from dark gray to golden brown. The elephants moved slowly and silently, gazing at us with mild curiosity as they reached out with their amazingly dexterous trunks to twist off great bunches of tender grass.

We saw our first of many Superb starlings (why can’t starlings in America be iridescent turquoise and orange?) and a Lilac-breasted Roller (a beautiful purple, blue, and green bird so named for the way it “rolls” in flight), along with another jackal and a warthog on our way to a lake surrounded by marshes, where waterfowl were plentiful and active. I was quickly establishing a reputation in our group as the bird freak. I’m not sure why I like birds so much – I suppose it’s in my blood because my grandfather was an ornithologist. I also like the challenge of trying to get good photographs of creatures that tend to fly away as soon as you get focused on them. We saw a Sacred Ibis, an unmistakable bird with a black head and black curved bill, white body, and black-tipped wings, and then a Black-winged Stilt with bright red legs. Out in the shallow water we saw a small flock of Greater and Lesser Flamingos feeding. Then I got a great shot of a Little Egret in breeding plumage, and we saw our first of several dark brown Hamerkops, a very distinctive stork-like bird named for its hammer-shaped head.

Next we drove through an area known as Ghost Camp, an old lodge that was flooded so frequently by the rising lake that it was abandoned. It has been taken over by a population of baboons, who seem to enjoy the playground left by the silly humans. They were climbing on the goalposts in the soccer field and lounging around on top of fences and buildings everywhere we looked. We saw more Hamerkops and then headed out into the grasslands again, where we encountered another large elephant family. This group included several adults with only one or even no tusks, and we saw several youngsters with no tusks that were old enough to be developing them. This is a genetic anomaly that does not impair the females but can be disastrous for males because they cannot fight or defend themselves against other males. There were several tiny babies in this group. I loved watching them nurse and interact with their older family members. On our way back we saw several gazelles, a Gray-headed Kingfisher, and a gorgeous rainbow-colored lizard.

We headed back to the lodge around 9:00 for breakfast – an ample buffet with eggs made to order. Then DH and I signed up at the reception desk for the 10:30 nature walk ($15 per person). As we were walking back to our room, we were intercepted by one of the Maasai men roaming the grounds. He invited us to the afternoon dance performance and lecture, then asked if we wanted his picture. I said O.K., and DH took the photo. Not surprisingly, the Maasai man then asked for a little money. (The irony is not lost on us that the Maasai do not like having their photo taken because they think it will steal their soul, but apparently you can buy their soul!) I gave him 100 shillings (a little less than $1.50), and he asked for more, but that was the only small bill I had.

We met our Maasai guide, Leonard, at 10:30 and were joined on the walk by three Germans, two Canadians, and a French man. We left the lodge grounds via a narrow footpath, walking right past a sign that said, “Animals only beyond this point.” Leonard asked our names and where we were from, then immediately determined that I would be his future wife. It was obviously his regular shtick but it was quite funny nonetheless. He wanted me to answer all of his questions about elephants (length of gestation period, how long they live, etc.), apparently to determine if I was savvy in the ways of the bush. Later in our walk, Leonard asked DH if he would trade me for 10 cows. DH put his arm around me and said, “She’s a very good wife.”

We learned a bit about some plants growing in the area, and that elephants will eat acacia bark during the dry season. We passed a spring and saw a bunch of weaverbirds building their round, hanging nests. There were two Maasai women washing clothes at the spring and Leonard asked us if we knew why one of the women was wearing all black. He told us that it meant that she was just circumcised and is now ready to be married. The black is a warning that she cannot be with any men during this time. Leonard then explained that the Maasai have come to an agreement with the government to phase out female circumcision over the next three years.

We passed a small pond ringed with hippo footprints and their characteristic “sprayed” excrement, which is how they mark their territory. Along the way we saw Pied Crows, a Black-headed Heron, an Abdim’s Stork, a Sacred Ibis, a brilliant orange and black Red Bishop, more Superb starlings, and another Lilac-breasted Roller. In the distance, a lone Maasai man walked across the plain with that characteristic long stride.

We came upon three Maasai donkeys, as well as some cattle and goats, although I saw no sign of the little boys who probably should have been watching them. We passed a small village, which I presume is the home of most of the Maasai men we’ve seen around the lodge. It was a circle of grass-roofed huts surrounded by a thick fence of branches. Several small children peeked out of the gate at us, but we kept our distance. We walked across a barren grassland, dotted here and there with the occasional acacia tree. At the end of the walk we were brought cold drinks and watched a long train of giraffes way off in the distance, almost at the base of Kilimanjaro. They looked positively dinosaur-like as they moved along with their slow, undulating gait. We got a ride back to the lodge and gave our thanks to Leonard before heading to the dining room for a light lunch with MIL and FIL (a repeat of yesterday’s buffet).

The weather so far has been perfect – the sun was hot on our walk but there has been a light breeze and the temperature is probably in the mid-70s in the shade. After lunch we talked to Tonnie for a bit about some of the conflicts that the Maasai face in the modern age. Maasai children are now required by the government to attend school; families who do not comply are fined a cow, the Maasai’s most valued possession. Educated children tend to leave home in search of jobs, and Maasai girls who attend school are more likely to oppose traditional facets of their culture, such as arranged marriages. Thus ironically, education endangers the traditional Maasai culture more than anything else. The Maasai have traditionally been semi-nomadic, moving in search of the best grazing lands for their livestock, but this is no longer possible for many of them. They have also had to be convinced not to kill lions, which occasionally kill their livestock. Killing a lion is seen as a tremendous act of bravery for young Maasai warriors.

After lunch our Maasai friend came by again and asked us to attend the dance performance, but Tonnie had told us that we would be going to a Maasai village later in the trip and shouldn’t feel obligated to attend the performance here, so we politely declined. We spent an hour or so just sitting on the patio enjoying the peaceful afternoon. On our way back to our room we watched two vervet monkeys tussling on the ground, pulling each other over in somersaults and back flips.

We left at 4:00 for our afternoon game drive. En route, Tonnie (who alternates between our two vehicles in the mornings and afternoons) told us how the Maasai acquired their famous red plaid blankets. The Scotsman Joseph Thompson was one of the first European explorers in East Africa in the 1880s. On his expedition into Maasai country (so the story goes), a chieftain was very impressed by Thompson’s red plaid kilt and allowed him to enter the Maasai lands. (The Maasai believe that red frightens predators, so you almost always see them wearing some article of red clothing.) Recognizing this penchant for bright red fabrics, Thompson returned on his next expedition loaded with red plaids for all of the Maasai chieftains that he met, thus ensuring safe passage across their lands. They've been wearing the plaids ever since.

Tonnie also told us a little more about Amboseli. It was originally established in 1964, encompassing an area of 1,000 square miles. Unfortunately this included many Maasai lands, and the Maasai began killing off the rhinos and lions in protest. In 1969 the government began negotiating with the Maasai and in 1974 the park was reduced to its present size of 151 square miles. Unfortunately there are no rhinos left in Amboseli, and all of the lions were killed, but lions were reintroduced in the mid-1990s and there are now four or five in the park.

This afternoon we saw our first waterbuck from a distance, four wildebeest (the most we have seen at one time so far!), a hippo, and more elephants browsing in a swamp, including an adorable youngster, probably only a few months old, that looked just like Dumbo. We also witnessed a large bull elephant urinating, which, I have to admit, is something to see. I had somehow missed seeing the “fifth leg” on a bull elephant yesterday evening, so J wanted to make sure I saw it this time. We continued to tell jokes about the infamous fifth leg (which can weigh upwards of 50 lbs) throughout the trip. Later on we saw several African Jacanas (also known as “Jesus birds” because they can literally run across water), two Yellow-necked Spurfowls, and a Collared Pratincole. We spotted three giraffes, their heads and necks visible above the acacia trees, but they were quite far off. We passed through an anti-elephant enclosure where they are studying the effects of elephant browsing (or lack thereof) on the acacia. Not surprisingly, within the enclosure, the acacia are much more dense than outside.

We drove across a savanna area heading straight toward Kilimanjaro, which was looking just gorgeous rising above a circle of clouds. We spotted two more warthogs and then a Secretary Bird – very distinctive with its gray and black plumage and bright orange eye area. It is supposed to resemble a secretary, wearing a black skirt and red lipstick, and its long tail feathers were once prized as writing quills. The road took us through a sizeable herd of zebra, intermixed with a couple of wildebeest and another pair of Crowned Cranes. It was an amazing sight – the brilliant black-and-white zebras against the lush green grass, with Kilimanjaro looming in the distance. Here we also saw red-billed oxpeckers doing insect duty on the backs of zebras.

We stopped to climb Observation Hill (a.k.a. Baby Kilimanjaro), which involved a nice brisk walk up 150 steps to a lookout pavilion with an incredible 360-degree panorama of the park. Directly in front of us was a large lake and swamp, which was teeming with hippos. Two elephants had climbed onto a rocky promontory below us, apparently to get a better view as well. We took a bunch of pictures and then walked back down the hill to enjoy our first sundowners in the bush. Several elephants were browsing nearby and some people from other vehicles were getting rather close – too close, Tonnie told us. Joel, Tonnie, and the other driver (whose name I didn’t seem to write down) set up a little table and served us beer and wine while we took turns taking each other’s pictures in front of the elephants, at a safe distance.

As we drove away, we watched a magnificent sunset behind Observation Hill. I stood at the back of the truck, holding on tight as we bounced over the potholes, buffeted by the wind, and admired the view. As darkness fell, we saw a hyena and then two lionesses (most likely the same ones as last night). They were lying in the grass again; one of them yawned and got up, walked a short ways, and lay back down. It was after 7 pm, so after watching them for a few minutes we had to hightail it back to the lodge. We tidied up and went to dinner – salad, minestrone soup, vegetable quiche, and beef filet.

After dinner most of our group watched an excellent video about the Amboseli elephants, documenting the work of a woman who has been studying them for more than 30 years (she lives for part of the year in a tent inside the park). The film followed a particular family led by a female matriarch named Echo. She had a calf named Ely, who was so big that his front legs had not developed properly. When he was born he could not walk, and literally shuffled around on his knees. His family stayed with him for several days until finally he was able to get his feet under him. A young (11-year-old) female in the group gave birth during a terrible drought and her baby was sadly stillborn. Another baby was suffering during the drought, and its mother tried to lift the baby with her trunk in a vain attempt to get it into the shade. Tragically it died soon after. Every year, the researcher returns to Amboseli and seeks out Echo and her family to see how they are doing. Tonnie told us that Echo is still around (the film was made in 1991) and doing well. Perhaps we saw her out there in the savanna, leading her family to the next watering hole...

6 February: Let the Safari Begin!

We were up at 5:20 am and had breakfast brought to our rooms (fresh fruit, toast, and pastries). Our bags were picked up outside our door at 6:00 and we were out in the lobby at 6:45 to hop on the Micato bus for the short ride to Wilson Airport. We went through security at the airport and I almost forgot that I had a mini Leatherman in my carryon. I ran back to find my duffel (thankfully we bought two small, colored combination locks for our bags at the last minute; not only did this allow us to lock our bags every day but we could also identify our bags easily) and put the knife in the side pocket. It turns out they were just doing a hand search and they didn’t even check the pocket of my backpack where I had the knife. They also had no problem with us taking liquids on board. While we waited for our flight, Tonnie passed out goodie bags with earplugs (which I never found necessary) and candy. We admired a big 4-engine prop plane sitting on the tarmac in front of us, assuming it was our ride, but when it was time to board we walked right past it. We figured we must be getting on another 4-engine plane just behind the first one, but again we kept walking right on by. We were starting to joke about which bucket o’ bolts we were actually flying in when we finally approached a little Air Kenya Twin Otter tucked behind the other planes. It was a 2-engine, fixed-gear prop plane with seating for about 15 – and a tight squeeze at that! The rows were three across, with one seat on the left side of the aisle and two seats on the right, and we could see right into the cockpit. Our flight at 9,500 feet was surprisingly smooth, and we watched an amazing green landscape unfold beneath us. Everyone got very excited when the pilot pointed to the hazy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro out the front windshield.

After a 35-minute flight, we landed at Amboseli. As we came in I saw several flocks of pelicans and a hippo lounging in a lake – wow! We landed on the single paved runway – in retrospect I’m not sure it was long enough for those big 4-engine planes. The “airport” consisted of a cement block hangar and shed with a ramshackle bathroom (with running water!) out back. A line of safari vehicles sat waiting for arriving clients. A large sign announced our GPS coordinates and a few facts about the park: Amboseli is 390 square kilometers in size, it became a national park in 1974, its highest point is 1,150 meters, and it boasts 56 animal species and 215 bird species. We all visited the bathroom (first rule of safari: avail yourself of every toilet opportunity!), then piled into our two spiffy Toyota Land Cruisers, complete with snorkels, which are customized to extend out over the back wheels, seating two up front and six passengers in the rear, in comfortable captain-style seats. The pop-tops were open and we realized that Tonnie was serious when he said the drive to Amboseli Serena Lodge was going to be our first game drive. DH and I got into the truck driven by Joel, along with N&D and R&C, while MIL and FIL got into the other truck with J&H and R2&B. (This happened by chance, but it occurred to me that one of the advantages of a group tour is that we wouldn’t be with MIL and FIL every minute of every day – no offense to my in-laws, whom I love dearly, but this probably preserved our sanity!) Joel gave us our first lesson in Swahili, teaching us the two most critical words on safari: “simama,” (sounds like “see mama”) which means “stop” (as in, “ohmigod, I just saw something amazing, stop the truck!!”) and “sawasawa” which means “all right,” as in “O.K. I’ve taken my pictures, you can go on now.”

As we drove away from the airstrip, Mt. Kilimanjaro appeared as a vague white apparition rising above the clouds: our safari had finally begun. Our first wildlife sightings were a loner male wildebeest, a couple of Thompson’s gazelles, and an ostrich. A little further on we saw two ostriches mating. Male ostriches’ necks and legs turn bright pink during mating season. Next we saw a migratory European Stork and several Egyptian Geese. The latter were introduced to eat the over-populated beetles that were introduced to eat the water hyacinth, a terribly invasive species in Lake Victoria – a convoluted story of ecosystem mis-management. Other bird sightings included a white pelican and the aptly named Blacksmith’s Plover, which is a lovely black, gray, and white bird that looks like it’s wearing a blacksmith’s apron. We saw several pairs of stunning Crowned Cranes (the national bird of Uganda), including a family with two fuzzy nestlings flopping around. These incredible birds mate for life, and it was marvelous to watch the pair feeding their young in the tall grass. A hippo surfaced in the lake just beyond the crane family, making for a spectacular tableau.

We passed several small herds of zebra, all on their daily trek to their watering holes. I’ve always loved horses so I have to admit that zebras are among my favorite African animals. We saw several elephants way off in the distance, then more gazelles – both Thompson’s and Grant’s (which can be distinguished by the size of the white patch on their rumps – the Grant’s rump patch is larger and extends up onto the hips), and a huge old male Cape Buffalo lying in the grass, looking more forlorn than deadly (they are considered the most dangerous animal in Africa). We were struck by how green the landscape was; Tonnie had told us that they had experienced unusually heavy rains in December and January – in fact, it had only stopped raining a few days before we arrived. We drove past “Baby Kilimanjaro,” a low hill crowned by an observation hut that was used as a lookout by game wardens back when poaching was more common, and stopped to gaze at a convention of blue herons all clustered around a rotted log. We spotted more elephants way out in a marsh, then finally we got up close and personal with a lone bull elephant, who thoughtfully showed off every angle for us as he browsed in the tall grass.

We saw many more zebras, including some young foals, and watched them gallop across the plain, kicking up clouds of dust as they went. One group was standing stock-still, all staring off in one direction, and we hung around for a while, hoping we might catch a glimpse of whatever had put them on alert. This was near an area of date palms were lions and cheetahs like to hang out during the day, but no predator appeared. We passed another bull elephant browsing in the marsh, surrounded by white cattle egrets that were busy pecking at the insects stirred up by the elephant. As we approached the lodge, we stopped to admire an amazing panorama of zebras and gazelles grazing amidst the graceful silhouettes of acacia trees, all set against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro.

We spotted the electric fence marking the boundary of Amboseli Serena Lodge and passed a group of young Maasai men wrapped in brilliant red and purple blankets sitting near the entrance gate. On our way in we saw black-faced vervet monkeys romping beneath the trees, including a mother with a baby clutched to her chest. After unloading, we were greeted with glasses of refreshing fruit juice, then we waited in the reception area for Tonnie to get us checked in. The lodge is something out of a tropical fantasyland. The main building has high-ceilinged rooms open on one side to the cooling breezes, with comfortable rattan furniture and long, hollowed-out gourds hanging in clusters from the ceiling (some made into fabulous lamps). Outside, there are several tiers of large stone patios outfitted with comfortable lounge chairs all looking out into the bush. We followed the porter through the lushly landscaped grounds to our room, set amidst thorny acacia and candelabra (cactus) trees. Our room was decorated in yellow, blue, and red, with some marvelous touches including Maasai beaded lampshades, an elephant mural on the wall, and a small private patio with a view out to the grasslands.

After settling in, we all met back at the dining room for lunch, which was an excellent buffet with lots of curries and other Indian- and African-inspired dishes. I tried the roast goat (delicious!) and loaded up with chicken curry, lentils, veggies, and rice. The salad bar was also very good. Tonnie told us that all of the fresh produce is washed in bottled water, so we could help ourselves to all the raw fruits and vegetables. After lunch DH and I wandered around the grounds, admired the inviting pool (which we never had time to enjoy), and looked for monkeys, but didn't see any.

We met out front at 4:00 for our afternoon game drive. At first we saw only a few elephants, ostriches, wildebeest, and gazelles. We passed through an area scattered with elephant bones and Joel explained that elephants often come back to their dead and spread the bones around, sometimes picking them up and seeming to play with them. Some researchers believe that elephants can identify the bones of their relatives. We saw another family of Crowned Cranes, this time with three babies, and then two jackals trotting across the plain. We saw our first warthog, running along with tail held high. Joel explained that the warthog has a brain like a chicken – they start running when they are frightened, but they quickly forget why they are running and stop, at which point they often become a lion’s meal. Joel’s eagle-eyes also spotted a saddle-billed stork making a nest in the top of a large acacia tree. This is a striking black-and-white bird with a brilliant red-and-black bill. Other bird sightings this afternoon included Crowned Plover, Helmeted Guinea-Fowl (which has a dinosaur-like horn on its head), and a Hadada Ibis with brilliant iridescent green plumage.

Finally, it was time for the main event: elephants! Amboseli has a population of some 1,300 elephants, which certainly is not a huge number, but they are contained within a relatively small area and thus this park boasts some of the best elephant-viewing opportunities in East Africa. As luck would have it, we saw several hundred of them over the course of this single evening. (I’m sure the drivers know exactly where to be, but it sure seemed lucky to me!) We stopped alongside a vast marshy area where several large family groups were browsing. We pulled off onto the side of the road, and waited. Slowly, the elephants started moving out of the marsh and across the road – in front of us, behind us, until soon there were elephants all around us – to head into the woods for the night. Mostly the groups moved in peaceful, well-organized trains, with the matriarch at the head and the young sheltered protectively between their mothers, older siblings, and aunts. Several of the babies were so young that they didn’t even have the beginnings of tusks – these were just a few weeks to a few months old. One matriarch had tusks so long that they almost reached the ground. We saw some amazing interactions, including two males that faced off on either side of the road and sparred with a great clatter of tusks for several moments. Another face-off between three bulls involved a lot of trunk-raising and a brief clash; two of the males backed off and it was over almost as soon as it began.

I couldn’t believe how close we were to these magnificent creatures – I could see the tiny wrinkles around their wise, solemn eyes, every rip and notch in their enormous flapping ears, and the caked mud and dirt on their broad, humped backs. They walked silently, on huge spongy feet. We watched for a long time, as the sun dropped low in the sky, casting long shadows across the golden grass. One by one the elephants disappeared into the gathering dusk. I don’t think I could ever tire of watching them. Finally, it was time to move on.

Joel took us back to the date palms where he assured us that we would see a lion. How did he know? We soon began to realize that the drivers communicate with one another via radio and cell phone, informing each other about the best sightings. They speak in Swahili of course, so we have no idea what they are saying, we just know that something’s coming! On the way we saw a huge herd of Cape Buffalo. Then, just like magic, as the sun was casting its last rays across the plain, we spotted two lionesses lounging on a bare patch of ground, maybe 200 yards from the road. The setting sun literally glowed on their whiskers. What an incredible end to our first day!

Joel rushed us back towards the lodge, as it was approaching the “witching hour” when all vehicles are supposed to be off the roads. Somehow he timed it perfectly so we could get our ultimate sunset shot of a magnificent acacia tree silhouetted against a lazy brushwork of clouds tinted with gold and peach. Once we got our shots, Joel held up a page from a park magazine so we could compare our photos with a shot of the exact same tree in the magazine. We all agreed that our sunset was better!

Back at the lodge we were handed cool lemon-scented towels to wipe away the dust. We had drinks with MIL and FIL on the patio and then joined the group for dinner. Dinner was a five-course affair: salad from the buffet, minestrone soup, a mini pizza with eggplant, and a choice of entrées. I had Nile perch with dill sauce and DH had pork with mustard sauce. The service was a little slow and they didn’t bring the mustard sauce for the pork until DH had almost finished eating. Frankly we liked the lunch buffet better. We shared a bottle of wine with J&H and shared travel tales. After dinner we showered and were off to bed to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for our 5:45 wake-up call.

Brief reflections on our first day on safari: I had no idea we would see so much in a single day. If I had to go home tomorrow, I would feel like I had gotten a glimpse of all that Africa has to offer. One note of realism: I was a bit depressed by the “traffic jam” that was created when everyone flocked to see the elephants this evening. In some cases trucks actually got in the middle of family groups and the elephants were obviously agitated at being separated. I was pleased that once our truck found a spot, we basically stayed in one place to watch the show.