Day 18. Tue 8th October
Ruaha National Park
Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday.
We see two huge herds of buffalo within a mile of each other, which
Ken says he has never seen before in his life. We also see a solitary male
lion, very briefly, but no other cats. We should be able to see lion, cheetah
and leopard in this park, but have just been very unlucky. We also see
a pair of ostrich, and, later by the river, rock hyrax and a couple of
mongooses (mongeese?).
After one of the breaks Ken suggests that we take bets on what animal we
will see next. Giraffe is disallowed as they are so common, and in fact
two are watching us. I pick Impala, Ken picks kudu, and the others each
pick an animal. Nathan is in the vehicle with Ken as he is getting sunburnt,
and anyway likes to be in easy reach of all his lenses. Sue and Kate have
returned in the Defender with Pete. The rest of us are on the roof. Very
shortly after we set off we see a group of kudu right next to the road,
but there is no cry of victory from the cab. We continue on, and after
a few minutes we see some impala, which I call down to the cab, and, to
our astonishment, Ken grants me victory and proposes a rematch. Ken is
an expert game spotter, and, knowing him, we suspect some devious plot.
Nevertheless, we discover later back at the lodge, that, to his eternal
shame, he was chatting to Nathan and really had not seen the kudu, despite
the fact that he could have practically reached out of the window and touched
them.
Several times we have to turn back because elephants are blocking the road.
African elephants are highly aggressive and, unlike Indian elephants, cannot
be tamed. They are the main hazard in the park.
Around 17:30 we find a pleasant spot by the river and break out the beer
for sundowners. Across the river a herd of buffalo are just departing and
a solitary elephant plods his weary way. It is utterly idylic.
No dancing tonight, but Pete and Auxies excel themselves with an excellent
barbeque (as usual the lodge provides cooking facilities but no food) and
we all retire exhausted but extemely pleased with the day.