A Leopardy

Day 14 - True Date 6/19/13

Today was spent in its entirety in the Serengeti and, I must say, it really does live up to its name of being "endless". Breakfast was served at about 8:30 and was

definitely the best so far. This was true for me likely because of the specific combination of food we were offered and how it was then combined. We were served fruit and avocados, pancakes, bacon and eggs in the form of a Spanish omelet. With these ingredients  I made what I considered a masterpiece. I took one of the pancakes (crepe) and wrapped it around one layer of bacon, one layer of avocado, and one layer of the omelet. It was topped off with a bit of ketchup and chili sauce but was delicious (though could likely have been improved with cheese).

Most of today was pretty regular, at least for the trip we were on. As such, I will attempt to move through them quickly as to avoid too much repetition from day to

day. Throughout the day we saw numerous more herds of elephants, though none included any as cute as the young ones we'd seen earlier. We also continued to see many herds of giraffes. One new sight with these animals today was a moment when we saw two of them attempting to mate, though it was an unsuccessful attempt by the time we'd left. We saw a couple of baboons running across the plain and saw a couple more jackals. I realize I neglected to mention the jackal spottings yesterday and I think they are very cute. They are small fox-like creatures and apparently live with their mate for life. As a result, we'd always see them running around in perfect pairs.

Part of today also included quite a commute as we headed a long way to the

western edge of the Serengeti. The purpose of this drive was to witness the wildebeest migration. The migration consists of millions (?) of wildebeests and many zebra all traveling in a circle around Kenya and Tanzania. At this time of year, they were in the western Serengeti. We passed the group twice today. The first time they appeared as a "disorganized mass". They were scattered among the plain with no visible direction. Many wildebeest were fighting for territory and all the animals were grazing and coming to and from the "local" stream. As a collection, they just sort of lingered. When we returned along this

route in the afternoon the massive herd was on the move. They formed a gigantic wedge that began with a single animal or two in line, and the further back you looked, the wider the wedge became. The line of animals grew longer and longer for what seemed like miles. It was quite impressive and I do not believe photos can do the sight justice.

The next new event was our trip to a river and subsequently, another watering hole. In the watering hole we saw lots of hippos and while their actions were no

different (they were sleeping...) we were much closer and actually above them. This gave us a much better view of the animals. However, throughout our time near the river we saw about a dozen crocodiles. At our first stop we saw them swimming in the water which is always creepy. You never see them move but you can just make out their heads followed by a wake as they seem to "ooze" towards their target. A little while later we came to a walking bridge and on the far side we stood atop a steep bank. Looking down there was a massive crocodile sleeping in the sun on the shore. It was a great view of the scaly animal.

It was a long drive back to the camp. We arrived a little after 4:00 and were set for dinner by 7:00. We had a cucumber soup first. The main dishes were a fried fish, a salad, fries and a form of local home made pizza. The pizza was extremely different than what we have in the U.S. but was still quite tasty. After dinner we followed the usual mold of hanging out and heading to bed.

Most of this entry has been written out of order so as to save the best for last. The best highlights of the day occurred early in the morning, actually before breakfast! We got up very early and after just a bit of coffee were loaded in the jeep and on the road by 6:00. The purpose of leaving at this hour is that many of the predators

(you know...those giant cats that everyone loves to see...) do their hunting early in the day while its cool and then nap once the sun comes out. During the morning we saw two events of particular interest. The first occurred when we had a lone wildebeest cross the road in front of us. We thought it might be a tempting treat for any local cats and only a minute or so later we found a pair of lionesses stalking it. As we waited we watched them creep up and split up. Eventually, one lioness snuck along the road and the wildebeest nearly walked out onto it. There was a brief chase but the 'beest got away (much to my personal chagrin). My impression from the event was that the second lion was supposed to help in the chase but sorta missed her cue.

For me the last event remains the most exciting yet. The sun had now risen and we were on our way back to camp for breakfast when we received word of a leopard spotting (not to be confused with the spots on a leopard :) ). Within minutes we arrived at the sight and learned just how awesome a driver Ayubu was. Before long we were in the front of the pack of jeeps and had magnificent views of the leopard. We stayed with it for a long time and got many

angles. We watched it stalk through the grass and head off to a herd of Tompson's Gazelle, but it was turned back by a pair of larger heartbeast. When it returned it crossed the road, literally, in front of our jeep. The cat couldn't have been more than 8 feet from up. Seeing the beautiful cat so up close is was easy to imagine why they were hunted for their fur. Speaking of their fur, the cat was so sleek that the fur practically looked like painted-on skin. Eventually it made it out of view and into a field of tall grass, but it was an amazing set of views.