The way to Kirawira...

Another early start... We were both commenting on how wonderful it was going to be in Zanzibar, lying in late and relaxing - these 5.00am starts were murder...
We woke and began packing, both of us in a daze. Funny how everything fit our bags and cases perfectly on the way out, but at 5.00am, in a dark room in the heart of Africa, I`d be buggered if I could fit my bloody jeans in.
Showered, changed and with bags badly packed and leaking clothes, we called reception for the porters and headed up for breakfast.
The smell of Africa is something that will stay with me forever. It is completely alien to the UK, or anywhere else I have been - except one very special place in Solihull (more on this later!) - and these short morning walks on the open walkways flooded the senses.
Breakfast was a subdued affair. We both loved the crater and the lodge so much that we were, in some sense, a little worried about moving on.
A few cups of Killimanjaro Tea and some eggs later we had calmed the butterflies in our stomachs and headed off to reception to settle the bill.
Salvatory pulled up as we said our thank you's and goodbye's and by the time we finished he already had our bags loaded, along with another superb packed lunch. The mist around the top of the crater slowly peeled away as we descended, but this time away from our beloved reserve, and towards the Serengeti...

We knew we had a long drive ahead, but it would be broken up by a few visits, and some game sightings, so we were looking forward to the day a great deal. The trees that peppered the plains around us were whistling acacias - ants desire the insides of the pods and to that end burrow holes inside, leaving the outer case alone; the wind then blows through and creates the keening whistle...

Whistling Acacia

All of a sudden Salvatory turned and shouted. I had no idea what he said, and my heart hammered in my chest - I`d read too many news reports and had visions of armed bandits barrelling over the plain to kill and rob us... ;-)
But what Salvatory had actually said was `giraffe!!!`. Phillipa had been as keen to see giraffes as she was to see a kill and the spoilt girl got it all...

The giraffes at the side of the road were mother and child - the umbilical cord still hung from the mother and the child stayed close.

 

Mother and baby

They stood in the sun and gently picked at an umbrella acacia. Time was tight, and so we didn`t have as much time as we would have liked to view them, but we needn`t have worried, after that first sighting we seemed to see them everywhere, although we needed Salvatory to spot them first - considering their size they are remarkably difficult to see.

The Masaai village we were scheduled to visit then hove into view as soon as we stepped from the jeep the son of the chief took me to one side, and the ladies of the camp took Phillipa to another.

I was then instructed on leaping and off I went - these guys can`t half jump. There was one other family visiting and whilst he and I could not approach the height of the Masaai, I got a lot higher than he did :-)

Phillipa`s turn next. Singing and clapping. Both involve timing and bless her, she really has none... It made for pretty painful viewing I can tell you, but the women gracefully ignored the issue.

You want me to clap? In time? 

They made a fuss of us when they heard that we were soon to be married, and a little ceremony ensued. I was walked through the camp gate by the men, lead by the chief`s son. We then fanned out, me in the middle ,and turned as one; the women then escorted Phillipa into the camp amidst much cheering and singing.

Da dum da dummm, da dum da dummm

They handed her to me - more cheers. Phillipa asked if we were now married in Masaai eyes and they chuckled, saying that of course we weren`t, they just wanted us to feel a bit special...
We were escorted to the chief's hut and upon entering were told about the Masaai way of life, and about how important their cattle are to their survival.

The cattle provide all the necessary minerals and nutrients for the Masaai as they drink their blood and milk and, eventually, kill and eat them. Cattle dung is also used to help create their dwellings, binding together the branches and foliage that comprises their walls and rooves - it also acts an excellent base for fueling the fires within the hut.  As for the smell created by all this dung? It`s not bad. It`s there, but it`s not what I expected.

We were then taken to the school, a large ramshackle hut filled with beaming kids, a teacher and a chalkboard. They might not have the facilities of the western world, but everyone there spoke Swahili and English. And that`s one more language than I can speak...

Then came the sales pitch that we had been warned about - we picked up a few bracelets and treats for the nieces and nephews and a small shield with a giraffe design. We were taken off to one side and the price was etched into the dusty floor of the plain with a stick. Then came the negotiation...

Back in the jeep once more we headed to Oldupai Gorge, the cradle of mankind...

Oldupai is named for the wild sisal plants nearby, and it is considered the cradle of mankind as it is the site of footprints, indistinguishable from humans today, but now almost 3.6 million years old... The museum is small, but gives an impressive view over the gorge and houses some fantastic artefacts. A local expert gave a phenomenal talk, telling us of the various layers of the site, and how we evolved from Homo Habilis, through Homo Erectus to Homo Sapien and Sapien-Sapien. I made a load of notes, but shan`t bore you with them here ;-)

The gorge

We left the gorge a little in awe at what we had seen. There were still more sights on route however as we passed huge granite rock formations flowering from the flat plain - Simba Kopjes, so called as lion prides will upon them, soaking up the sun - groves of sausage trees, past herds of Impala and Dik Dik, past a lazing Lion and even a herd of Elephants with many young babies eating and snorting.

And then we reached the border and readied to cross into the Serengeti National Park.

Salvatory dodged the queues by joining a collegue at the front of the snaking line of guides. Phillipa and I had a short time to walk the small hill and take in the views, Ngorongoro far to our left and the Serengeti ('plain with no end' in Swahili) to our right.

The Serengeti beckons...

We hopped back into the patrol to continue our journey, and thankfully, we were nearing the end... It was dark as we arrived at Kirawira, but as Salvatory pulled up to the camp, a bright light shone into the car. Salvatory chuckled and said it was the film crew who had been waiting for us to arrive. We laughed, but then swiftly realised he wasn't joking... Feeling incredibly self conscious we exited the jeep and walked toward the main camp area, followed by the camera crew...

Next up: Kirawira

The last part of the Second Game Drive...

21st June 2011
The experience of seeing a kill is something that will stay with us both for the rest of our lives, and at this point in our travels it had had such an impact that we had a bit of difficulty focusing on anything else.
We were taking a circuitous route back to the lodge, though we were eager to get back - the adrenaline surge watching the kill had passed and we knew that the next day was going to be a long one; overlanding to the Serengeti and Kirawira.
On route, I caught a glimpse of what initially looked like an odd rock to my left, and Salvatory slowed and stopped. On closer inspection (and with Salvatory telling us!) we discovered that it was an elephant skull.

Big

The elephant in question had reached about 60 years of age before dying. Elephants will move to particular areas when they are dying of old age, because at a great old age their molars fall out... When that happens they need to seek out marshes and softer grass. This elephant was searching for such, but didn't make it before starvation felled him.
It was quite an event in the crater. A body of this size attracts a great deal of scavengers. Hyenas have the strongest jaws, and were the first to be able to break the skin of the dead beast, as even partly decomposed Elephant hide is too much for many animals.
The hyenas, though first to break the flesh, would suffer as a result. Some of the first hyenas were pushed and crowed from the other animals behind, and were physically forced into the belly of the elephant. Such was the crush that those first hyenas suffocated and died within the elephant. More food for the masses behind...
The story and sight served as yet another reminder that nature, whilst having created such an abundance of wonder and beauty, is yet remarkably cruel...
We finished the day watching elephants at a watering hole near the road to the crater rim, before heading up and taking our last lingering looks over the crater.

Our last look at the Crater... Tomorrow - The Serengeti!

We hit the lodge and changed quickly for dinner. We both felt so comfortable here that there was a little trepidation over the thought of travelling the next day. I think we both could have happily stayed here all week...
We were in time to grab a Tusker from the bar, and have a seat while the local Maasai performed a dance - a pretty riotous affair with lots of drums and jumping. We had sat around the circular fire in the middle of the bar area, and the heat and beer really hit us. We finished it quickly and headed upstairs for food, both aware that we had maybe an hour left before we passed out.
The food was fantastic again, and we washed it all down with some more Tusker. Stomachs bulging, tired and full of wonder over what tomorrow would bring, we headed back to our room to pack, to sleep and to dream.
Next:
Giraffes, Oldupai gorge, a visit to a Maasai village and pure luxury at Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp... Oh yeah, and the wedding!

The Kill!!! (Second Game Drive)

WARNING: GRAPHIC KILL PHOTOS!!

21st June 2011
As we rode the track towards the north we saw a number of vehicles parked up, all quietly watching the zebras in the long grasses to the east.
Salvatory brought us to a stop next to another jeep, and leaned across the Patrol to chat to the guide. He then moved us back a touch, to ensure that guides view was no longer blocked, and told us what he had learnt.

He whispered...

"A lion has been spotted. She is hunting the zebra..."

Making wide eyes at each other, Phillipa and I jumped up, she with her binos, me with my camera. I cracked the zoom to full extension and pointed towards the area Salvatory had gestured toward. I quickly prepped the camera for continuous shooting, and looked through the viewfinder with a dry mouth.

And literally that quickly, it happened...

Salvatory had put us immediately right in front of the action - there was not a better spot than the one we occupied - we were not the first there, nor the last, but we had the best spot without a doubt!

I heard a harsh, "there she goes" from Salvatory, and then intakes of breath all around me. My finger depressed the shutter button even before I had seen movement. The camera started taking shot after shot, 3.4 every second... We were extremely lucky, and we got the whole story:

Pow!!! Here she comes, out of nowhere...

Lions will attack like this as zebra's backs are weak - it's the easiest way to bring them down...

Zebra nearly getting away...

But the lioness is too quick... Notice the unconcerned zebra in the background!!

Amazing...

The beginning of the end... The lioness's back legs have shredded the zebras stomach...

She gets the throat...

Horrible to see the other zebra watching on...

This zebra was phenomenally strong... Even hurt, with the lioness biting her throat, still she fought...

It's over...

Hind quarters dark with the blood of the kill...

There was very little time from the lioness's first pounce, to her bringing the zebra down, but on the ground the zebra fought for maybe 15 minutes before dying. Salvatory said that the zebra must have been very strong, and that the lioness possibly did not get the correct grip on her throat...

Phillipa and I were giddy... Salvatory was jumping up and down happily chanting, "I did my job, I did my job!!". You see, Phillipa, from the moment we met Salvatory, talked incessantly about her desire to see a kill. 

Salvatory was pretty quiet about this, commenting only that it is the one thing everyone wishes to see, but that you have to be very, very lucky. He told us afterward that he was really worried we would not see one and this would disappoint him - he genuinely cares so much about the people in his charge. As you can imagine therefore, he was as pleased as we were to see the kill :-)

After some deep breaths, I turned to Phillipa to see her tearing up. She had begun to empathise with the zebra...

My wife (fiancée at this stage of course) is a woman of extremes - she can hanker for and cheer on a lion with the vigour of a gangster on the front row of a Vegas prize fight, and two seconds later cry like a lost child for the zebra who gave its life for the pride. I gave her a hug and we then spent a good while conversing in 'wows' and 'did you see that's?'.

We hung around for some time, as Salvatory watched the skies. He told us to keep our eyes out for vultures. If they spotted the kill, their circling would then bring others... We excitedly peered around, looking for vultures, hoping that they would bring hyenas and jackals...

Nothing.

We waited...

Still, nothing.

In the end, Salvatory decided that we were better off moving. It seemed doubtful that anything was going to discover the kill anytime soon. There was daylight left after all, and plenty more to see in the crater. 

And Phillipa and I would soon take the most exciting toilet break of our lives, right out in the bush!