(Here is the last of the posts from this evening, and this should get us caught up almost all the way. Who knows what awaits us internet-wise at the next stop. BTW---Merry Christmas from Nairobi!!!!)
Thursday December 23rd, and it was another early morning with a 6am wakeup call, but as the tour director says, we’re not on vacation are we---we’re on a Tauck Tour. We left the hotel around 7:30am for an extended game drive through the Serengeti Plains. By the time we got back at 1:30pm we had seen another great collection of animals and birds.
First off we noticed some little dik-dik lying by the roadside. While this looks like a baby it is actually a full grown animal. They are one of the many in the antelope/deer/impala family which are around these parts.
Next we came across a “herd” of giraffe making their way down the treeline. Such gracious animals for something I always thought to be so tall and lanky.
We spotted some hippos soaking themselves in a pool, but none of them was eager to stick their head out of the water and give us a big smile so we moved on our way. Our next treat was another leopard hiding itself pretty good in a tree. I could see him pretty well with our binoculars, but the pictures didn’t turn out too well. Again, if you zoom in you might be able to see him, but not too well. But it’s one of the Big 5, and it is one of the rarest to see.
Just down from the leopard we spotted a pride of lions sleeping under a tree on the hillside. There were also a few others nearby; one of them happened to get up from its nap and slumber over to the bigger pile of bodies and plop down next to them. We waited around to see if they would do anything, but sleep was all they had on the agenda.
Our next treat was an animal we hadn’t seen yet; the cheetah. One of the drivers spied a lone cheetah sitting in the middle of the field, probably about 125 yards from the road. We could get a good look through the binoculars, but again the pictures weren’t too great.
Here in the Serengeti Plain you are not permitted to drive off-road to get closer to the animals. You have to stay on the designated “roads” which are really just mud paths. But our guide told us that once we get to the Masai Mara Park in Kenya next week we will be able to drive off-road to get closer to the animals. We are scheduled to have at least three (3) game drives in the Masai Mara, so I hope to have even better pictures of these magnificent animals then. That is if I can find a reliable connection to post on the blog.
On our way back to the hotel we came across a very lively group of baboons on both sides of the road, including many pregnant females.
And that was it for the day. We actually have the whole afternoon off to just relax and unwind and get prepared for our flights from the Serengeti to Kilamanjaro to Nairobi which we took today, Friday December 24th. The next post won't be too long, but it will inculde video of Clara and me getting a little bit of tongue from a giraffe. Stay tuned.
Until next time (Merry Christmas again).
Until next time (Merry Christmas again).
Until next time.
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