The Queens Of The Savanna

On that late afternoon drive, as we were headed on the backside of a mountain, Meena shouted out that she thought she saw a lion coming down the mountain above us to the left.  

James stopped the Land Rover and scanned the mountain with his binoculars.  No lion.  Then he scanned the hillside on the right and exclaimed he found some lionesses!  Meena jokingly took credit for causing good vibes that resulted in James finding the lionesses.

The four of us expected to see the lionesses pretty quickly.  But as James dashed us down the hill, and then turned right up down a ravine and up the hill on the other side, we were confused.  Where’s the lionesses, we wondered aloud.  Then, as we crossed to a spot where James could not possibly see from where he “saw” the lionesses, there arose from the four of us questioning wonderment and grumbling skepticism.

Just then another Land Rover came barreling towards us.  I said, “ah, that’s how you know where the lionesses are.”  James quickly ‘fessed up that yes, he had gotten word on his iPhone.  By the way, at Lewa, cell phone connections are so good the guides no longer pass information along via the trusty, yet loud and annoying car CB radios that squawk loudly whenever a guide wants to pass along information. 

We bumped along for a while, and finally pulled up to the lionesses and some other gawking safari-goers like us, thrilled to be in the presence of the usual breadwinners of the pack.  There were four of them, and, even though evening was falling, they were non-plussed to get up and start their hunts yet.  

We intently watched them sleep.  We intently watched them roll over.  We intently watched them stretch and go back to sleep.  We got excited when a couple of them got up, but it was to stretch (and the crowd goes “whoa!”) and to pee.  All in all, we were pretty intent on watching them as the late afternoon light faded and darkness threatened to fall.

Given that we were in some rough territory, I was getting nervous and asked James when we should head back since it was getting dark.  James noted that we didn’t want to be the last to leave, in case there were Land Rover problems.  So we drove back in the dark, enjoying the thrill of having seen the lionesses, even though it wasn’t our guide who found them.

The lower lioness isn't playing, she's

sleeping and stretching.  Gawd

they are fun to watch.

Just awesome creatures.

Some times, when the light is just

right, I get really lucky with

a photo.

Like I said.

The tagged lioness is doing yoga.

It's part of her wake-up routine.

Alas, it's not a roar.  This big cat

is simply not quite awake yet.  

Given the camouflage, you can tell

lionesses, despite their size, have an

advantage when sneaking up on prey.

Time to huddle up before

the evening hunt.

As Hamilton said to Washington after

getting the Secretary of the Treasury

job, "Let's go." (Editor: You just

had to get a Hamilton reference

in, didn't you.  Writer: Look around,

look around at how lucky we are

to be alive right now.)

Everything That’s Not About An Elephant Is Irrelephant

As part of the evening drive, we watched an elephant outsmart the park rangers and get access to some of his favorite trees.  

At 6:00pm, the rangers are done for the day.  That’s when the elephants make their move.  They are amazing animals with incredible memories, but they also kill trees, either by bending them over for their young, or literally stripping them of leaves, resulting in death.

To try and save stands of trees, park rangers have taken to stringing electrical wires in a large area around the huge patches of trees.  There are “gates” of electrical wires that safari jeeps can safely go under.  Since the rubber tires are grounded, no harm comes to the people in the vehicle (such as us).

However, as shown one of the photos below, elephants can sneak under the electrified fences. There has to be space below so smaller animals (and that’s pretty much everyone else) can slide under the lowest wire.  

The elephants range close to the fence as 6pm nears.  That’s the time rangers are done for the day.  They also know that if they see a ranger’s truck, or a green uniform ranger, not to try to get under the fence.  Pretty smart, eh.  Then they slide back out of the fenced in area before the rangers’ work day start so they can’t get caught.

Honestly, I have no idea what rangers do to the elephants when they catch them where they aren’t supposed to be.  Do they scold them?  Enter the elephants’ names in a large log book or small handheld device?  Does it go on the elephant's permanent record?  Does it keep them out of  the finest universities?

Does it matter?  The elephants outsmart the system.  Yes, I’m rooting for the trees (pun intended), but I’ve got to give elephants the credit they deserve.

Oh, and the sunset was as spectacular as the elephants’ moxie is.

The early stages of a beautiful sunset.

1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12, another

elephant is breaking and entering to

get at the trees.

Spectacular sunset.

This elephant wasn't quite as daring,

but still worthy of a picture.

You Can't Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometimes, You Get What You Need

The Operations Center is not that far from a spot where a leopard is often sighted, so James set out to find one.  And that's the thing about African safaris, even if you don't find what you are looking for, the magic is in the looking. . .because you'll always see multiple interesting or exciting animals, views, birds, plants, etc.

(Editor: Did you really just use “spot” and “leopard” in the same sentence without referring to a “leopard’s spots?”  Writer: Don’t worry, my devoted readers are chuckling over my punny humor.  Editor: More likely groaning.  Writer: As long as they react, that’s what counts.)

You are allowed to go off-road* in pursuit of three cats – lions, leopards, and cheetahs.  So James took us off-road through some incredibly stunning territory.  And while we saw some beautiful wildlife, including a hornbill, an eland, an eagles nest (but no eagles. . .yet), a heart beast antelope, superb starlings**, elephants, giraffes, and more, there was not a leopard to be, yes, spotted.  It was still a cool drive, and long from over.

Having done a South African safari in 2014, I came to Kenya with several goals in mind:

1. Enjoy all the animals;

2. Take in the scenery; and

3. See a male lion, a leopard, and a cheetah.

Having seen the cheetah the night before, that was thrilling.  And of course, while we have joked about tiring of seeing certain plentiful animals such as zebras and cape buffalos, it’s still a thrill.  I was beginning to resign myself to not seeing an elusive leopard or a male lion.

*“Road” being loosely used above, as there are, understandably, no paved road.  It’s all single lane dirt roads, or alternatively, two dirt strips of tire tracks through the savanna.

* Yes, “superb starling” is the actual name, not just my editorial comment on how good it looks.  That noted, I would have gone with “mahvulous starling” as in Billy Crystal’s “you look mah-vul-ous” line.  But I’m also betting that the starling was so-named long before Mr. Saturday Night hit the big-time.

We drove back deep into these trees,

looking fruitlessly for the leopard

who frequents these parts. 

A superb starling.

Zazu!  The African Red-billed Hornbill.

This caption brought to you by every

guy named Bill.

No man is an eland, but the eland is. . .

The largest antelope in the antelope

world.  They weigh between 660

to 2100 pounds.  It's the slowest

antelope, but still run as fast at

25 mph.

A Behind-The-Scenes Look

We got invited to attend an Operations briefing.  The operations center is not too far from Sirikoi Lodge. The briefing focused on the Lewa Conservancy, the tracking of animals, the work of the rangers and staff, and other important tasks done on the conservancy.

Formed in 1995, Lewa covers over 62,000 acres, and, along with all the other animals mentioned, has a significantly large population of both white and black rhinos, as well as Grevy’s zebras.  Masai Mara is much larger at 370,000 acres, yet has no Grevy’s zebras and few, if any rhinos.  (By the way, both areas are great to go to, I’m just mentioning the rarity of a relatively small conservancy having rare animals).

It was a pretty interesting briefing, with Carol asking more questions than the other three of us combined.

And then it was off to our afternoon drive.

 

And Now, The Rest Of The Story

Err, the rest of the drive.  After the thrills of the safari walkabout, the breakfast in the rolling hills of Lewa Conservancy, and the watering hole, the rest of the drive was uneventful.

Well, it was uneventful if you consider seeing giraffes, zebras (including a badly wounded zebra – photo below), elephants, great cranes, and rhinos to be uneventful.  The four of us were still buzzing about the safari walkabout, breakfast, and the watering hole as we got back to Sirikoi Lodge close to lunch time.

Proud reticulated giraffes are quick to

articulate where they matriculated.

Elephants are big.  The land is bigger.

Check out the scar on this zebra.  It is

most likely a sign that it successfully

fought off a lion attack.

This is a great crane.  Well, I don't know

that this one personally (birdaly?) is

great, but that's the type of bird it is.

When you've got food hanging out of

your mouth, you are having a good day.

A Great Name For A Bar In Kenya: The Watering Hole

After our safari walkabout and subsequent breakfast, I pretty figured the morning drive was over.  But no, James had another treat in store for us.  He drove us up a hill to a crowded watering hole.  On the side of the hill heading up, there were antelope, gazelles, and impalas dotting the hillside.

Even more impressive was the crowd at the watering hole.  Elephants, white rhinos, and zebras crowded in to quench their thirst.  The only thing this watering hole was missing was a Billy Joel wanna-be doing a cover of Piano Man.  

At one point, it looked like there would be an angry confrontation between a rhino and an elephant, but a brawl was averted as both teenage animals thought better of it and backed off, possibly with some advice from their respective elders.

The zebras cleared out quickly, and further up the hill we watched a lonely banished male elephant watching everything closely, and it appeared he wished he could be part of the family.  He never did try to join the group, and eventually moved off.

After the rhinos moved along, James repositioned the Land Rover so we had a commanding view of the water hole.  We were thoroughly entertained by the elephants playing and splashing in and through the water.  It really is a delight to watch elephants at play.

It was an amazing morning of a game drive, a safari walkabout, and a visit to a watering hole.

Impala on the move.  The curved

horns are works of art to me.

He gave us the stink eye for a while

 after we pulled in.  No harm, no foul.

Shortly after this picture, an animal

version of West Side Story nearly

broke out, but the kerfluffle ended

quickly and peacefully.

Oxpecker on the very scratched

up back of a rhino.

Your starting left defensive end, nose tackle,

and right defensive end for the Lewa

Elephants!

This was the rhino who was giving

us the stink eye.  He chilled out.

A crash of rhinos.

This bull elephant was not allowed to

join in any reindeer elephant games.

Is it still horseplay when elephants do it,

or is it really elephantplay?

A little high-stepping!

A Good Walk Unspoiled

At each camp in Kenya, we could take a safari walk.  Not arguing with years of African tradition, but if it were up to me, I'd call it a safari walkabout, to make a phrase out of Swahili and Australian.

(Editor: It's not up to you.  Writer:  If I had a dollar for every time I heard that from my wife or daughters. . .)

We were out on the morning drive, with our fearless guide, James, and walkabout safari guide, Joseph, when James pulled over and let the four of us out of the Land Rover.  Joseph guided, while James scouted from the road above to make sure we were safe.  Joseph carried a rifle, that he obviously did not have to use, because I'm still around to write this post.

(Editor: I see you've adopted "walkabout safari" to be annoying.  Writer: You are half-right.  I've adopted it, but not to be annoying, but to start a new phrase.  After all, phrases have to start somewhere.  Matt, if you are reading this, Sirikoi Lodge can get this to catch on.  Editor: Ah, you are still annoying.)

The walk wound down to the bottom of a small ravine that afforded stunning views in one direction, and beautiful steep hills on the three sides.  

Kenya is really getting to me.  It has a timeless beauty, and this ravine and its views was just another example of it.

For much of the walk, Joseph pointed out interesting sights, such as mudholes, ant swarms, various types of animal poop.  But at one point we were not that far from a trio of white rhinos.  Joseph stopped us there, and we started to hike back up the hill.  I doubt we ended up on the intended route, but his re-routing of us away from rhinos (who never noticed us, thanks to their bad eyesight and our luck at being upwind.

The walkabout safari was great.  We walked back up to the road that James had dropped us off at, and I figured the walk was about over.  Nope, as it turns out, we still had a long way to go.  We headed downhill, winding and twisting our way to our destination.  We saw some giraffes and random antelope off in the distance.

And when we got there, Sirikoi Lodge folks were there with a breakfast in the bush.  It was a delight, sitting under a big tree filled with the round ball nests of birds that even make false nests in the same tree as to confuse predators.  We watched the birds zip up and down, building more nests while the four of us happily munched on eggs cooked to order, bacon and sausage, and various additional breakfast sides.  

We lingered over breakfast, already having had an amazing day, and it was just getting started.  Little did we know it would get even more amazing.

The valley surrounded by mountains.  As

we headed down the hill, we walked away

from this valley, back up the ravine.

Our trusty Land Rover.

Our trusty walkabout

guide, Joseph.

Hyena poop.  It's white because they

eat the bones of their dead prey,

which sounds like a line from

any Terminator movie.

James, Sanjiv, Meena, and Mrs. Iron Tourist

looking over a mostly dried mudpit.

A view of the valley from near

the bottom of the ravine.

There are dozens and dozens of ants

working away in this photo.  Click

to enlarge if you want a better look.

White Rhinos were eating.  We were on 

foot. Joseph didn't want us to die, so

we beat a hasty retreat.  Joseph is

pretty smart.

An umbrella tree.  Just so perfect

every time we saw one.

Giraffes at a significant distance.

Carol and Meena at our

al fresco breakfast.

Waffle House food is iconic.

This view is even more iconic.

The balls hanging off the

tree are bird's nests.

One more shot of the happy four

after our safari walkabout!