Call From the Wild

The Magic Carpet sensation of the smooth lift off has us looking down on avenues of Nandi Flame Trees and lush green Coffee fields. Banking the Twin Caravan to the West sets us on course for the first leg of another African Safari.
Over the Great Rift with occasional glimpses through the clouds of Maasai Villages thousands of feet below, Volcanoes, Olduvai Gorge and as we descend at 500 ft per minute the endless plains of the Serengeti open up ahead of us. Banking on approach with herds of Zebra below the wingtip we are gear down on final. Last moment sighting of a Tommy on the strip, slight extension to the approach and we're down with Tommy exasperated by the fact that he now has not only to watch for Cheetah but planes too. What is this wilderness coming to? Into the Safari Cruisers we pile and down the dusty trail towards camp. Last time we saw a Cheetah by the road on the way to camp. How are we going to top that?

The pressure is on. Within the first thirty minutes we see Tommy, Grants, Topi, Warthog, Impala, Secretary Bird, Cape Buffalo, Hippo, Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest, Kongoni, Crocodile, Baboons, Lions with cubs, Vervet Monkeys and a herd of Elephant coming down through the Phoenix Palms to water on the Wandamu River. So! What's left to see and we've two weeks to go?
Camp on the Mareho Tributary is remote and well to the West. We're in camp for a late lunch of Mousaka and Greek Salad and desert. Settle into the tents and a short nap before we drive five minutes to the junction of the Mareho and the Orangi River. Baboons are all over the overhanging trees claiming respective roosting spots for the night. Herds of Zebra and Wildebeest are confident that the Baboons will bark danger warnings if any Lion is seen and we realize they will come down for an evening drink. Brace Yourself is the request as we low range into the river floor just West of the water they are most likely to drink from and in silence we watch the magic unfold. Hundreds of animals, weary at first and always nervous but, sure enough down they come and within fifteen minutes they are all at the water's edge not ten yards form our position. We spend half an hour watching this in awe. As the sun sets we drift back to camp, showers and a Sundowner by the fire before dinner under canvas in Candle light. Grilled Zanzibar Channel Shrimp on Skewers.......It sure is rough in the tropics.