Monday, August 22

Today we were up before the sun, grabbed a quick snack, and took off for early-morning game-viewing about 6:15am.  We split into two groups – each in a 7-passenger land cruiser.  We four from SC were joined by Stepanie (Los Angeles CA) and Susan (Billings MT).

As we headed out we could see Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance and before long we were spotting animals right and left. 

Animals:  Zebra, Maasai giraffe, African hare, Thomson’s gazelle, Black-faced vervet monkey, Kirk’s dik dik, yellow baboon,  African elephant, dwarf mongoose, red-headed agama.

Birds: Lilac-breasted roller, kori bustard, tropical boubou, white bellied bustard, go-away bird, Von der Decken’s hornbill, superb starling, and black-bellied bustard.

Morning Highlights:

Dwarf mongoose – Africa’s smallest carnivore.












Red-headed agama – colorful lizard about 12 inches long.

First sighting of giraffes - the world’s largest land mammal.  These are Maasai giraffes; they have jagged-edged, spots of dark brown on a brownish-cream background.  (The more familiar reticulated giraffe has bright orange-brown patches separated by bold white lines.)

Yellow baboons – terrestrial primate; lives in troops.

 Nearby, a family of black-faced vervet monkeys.

Kori bustard – world’s heaviest flying bird - males may weigh up to 40 pounds; females are smaller.

African elephants – in their search for food, elephants are significantly changing their environment.  We saw lots of elephants this morning; here are a few of our favorites and a video of a herd of elephants munching away at a clump of trees.

Lilac-breasted roller – one of Africa’s most dazzling birds.

Tropical boubou – also known as the bell shrike

Von der Decken’s hornbill – eats insects, fruits and seeds

 Animal tracks – our Maasai tracker points out lion tracks.

Dust is everywhere, covers everything and everybody.  We even learned the Swahili word for dust - VUMBI!

We headed back to camp for brunch about 11 am and then it was siesta time.  Or at least time to download pictures, recharge batteries and organize duffel bags.  Everyone reconvened about 3 pm for an afternoon game drive; armed with cameras and binoculars, we’re ready to go again.

Animals:  Maasai giraffes, elephant, and Grant’s gazelle.

Birds:  Ostrich, crowned plover, and kori bustard.

Afternoon Highlights:

Tower of giraffes – our guide said this was the largest group (tower) of giraffes he’d ever seen – we counted 36 in all. 

Here’s a video of the gang as they ambled along in front of us. 

And here are a few of our favorites …

More elephants –a group of bachelor males who got together for a nice dust bath. Be sure to take a look at the video below. 

Ostriches – the world’s tallest bird – this is a family portrait, fourteen immature young birds.  They were quite a sight racing across the plain. 

As the sun dropped low in the sky, we headed up Oldonyo Mali, a small hill that is considered a sacred site by the local Maasai.  The view is impressive, too.   This is William's homeland - he sure looked like he belonged here.

As we headed up the hill, we were followed by some women from a nearby Maasai village.  They brought handmade bracelets and other jewelry, which they spread out to create an instant shopping opportunity. 

Oldonyo Mali is also a fine spot for a sundowner, as our trusty guides had packed along glasses and bottles of wine.  

And the sun DID go down – quite spectacularly….to the west is Mount Longido and to the southeast is Mount Kilimanjaro.

We had a little more excitement on our way back to camp – the truck’s electrical system was overwhelmed by dust and out went the headlights.  Driving in this terrain is challenging in the daytime, but at night it borders on insane – even with lights.  David found a piece of string and tightened up some connections to bring back the lights and we made it back in time for dinner – with wildly inventive stories about what happened out there in the dark ..