After hearing hyenas whooping in the night, and multiple loud trips to the water-filled earth toilet, we finally decided to turn on our light and get up at 6:15. We got dressed, semi-packed, and messed about until the camp staff brought us hot water a little before 7. We washed our hands and underwear and spread the latter on an acacia tree to dry, which caused quite a stir at breakfast. Breakfast was rather damp and cool, with much talk of staying at Seronera Lodge. (The eggs, toast, fruit, tea and coffee were much the same as always.) After much discussion and a dressing-down from corporate HQ in Arusha, it was decided that the camp staff would try extra-hard to set up an acceptable camp, and that unless there was a downpour, the six of us would stay again at the camp. We saw a beautiful rainbow, then packed up and headed out to pick up the less hardy souls from the lodge.
The Seronera area is teeming with wildlife. Before the official start of our game drive, we'd already seen giraffes, topis, impalas, a lioness sunning herself on a rock, a marabou stork, a troop of baboons and a few vervet monkeys clambering about in trees, plus the rock hyrax and striped mongeese at Seronera Lodge. When we left the Lodge, our first priority was to head to the river in hopes of seeing a leopard. As it turned out, we saw two: one was resting in a tree, and a second one joined it a bit later (they must have been a mating pair, since leopards are otherwise solitary). Even though we saw them at quite some distance, Jess was very excited - she really likes leopards!
Jer was excited to see a wild owl in a tree overhead, and the owl was kind enough to pose for pictures. On the way to our next destination, we also saw a few trotting warthogs, a herd of elephants, at least 21 giraffes (it seemed that a male herd and a female herd had come together for breeding), some ostriches and several glossy starlings (whose feathers are a spectacular blue in the sunlight - Jer had seen one at breakfast, too). Our next stop was a bank farther along the river, above a pool that is a favorite hangout of both hippos and crocodiles. We were lucky enough to see both. It was hard to judge the number of hippos in the pool, they the submerge themselves frequently, but we saw all shapes and sizes, so there were at least a couple dozen. Jer was particularly amused by the hippos that stuck only their noses above water to breathe and bellow, then went back under. The noise was particularly startling, lots of loud grunting and snorting. We headed back to camp for a lovely lunch with asparagus soup, fresh bread, vegetable pizza and fruit salad. Next on the agenda was hot showers, which were heavenly. Then we got ready to go out again. Our first stop was the Serengeti Visitors Centre, but on the way we saw a giraffe scratching his ankles on a bush, the herds of impalas grazing on the roadside, the lioness still sunning herself on the rock, and cape buffalo lying in the grass. The Visitors Centre was very well done, and we learned a lot about the ecosystem, flora and fauna of the region. We also learned a great deal about bush and rock hyrax, saw cute dwarf mongoose, and watched a female weaver bird select a nest out of dozens built by prospective suitors.
After a brief shower at the Visitors Centre, we saw a beautiful rainbow at the beginning of our afternoon game drive. We saw a flock of marabou storks perched on a tree like ornaments, with troops of baboons and vervet monkeys adorning the trees farther along. Along the way, we saw a number of giraffes, including several that were transporting oxpeckers, and one that walked a slow half-marathon in front of our Land Cruiser. The highlight of the afternoon was watching a mama hippo defend her baby from a crocodile. The croc backed down fairly quickly, much to Jess's relief - she didn't want anything bad to happen to the tiny week-old hippo. Nearly back at camp, we saw four silver-backed jackals that were braver than most, so we got a good view of them.
Back at camp, we had a lovely dinner with spinach soup, fresh bread, spaghetti bolognese, green salad and gingerbread with lemon sauce. We sat around talking about opportunities for foreign investment in Tanzania, as well as the various supplies that Shange needs for the private school he has started in Arusha. Then it was time for bed.