I had set the alarm for 04:55 so as not to be awaken by a phone call at 05:00. Cindy and I had laid out our clothes and in ten minutes we had brushed, flushed and dressed and were heading out of the door, careful to lock everything since we had been warned that baboons would come and clean out everything if we didn't. There was a rather tepid sense of cheer as we all had coffee or tea and muffins, and then it was time to mount up and be on with the morning drive.
It was a rather pleasant temperature due to the early morning and the overcast skies, so the ride was refreshing and gave us a chance to fully wake up. A night's sleep had done nothing to improve the driving skills of our guide and there were occasions when those of us at the back of the open Land Rover were almost knocked out of our seats, setting off a scramble to find the seat belts and securing them. We saw lots of giraffes, a few snake eagles, a dazzle of eight zebras, one pair of Egyptian Geese, a few steinbok, a resting hyena, several Cape Buffalo, and a Kamikaze bird, so named for his mating ritual of flying straight up in the air, doing a back flip and falling to the earth like a rocket before pulling out of the dive just before impact. Not sure how impressed the female was, but it left me breathless. We stopped for a coffee break and the hood of the Land Rover became a coffee wagon with biscuits, instant coffee and not quite hot tea. The break however allowed us to stretch and it was ample to mark my territory behind a large ground termite mound.
After three hours of riding, spotting, and gaping at nature, we return to the lodge at 8:30 am for a full hot breakfast at the tables set under bamboo rods for shade and protection from rain. Since there was nothing scheduled again until lunch at 13:30, Cindy and I promptly retired to our tent for a two hour nap followed by a cold shower. I didn't really want a cold shower but that was the only temperature available. I thought it was due to the drought and the fact that they are so ecologically sensitive. Two showers later I found out that an electrical outage had blown the timer on the hot water heater and they fixed it immediately, much to my delight.
Lunch was a simple buffet with decent food and some fresh, if not ripe, fruit. The food has been a disappointment due to the fact that we have had stellar experiences with food for the first two weeks in SA. This is a rather high end lodge and we had expected much better quality and variety, but we didn't come for the food and the experience has been spectacular.
As it turned out, that morning drive was to be the only one we would take during our time here. By the end of the afternoon drive we had seen all the animals we really came to see and a whole lot more that we didn't know about. We went on two more afternoon rides, but getting up at 5 am holds no excitement for either of us so we opted for two mid-morning walks in the bush with our guide Joe. These departed at 10 am - much more civil - and it gave us an opportunity to see the smaller aspects of the savanna. On the first walk there were eight guests and two guides, the latter armed and ready just in case. The original plan was four guests but for some reason they combined our walk with the cheap lodge on the river, so we were eight. Only four of us (the ones from our lodge) seemed to have any interest in the walk; the other two couples from the sister lodge seemed to be just checking a box. They were in their late twenties and asked not a single question of either of the guides. At one point Joe picked up some impala pellets to show us how they digested their food. He crushed a few in his hand and showed us the grasses and seeds. He then said that on weekends after a bit of booze he and his mates would have an impala pellet spitting contest, much as we do with watermelon seeds. He then took one in his mouth and spit it some distance. He picked up eight more and offered them to all of us to try and no one - except yours truly - accepted. I popped one in my mouth and gave a good effort but didn't come close to his mark. I need practice shooting the shit!
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