Home » Tanzania » Day 17. Mon 7th October Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National ParkFor the wildlife enthusiasts this is the highlight of the trip,and at 05:00 we are up and raring to go. Actually, rising so early turns out not to be a problem, as the bus into town stops on the road nearby at between 3 and 4. This is not a clock-based society, and, like the MV Liemba, the bus does not travel to a timetable, but simply announces it's arrival with a prolonged minor third on the horn. This in turn wakes the cockerel, who is happy to announce the dawn two hours early, and in the process wakes the cat. By the time the bus has made sure that anyone who wants a ride into town is aboard, the cockerel has realised that it's still dark, and the cat has found a suitable mate we are all wide awake and tripping over the mosquito nets trying to light the hurricane lamps.
After a quick breakfast it's a half hour drive to the entrance to the game park, and we're there for opening time at 6:30. We will stay in the game park until 18:30 in the evening, when the regulations say we must leave (anyone in the park after dark is assumed to be a poacher and may be shot!). A long day.

Day 17. Mon 7th October Ruaha National Park

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 12:43:58

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For the wildlife enthusiasts this is the highlight of the trip,and at 05:00 we are up and raring to go. Actually, rising so early turns out not to be a problem, as the bus into town stops on the road nearby at between 3 and 4. This is not a clock-based society, and, like the MV Liemba, the bus does not travel to a timetable, but simply announces it's arrival with a prolonged minor third on the horn. This in turn wakes the cockerel, who is happy to announce the dawn two hours early, and in the process wakes the cat. By the time the bus has made sure that anyone who wants a ride into town is aboard, the cockerel has realised that it's still dark, and the cat has found a suitable mate we are all wide awake and tripping over the mosquito nets trying to light the hurricane lamps.

After a quick breakfast it's a half hour drive to the entrance to the game park, and we're there for opening time at 6:30. We will stay in the game park until 18:30 in the evening, when the regulations say we must leave (anyone in the park after dark is assumed to be a poacher and may be shot!). A long day.

The park is massive, over 2000sq Km. Ken obviously knows the best places to go, and we simply spend the day driving around spotting wildlife. Land Rovers are not ideal for game driving, compared with the specially designed vehicles used by dedicated wildlife safaris, which are like transit vans with windows all the way down the sides. However, after a liberal sloshing of suntan lotion, we climb onto the roofs of the vehicles, which, while a little uncomfortable, do give us an excellent view.

In the middle of the day we find a shady tree with a good view in all directions and have lunch and rest for a couple of hours, always maintaining a watch on top of one of the Land Rovers. Pete and the Defender must return to the lodge, and Kate and Sue decide to go with him.

Today we see:

Masai giraffe (beautiful graceful creatures who just stand and watch the vehicles as they drive past - easy to photograph)

We get back to the lodge exhausted and dirty but very pleased with our sightings, although we have seen no cats at all, which is disappointing.

Tonight the Masai dance for us, an altogether more entertaining show than the Hehe. Despite their apparently haughty demeanour they thoroughly enjoy performing the tribal dance, which appears to revolve around a coutship ritual. Four "virgins" have come along, and they stand to one side while the men dance up to them and try to impress them. I gather that the choice (when it is done for real) is finally down to the girl, who will accept the man, by dancing up to him, or not, as the case may be. They are more than happy for the audience to join in, and both Ken and I try our hand at winning a mate, but without any success!. We soon discover that you need to be extremely fit, as the dance involves a lot of jumping up and down, and the rhythms are complex. One Masai gets carried off, and, while we assume that it is part of the dance, we are later told that he has genuinely had a fit, a not uncommon occurance, as they psych themsleves up very hard to perform the jumps (and probably partake of helpful substances too!).