Home » Tanzania » Day 18. Tue 8th October Ruaha National Park

Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday.
We see two huge herds of buffalo within a mile of each other, which Ken says he has never seen before in his life. We also see a solitary male lion, very briefly, but no other cats. We should be able to see lion, cheetah and leopard in this park, but have just been very unlucky. We also see a pair of ostrich, and, later by the river, rock hyrax and a couple of mongooses (mongeese?).

Day 18. Tue 8th October Ruaha National Park

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 12:46:54

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Today is pretty much a repeat of yesterday.

We see two huge herds of buffalo within a mile of each other, which Ken says he has never seen before in his life. We also see a solitary male lion, very briefly, but no other cats. We should be able to see lion, cheetah and leopard in this park, but have just been very unlucky. We also see a pair of ostrich, and, later by the river, rock hyrax and a couple of mongooses (mongeese?).

After one of the breaks Ken suggests that we take bets on what animal we will see next. Giraffe is disallowed as they are so common, and in fact two are watching us. I pick Impala, Ken picks kudu, and the others each pick an animal. Nathan is in the vehicle with Ken as he is getting sunburnt, and anyway likes to be in easy reach of all his lenses. Sue and Kate have returned in the Defender with Pete. The rest of us are on the roof. Very shortly after we set off we see a group of kudu right next to the road, but there is no cry of victory from the cab. We continue on, and after a few minutes we see some impala, which I call down to the cab, and, to our astonishment, Ken grants me victory and proposes a rematch. Ken is an expert game spotter, and, knowing him, we suspect some devious plot. Nevertheless, we discover later back at the lodge, that, to his eternal shame, he was chatting to Nathan and really had not seen the kudu, despite the fact that he could have practically reached out of the window and touched them.

Several times we have to turn back because elephants are blocking the road. African elephants are highly aggressive and, unlike Indian elephants, cannot be tamed. They are the main hazard in the park.

Around 17:30 we find a pleasant spot by the river and break out the beer for sundowners. Across the river a herd of buffalo are just departing and a solitary elephant plods his weary way. It is utterly idylic.

No dancing tonight, but Pete and Auxies excel themselves with an excellent barbeque (as usual the lodge provides cooking facilities but no food) and we all retire exhausted but extemely pleased with the day.