The sun streaming into the tent woke me up. It was a beautiful sight. There was thick bush all around the tent and I got out of the bed to get my camera, not to miss the mystical morning light. I had just got to the lounge chair where I had left the cameras when I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye. There was something out there in the bush. I grabbed the video camera as I realized that it was a male bushbuck cautiously making its way towards my tent. I had never seen one in the wild and I was excited. They are known to be very shy and elusive. I crept up to the net-like sides of the tent and turned the camera on. The bushbuck froze with the beep of my camera turning on, and so did I. A few seconds later it continued its progress towards me. The video is crappy as its taken through the tent. A few more steps and it turns to the left and moves off into the bush again.
There are rules here for washing up. The tap water is ok for your hands but to brush your teeth you better use the bottled water provided for drinking. And taking a shower was a whole different matter. When you are ready for a shower you go over to the front "desk" and you request water. This is then brought over to the tent in a large bucket and emptied into a canvas bag connected to the shower head by a plastic pipe. The bag is then raised above the tent by a set of pulleys and left there. In the bathroom there is an "On"/"Off" "switch" which you activate by pulling a short length of string. And this results in an anemic stream of hot water. The water drains out through the floor to settle into a puddle under the tent.
Breakfast was good as were the rest of the meals. We had the company of a small family of blue-faced monkeys through most of the day. Their faces are not really blue, its just they don't have much hair on their face and therefore it looks blue.
We had our first briefing this morning and were introduced to our main guide Bernard. He is a youthful guy who has summited more than a hundred times. He's quiet and self assured and a very likable guy. We also pick up all the gear we had rented from Thomson.
Later in the evening we go for a nature walk, led by our Masai guide, Nicole. I half expected her to be wearing a traditional Masai dress, but she looked just fine in a t-shirt and jeans. Accompanying us was a local game guide armed with a shot gun with a folding stock. I wanted to take a look at the gun, but he seemed a little reluctant to let go of his toy, and I did not press it as he spoke little English. There were a lot of plains game, including zebra, wart hogs, baboons, blue wildebeest, giraffe and a whole herd of eland. There was among them a nice mature bull, beautiful blue coat and an impressive dewlap. The eland are the largest of the antelope, weighing in at about 1700 lbs and stands about 5ft 7" at the shoulder. They make a characteristic clicking sound when they walk. There's a lot of debate as to the origin of the sound, with some thinking it comes from bones in the ankles, and others think that it's the clicking of the hooves as they come together after being splayed by the enormous weight of the animal as it walks. I have heard an éland coming at night when it was still about ten minutes away. And in spite of its weight it can clear a 12 foot fence from a standing jump.
We had a beer at the tree house at the end of the day and it was back to the ranch for supper and an early night. I nearly forgot about the sky. The sky at night in Africa is like nothing we see in the US. All those millions and millions of stars is just breathtaking. The Milky Way forms a beautiful swathe through the heavens and one could spend the entire night just watching the stars go by. Ken, being from New York City had never seen anything like this before and was quite excited when he saw his first satellite tonight.
Tomorrow we set out.
Breakfast was good as were the rest of the meals. We had the company of a small family of blue-faced monkeys through most of the day. Their faces are not really blue, its just they don't have much hair on their face and therefore it looks blue.
Must be the local colorectal specialist
Later in the evening we go for a nature walk, led by our Masai guide, Nicole. I half expected her to be wearing a traditional Masai dress, but she looked just fine in a t-shirt and jeans. Accompanying us was a local game guide armed with a shot gun with a folding stock. I wanted to take a look at the gun, but he seemed a little reluctant to let go of his toy, and I did not press it as he spoke little English. There were a lot of plains game, including zebra, wart hogs, baboons, blue wildebeest, giraffe and a whole herd of eland. There was among them a nice mature bull, beautiful blue coat and an impressive dewlap. The eland are the largest of the antelope, weighing in at about 1700 lbs and stands about 5ft 7" at the shoulder. They make a characteristic clicking sound when they walk. There's a lot of debate as to the origin of the sound, with some thinking it comes from bones in the ankles, and others think that it's the clicking of the hooves as they come together after being splayed by the enormous weight of the animal as it walks. I have heard an éland coming at night when it was still about ten minutes away. And in spite of its weight it can clear a 12 foot fence from a standing jump.
We had a beer at the tree house at the end of the day and it was back to the ranch for supper and an early night. I nearly forgot about the sky. The sky at night in Africa is like nothing we see in the US. All those millions and millions of stars is just breathtaking. The Milky Way forms a beautiful swathe through the heavens and one could spend the entire night just watching the stars go by. Ken, being from New York City had never seen anything like this before and was quite excited when he saw his first satellite tonight.
Tomorrow we set out.
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