An Amorous Ostrich

I woke up this morning at 6am to find out that the generator does not get turned on until later. So I fumbled around sleepily, in the dark, to try and wash my face and found out that the water pump from the bore hole was apparently not working and there was, also, no water. I threw on some clothes and met my friends for some tea and a morning drive around the Serengeti.

Yesterday afternoon we took a drive before sunset. After checking out some elephants and giraffes, we hung out with a pride of lions, lounging in the setting sun. It was mostly females with one juvenile male. According to my friends, he looked as if he was getting close to being kicked out on his own to try and put together his own pride. After returning to the house, we were greeted by a gourmet meal made by my friend’s partner, who had just bought some new black plates that he really wanted to show off. We sat out on the patio after dinner, drinking wine, listening to the lions call, greeting the hyenas and making friends with an incredibly cute little jennet.
[caption id="attachment_618" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cuddly Cats"][/caption]

This morning, as we drove to Maru Kopje for a picnic breakfast that my friend packed us, she told her friend that she wanted to see a cheetah. So that is exactly what we did. We found a female sitting on top of a termite mound scanning the grasslands for her morning snack. We waited to see what direction she was going to take off in for her hunt, but she didn’t seem to be in any hurry so we moved on. We stopped to watch some hippos lower themselves in the river. This amused all of us because they seemed as if they couldn’t quite figure out how to make it down the 3 foot drop into the river. They reminded me of myself when I am on skis and trying to psych myself up for a particularly nervewracking entrance. They waddled to the edge, stared down intently, took a step forward only to waddle back and re-assess. They waddled forward, stopped and stared some more before backing off again. Finally, and with no grace whatsoever, they committed and slid on their bellies into the water. The only difference between my behavior and the hippos -- at no point did any of the hippos look up, whimper, and say "I don’t like this…." [caption id="attachment_619" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Feed Me!"][/caption][caption id="attachment_625" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Not A Hippo"][/caption]

I was also pleased to see a couple bat-eared foxes and a black-backed jackal. Both species that can fall prey to a rabies outbreak. We also passed by an amorous ostrich, his neck and legs all red with desire as a female passed by.[caption id="attachment_617" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Amorous Ostrich"][/caption]

We had breakfast up on a large granite outcropping. The granite here is so old and so smooth. I think my friends thought I was nuts, wandering around, stroking the rock.[caption id="attachment_614" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pocked Granite"][/caption]

The afternoon was filled with meetings, another gourmet meal made by my friend’s partner and drinks on the patio while listening to the grunting of some local buffalo.

Tomorrow we leave.
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