The Rains Down in Africa

Today was our last full day on the Serengeti. The rains really started today. The roads have become very muddy this morning. The plan had been to visit an old (1940's) Maasai site. There was a cave where the circumcision ceremony was performed, and a "gong rock" from where meetings were called. A park ranger said to not head into the area. It was flooded and even the Land Cruisers would be in danger of being stranded.

I always got an interesting vibe from Joshua. I wondered if he was more disappointed than we that we couldn't see this area his ancestors used, even though I'm sure he has visited it hundreds of times. Now don't take this wrong, but Joshua reminded me of Worf from Star Trek. I'll explain. What reminded me of Worf was the intense pride he had in his culture. He loved that people wanted to learn about it. He also struck me as a very powerful man who was comfortable in his own skin.

Godliving and Good Luck are from the Chagga tribe which lives near mount Kilimanjaro. Godliving was engaged to be married two weeks after our safari. He told us many stories of his life. Including how he proposed, and later told his parents. But Godliving's style is much lighter, and laced with humor. Good Luck didn't tell us many stories, but he was the joker of the group.

We ventured to an area where every once in a great while rhinos could be seen. But this was not one of those days. We saw many cape buffalo, and giraffe. We also got very close to an elephant family. Considering the sensory over-load of the previous two days, I think the group was a little disappointed. The guides had talked about topping yesterday. Had they bitten off more than they could chew? On the drive back to camp, we spotted a leopard in a tree. To be sure, this was a rare sight, but it seemed like the day couldn't get out of first gear.

After lunch we toured the camp kitchen. The tour company had brought a modern gas oven into this wilderness. It was powered by large propane tanks. The tour of the kitchen was to show us how hard the staff worked.

What I haven't talked much about was the subject of tipping. The tour company had sent us a book about what to expect on this trip. On the topic of tips, it first said that tips were at your discretion, then it started telling you how much to tip various people. One of the first talks Godliving had with the group back in Arusha was about tips, and he re-enforced these numbers. Remember I mentioned that from the Tanzanian point of view, the purpose of tourism is to support the economy.

Most of us took these talks as hard selling. We've talked amongst ourselves about the topic, and many were a little offended by what could be construed as begging. We had paid for our trip, why were we being asked to pay again? These aren't small tokens of appreciating we're talking about. These feel like full wages which makes a few of us wonder if the tour company was charging us a lot of money for this tour, but not paying their help very much.

While resting on the porch of our tent, the rains started and lasted about an hour. The rain started again as we were leaving camp for the afternoon game drive. We drove north out of the storm. The smaller roads were slippery. Even the Land Cruisers with 4 wheel drive engaged wanted to slide side-ways.

Our destination was the hippo pool. There was a small pool with hippos we had been driving past every day. We didn't realize that the pool we knew was nothing compared to the pool we would see. On the way, we saw a herd of elephants which included new-borns who had remnants of the umbilical cords still attached.

Last night Godliving told us a joke whose punch was, "No, I don't want to marry your daughter. But could you tell me who pushed me in?" Here's a link if you'd like to read the entire joke. I laughed at the joke last night, and then I laughed again this afternoon.

The area around the hippo pool was very muddy. We were standing on the edge. A bend in the river had created a natural pool for the hippos to occupy. There were several hundred of all sizes. Suddenly, there was a commotion to my left, but not in the pool, up on the edge. Two people, including Godliving had slipped and were sliding towards the pool. One of the tourists was right there and grabbed them.

Hippos kill more people in Africa than lions. People need the same water the hippos use to hide from the sun during the day, and as we've already learned, a spooked animal can attack. We moved over to the right where there was railing in place to prevent us from falling in. I started giggling to myself. I kept thinking of Godliving's joke last night. "Who pushed me in?"

The hippos were involved in several activities. Some of the males were posturing which was done by yawning to display the lower tusks. For the lucky few, there was copulation which appears to take quite a bit of time. There was also a lot of grunting which sounded like Jabba the Hutt. This was a great camera spot even for those without bazookas. We were extremely close, but safely behind the railing. If you did have a bazooka, you could see a Nile crocodile sunning in the distance.

This was the last great destination of our game drives. We would head back to civilization in the morning. After dinner the camp crew was presented to us, and then they solicited the tip. Then the three guides sang two songs and, by request, the Tanzanian national anthem.

My Lovely Wife and I had the farthest tent from the dinning tent. The tour company creates a pecking order amongst their guests. Those who have traveled with them previously, don't have to walk as far. I joked that we were the farthest out and would be the first to be eaten.

After we were in bed and waiting for sleep, we could hear the hyena and lion in the distance. We could hear them every night, sometimes they were close, and sometimes far. Some of us have gotten very good an imitating the lion which is not a roar but more of a hum made in the throat. So the question really was, were those really lions, or was Godliving having fun just outside the tent?

When we arrived four days ago, people wondered if these tents would keep the animals out. The truth was, an elephant could charge right through, and a lion could rip the walls open with its claws. But the animals didn't know this. These were large structures, each with fire in front of it (in a lantern). The danger was far less than one would originally think.