Up again at 5:00 a.m.
For some reason my alarm didn’t go off — but thank goodness this lodge operates on the very practical system of knocking firmly on your door until you rejoin the living.
I was especially tired today. I haven’t been sleeping particularly well, and I’ve been battling a growing frustration with trying to upload photos into the blog.
At this point I’ve decided I will revisit the whole “proper photo upload” situation either at a hotel… or, more realistically, once I’m back home with real Wi-Fi and fewer early-morning safaris.
In the meantime, you are all being subjected to the iPhotos slideshow method — which does create lovely “artistic” combinations of images, except that it often decides the most compelling way to show a giraffe is… a tasteful close-up of its kneecap.
Still: it’s better than nothing; you can find the slideshow for this morning HERE.
Wind Tunnel Safari Fashion
It still isn’t particularly cold, but the wind in the jeep funnels straight through like nature’s own leaf blower.
I did use my gloves today: a mismatched set, both black, but one proudly touting The California International Marathon on the back, while the other represents some entirely different race where cotton backed gloves for cold weather nose wiping was a Thing.
And I am absolutely using the warm headband (thank you, Marin Rowing). My ears salute you.
Speed Sightings and Shy Antelope
Our first “it still counts as a sighting even if it races across the road at a million miles an hour” animal was a duiker.
Abe told us these are quite unusual to spot — and the name comes from their habit of “diving” straight into the bush the moment they sense anything vaguely mammalian nearby.
We also came around a corner to a pair of kudu, calm and elegant.
A black-backed jackal ran alongside the vehicle as well — basically a fox wearing coyote-colored outerwear.
The Cheetah Boys (and One Very Satisfied Spray)
We were treated to something not often seen: the famous “cheetah boys” were up and walking around.
Most photos of cheetahs involve them lying in the sun looking like they are professionally relaxing. But today they were active — and they came so close to the jeep that you truly could have reached down and touched them.
(Obviously we did not. But the proximity was… thrilling.)
One of the brothers — likely the older one, slightly bigger — did what all cat owners fear when dealing with a male:
He sprayed everything.
When I took a couple of photos, and the satisfied expression on his face made me chuckle – while rolling my eyes in remembrance at seeing that expression on a male cat I once owned.
I also caught his brother doing what can only be described as a morning stretch…
Downward Cheetah.
Elephants: Dirt Baths, Q-Tips, and a Tiny Charge
Our biggest wow of the day was encountering the elephant herd again.
I am loving H’s camera — I was able to catch one female mid–dirt bath, with the dust literally suspended in the air…
…and another using her trunk as a Q-tip in her ear, which felt both majestic and deeply relatable.
The excitement came when the little one got curious and decided to charge our vehicle.
Isaac beat on the side of the jeep and shouted, reversing as fast as he could.
The little one’s mom finally convinced him back into the fold — and once we were safely away, the whole thing reminded me so much of any young boy testing his limits with his parents.
Wildlife, but also: parenting.
Giraffes, Buttes, and the Language of Group Names
On our way back to the lodge, we caught a giraffe at the base of the butte. What this basically means in the slide show is look down in the scrub at the right of the photo – that caramel colored, “tall thing” is Ze Giraffe.
We’d been talking about animal group names, and apparently:
- A tower of giraffes is what you call them standing still
- A journey of giraffes is what you call them moving
Isaac also mentioned that giraffes are one of the few animals whose gait moves the front and back legs on the same side together — called pacing — rather than the diagonal pairing of a trot, which is why they look like they’re doing that slow-motion sway.
As Tom from our group put it: the difference between a pacer and a trotter.
(Yes, Safari meets horse-racing trivia.)
Pancakes, Packing, and a Rhino Orphanage Ahead
After breakfast — including very fluffy pancakes — it was time to download photos. This batch is the largest number of “keepers” so far… perhaps I’m finally getting used to the camera.
Lunch is at 12:30, and at 1:45 we’re meeting to head to the rhino orphanage. Today was supposed to be a “bush lunch,” but unfortunately it’s supposed to rain – the hope is that it won’t rain out our “boma” dinner outside tonight.
Janice and I will try to send a Marco Polo to Mom from the orphanage.
We go straight from the orphanage out to our last jeep safari of this lodge stay.
Tomorrow morning is a walk up on the escarpment.
I should be packing.
But since I’ve decided to skip lunch…
I think I will instead take a wee nap.
And honestly?
That also counts as a sighting. I’m sure dream animals count.
Next up: baby rhinos, and whatever wildlife wanders our way.