Kilimanjaro is actually in Tanzania, but John tells me it used to be in Kenya. Apparently - or so he said – some time before Independence (in 1963) Queen Elizabeth asked a relative from the erstwhile German royal family what she would like for her birthday. The reply was Mount Kilimanjaro, and so the border was redrawn to include the mount in what was originally a German colony. I’ve no idea if this is true, but it sounds like a good story ...
We drove back into Ambosele, where apart from the gazelles that are everywhere here, the first thing we saw was a family of giraffes, about to cross the road. Bringing up the rear was a baby:
who on looking at the van decided she’d rather not get too close, and took to her heels
Whilst driving around the various parks, I’ve mused on the number of white vans floating around. At times they seem to gather in a great confusion (not sure what the collective might be for white vans – any thoughts?) This set me wondering if fairgrounds as we know them across Europe had made their way into Africa. I tried to explain the concept to John, who didn’t really get the idea, until I described dodgems, and pointed ahead:
Pretty dusty on the road, but not too dusty as a simile, I thought. The animals we saw most of today, inevitably on this reserve, were elephants, in various numbers and groupings. Given the way my mind works, you’ll understand that things like Winnie the Pooh came to mind, although these heffalumps are not at all horrible. Nor are they the beasts of amazement described by Sam Gamgee as Oliphaunts – but he would truly have been impressed by the display over the last couple of days.
As I saw yesterday, they can gather in large numbers, scattered across a plain as they feed, but when they move it’s shades of Walt Disney – single file and march:
This was a group –again – crossing the road, with the rear being brought up by the matriarch.
Looking at this shot, nicely sized, turns my mind to matrioshka, but that’s from another country and for another day.
Moving swiftly on, as we drove round the area, by thoughts turned back to Flanders and Swan, as we saw these characters wallowing contentedly.
Not deep water, but enough marsh to let them get well covered in mud ...
Moving further on, we came to the wetlands where a host of birds congregated. Some we had seen yesterday; others had appeared overnight.
The first of these was the black head crane:
closely followed by the Egyptian Goose
And our friends from Lake Nakuru – flamingos.
At this stage, they do not appear pink – apparently the colour comes from the algae they eat at Nakuru.
Further round, having left the water behind, we saw a family of Crowned Cranes; this lot clearly had lost something in the sand and were poring over every inch with hawklike stares ...
Shortly after, I walked up the only hill in Ambosele, to a viewpoint which looks out over the marsh. You can see from the sign where the water comes from (Kilimanjaro is in the background, again wreathed in cloud), but it’s interesting to see the clear delineation between verdant grass and arid stubble.
With that, and the day nearly at an end, we headed for the exit. On the way, we passed a warthog, who for the first time stood and stared – they usually turn tail, so most shots are from behind. As you can see, he’s well covered in fresh mud, so my guess is he was feeling pretty cool, and stuck around.
An odd sight across the whole area – which brings me nicely back to my opening heading for this trip (Lions and tigers and bears ...) – is that you see a constant stream of whirlwinds, gathering dust in their wake and spiralling to the sky (I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more.)
Anyway, with that, the drive was done, and we headed back to the lodge for the last time, with just a backward glance at the entrance.
Time now to relax, have a leisurely dinner and prepare for the drive back to Nairobi, and the flight back to the hotspots of Dubai. Can’t wait!
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