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Needless to say -
as we assembled for breakfast at 7am - all the talk was about our
nocturnal visitors, who seemingly had paid everybody a call. Lucy was
the only one to miss out on the experience - as she was accommodated in
a different part of the camp. Refreshed from the long day before, we
were eagerly looking forward to our trip by boat on the Rufiji River. We
walked down to the jetty - where we joined our river guide - on -
reassuringly - a wide steel-bottomed boat with a 40hp Yamaha outboard,
with individual seats bolted to the steel floor of the boat.
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We were about to venture amongst pods
of hippos - Africa's most dangerous animal - responsible for more deaths
than anything - apart from the mosquito. We had seen numerous wildlife
films in UK - usually on the Discovery Channel - depicting natives,
wildlife cameramen and tourists being tipped out of their boats and
being torn limb from limb!! We were told that the park held 3,000 hippos
- so we were quite relieved to see the type of boat that we were going
out in. We ventured out - amongst the hippos - who frequently dived down
towards the boat - and often we could feel a bump |
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as we hit a hippo
beneath. Our guide assured us that this did not cause any injury to the
hippo - despite the 40hp outboard - and he was seemingly unalarmed. We
also encountered several crocs on route to the far bank, where we were
soon seeking out the wealth of colourful birds that inhibited the
riverside. Our guide could not have been better at getting the boat into
the banks to ensure the best views of the birds - and the occasional
monitor lizard. Our birds ranged from the mighty fish eagle - with
a juvenile - and the giant Goliath heron - to the tiny Malachite
kingfisher - one of 13 |
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types of kingfisher here - I was
particularly pleased to see this bird so close - only ever having had
distant views previously. If you were to give a child a paintbrush and
palette - and asked them to create their most striking imaginative bird
- it is doubtful that they could come up with anything better than the
colourful spectacle of this little bird. Our guide managed to track one
from perch to perch along the riverbank - giving us wonderful views. We
paused to photograph a pied kingfisher, as he struggled to work out how
he was going to manoeuvre his recent catch into position so that he
could swallow it. |
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We still don't know
if he managed it - he flew off - no doubt for some serious logistical
consideration!! Our trip continued - amongst the hippos, crocs and
numerous birds. We stopped off for a cool drink on the shore - carefully
looking around the surrounding undergrowth - but I am sure that this
particular section of the beach was frequently used. We stopped off
later to watch an elephant carefully removing sections of grass and turf
and rinsing them in the water with his trunk before eating. We returned
back to the lodge at 12.20 - having been out since 8am - Excellent!! |
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We went for a risotto - salad lunch,
and relaxed for a while before our next event - which was a game drive
at 4pm. For the park's game drives we were using their own Land Rovers,
with open seating, and being a bit narrower and shorter than our Land
Cruisers, they were more manoeuvrable in the thick bush of the
park. Our guide, Musa, had been a hunter in his youth, but had now
worked for the park for the past 30 years - an expert eye - expert
tracker - and now - courtesy of Musa - I now know the fine difference
between the droppings of a male and female giraffe!! I feel sure |
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that I will be able to impress
somebody somewhere on a future safari!! Before too long we were driving
through dense undergrowth, with branches of trees enveloping both sides
of the Land Rover - to find a pack of African hunting dogs - resting in
the shade f the trees. We watched them for a while - discussing how
their behaviour held so much in common with our own domestic pets. The
beautiful markings of the dogs was difficult to see - but we were
to come across them later in the afternoon at the riverside. Later, we
were to have our closest encounter with lions. First of
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all we saw a lone female drinking at
a waterhole. She was quite unalarmed at our presence, and appeared in
fine condition, fit and well fed. She was joined by another lioness, and
a short time later the male appeared walking towards us. He walked right
alongside our Land Rover - As I leaned out to get some shots of him
approaching - I was aware of Nancy pulling me back in !! This lion
looked quite old - scarred face, with muscles seeming to be slightly
wasted in comparison to the females. His short mane - at a distance -
gave him the appearance of a younger lion - but this |
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short mane, or in some cases,
complete absence of a mane is a feature of the Tanzanian lion - As I
understand it, the reason is not known - with testosterone levels and
the density of the Tanzanian bush being possible causes. We had a close
encounter with an elephant with her baby - which Musa told us was a
little over a month old. As we had previously seen, she and the other
elephants were very protective of the youngster, and tried to maintain
cover in the bush, but eventually broke out to put some distance between
us.
We came across the hunting dogs again, having roused |
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themselves from their afternoon
sleep, and were now out in the open in preparation for the evening hunt.
Though much smaller than the hyena, they still look like fierce beasts -
not the sort that you would tickle on your lap anyway !! This had
been a tremendous drive in the company of Musa, and before too long
- it was time to return to the lodge. A little relaxation before a
dinner of spaghetti Bolognese starter, followed by beef casserole and
mashed potatoes and cabbage - deliciously prepared. Time to settle the
bar bill again - and off to bed - What was in store for tonight ?? |
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Other
Photographs of The Day |
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