I was awakened by a lion calling and grunting around 4:30am. I sprang to my feet looking through the screened opening of my tent but it was too dark to see anything. I sat in my bed hoping the lion would scratch at my ten door. Instead at 5am, the camp attendant brought me coffee and cookies. I asked him to leave the tray on the table outside my tent. I had no clothes on and since I had opened all the shades, I did not want to scare him with the sight of my body or fill him with uncontrollable lust. So after I saw him walk away, I hopped out of bed, nips and tips to the wind, unzipped the front flap of my tent, and retrieved the tray. As I pulled the tray through the partially opened flap, the metal French press fell from the tray clanking on the mat in front. Thank goodness the dry coffee grounds did not spill out of the pot. I was able to still make myself a pot of good strong coffee. To my delight, the cookies were delicious and not too sweet.

I sat on my bed watching the sun come up. The sky just beyond the acacia tree in front of my tent was turning a glorious red. The photo was breathtaking. Then my bowels started rumbling and it was time to sit on the compost toilet. Fully emptied, I hopped in the bucket shower and took an ice-cold rinse, brushed my teeth and quickly dressed. I was slated to start my drive at 6:30am, which is rather late for my taste. I prefer to see the sunrise in the bush, not at camp.

I got to the main tent at 6:15 and was pleased to see Ken had arrived just as I entered and off we went. Ken and Joseph (the manager) laughed when I told them about my rain dance. They suggested that I continue doing it because more rain is needed. So now I must get the others to join in on the dance tonight and end the dry spell. Fingers crossed that we don’t cause a hurricane and have our tents blown to Dorothy-ville. I think I will add in a squat and holler, “baby, baby” to punctuate the 3-hunched salutes so that a calf will be born in my honor and in my presence.

The ride was fun. The hunt for animals is always exciting. Finally the wildebeest returned. They smelled the rain and came back to the plain. There were lots of little calves frolicking about some still nursing. We drove and came upon more wild hunting dogs. Apparently the pack of ten had split up. The four I saw yesterday must have gotten separated. Only six were present today. Who knows whether the split was by accident or by force? The six were running towards a nearby watering hole. Once there, they lowered their hindquarters first and then took a drink. They too looked exhausted. After they cooled their bottoms and lapped the cool muddy water, they had a snooze. We sat for a while and then continued on. I saw a cheetah from a distance resting in the grass. Only his head was visible as he sniffed the air and watched a few impalas scamper by.

As we drove on we saw two jackals chasing each other and joyfully playing in the now-cooled air. Last night’s rain dropped the temperature significantly and the air was clear of all the dust. Driving on, we started slipping in the loose mud and disturbed a hyena from his slumber. He jumped up from his hole, his fur caked with mud, and scampered a few feet and then turned and defiantly looked in our direction. I thanked him for the pose, snapped a few pics, apologized for my rudeness, and then drove off. I was now about 1pm so we headed back to camp for lunch.
The food at this camp is OK, but not as good as at other camps I have been – particularly Sayari in Northern Serengeti and Sanctuary Olanana in Masai Mara.

FYI, I learned today that there are a few women guides, which is new. The majority work for an outfit called and Beyond and some for Nomad, but they generally work at permanent camps or lodges and do not follow the migration with the moveable camps like their male colleagues.

The PM ride was pretty standard. I saw giraffes and lots of muddy zebras. Then we saw 5 trucks in the distance surrounding an acacia tree about 4 kilometers away so we decided to go and see what they were looking at. To my surprise it was a pride of lions sleeping. There were two males and 4 females. Their bellies were big from lunch (Richard, remember Melissa Gradle’s big tum after lunch) and they appeared down for the count. Then one female started rolling about. Next one of the males stood up and walked straight towards our car before dropping to the ground for another snooze. Then one by one they all got up and walked straight towards our car before dropping down to sleep. It was AMAZING. I got great photos. The most hilarious thing is I only use a small Canon Point and Shoot camera. It has a great zoom (Thanks Jamal for the advice) that picks up a lot. For a camera under $150, it is fantastic. All the other watchers had huge professional cameras with 13 inch lenses steadied on beanbags. When the lions walked towards me, I heard someone say look at her camera. They must have thought it was a waste of a shot – but I am quite pleased. I do not suffer from lens envy.

Then after we left the lions, we drove a little further and ran into a cheetah with three baby cubs – all about 2 months old. They were so cute. Then we had to race back to camp because it was Ken’s might to cook. He was making pork chops and I was looking forward to them.

At the pre-dinner drinks part of the evening, I suggested that the other guests join in my rain dance about the fire. They all declined so I did it solo. Later when I got back to my tent, I did it again. I hope it rains, but if it doesn’t it will only be because the others did not join in.

It is now 10pm…please let it rain…