Magic Bus 2.0

List o’ Highlights, since so much happened today:

• In Tanzania we had a foursome that always saw good things when we drove together, dubbed the Magic Bus. Sadly one of the four is not in Kenya, but three-quarters of the Magic Bus reunited for today’s game drives and recaptured some of the juju, with a great leopard sighting in the morning only one part of our eventful day. Mike and Steph are ridiculously fun to ride with, and Mike’s good eyes ensure that all quadrants are covered for animal sightings.
• The Magic Bus 2.0 day started with a pre-breakfast game drive. As soon as we exited the lodge a small herd of greater kudu were grazing outside of the gates. They are super-impressive antelope that are actually kind of rare to see, so it was a good omen for the day.
• The monkeys are everywhere at this lodge, so they’ve actually hired a Samburu warrior (named Kelvin, heck of a nice guy) to hang out at meal times with a (non-lethal) slingshot to scare them away. We still saw one rush in to grab a plate at breakfast, heads were constantly peering down from the roof, and when I walked out of the breakfast area holding a pastry three furry companions seemed to materialize out of thin air and then followed along until the pastry was gone. I will not soon tire of monkeys.
• Our third and final game drive of the day began with some elephants across the river, including a tiny baby that the guide guessed was two months old. Steph loves seeing animals by the water, and was beside herself when the family began drinking. Then the matriarch of the group decided to lead them across the river and right up to where our vehicle was sitting, passing within feet of us in the process. The baby had trouble climbing the far bank, so right in front of us we watched the entire elephant family pitching in to help it up the incline. Seeing the normally-reserved Steph with tears rolling down her cheeks as this whole drama unfolded was a sight to behold – she was the live-action version of that scene from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas where his heart grows three sizes and breaks the measuring device. At dinner Gail actually started crying just trying to describe how happy Steph looked.
• Further down the river an elephant had recently died – we counted at least sixteen crocodiles in the immediate vicinity.
• After leaving the river we spotted a huge variety of animals before a call came in on the radio that the same leopard from the morning was again stirring. We arrived just in time to watch her jump out of a tree and saunter right next to our vehicle – too close even for photographs with the lens that I had on my camera. Sadly more and more vehicles began arriving, creating a sort of paparazzi feel, so as the leopard disappeared and re-appeared in the bushes we asked our guide to move on rather than join in what felt like harassment of a big cat who had provided a great morning AND evening show.
• The day ended after the final game drive with a group of us standing near the lodge pool at sunset, watching monkeys and recapping our experiences from the day. In the midst of that I saw a flash of white moving behind some trees, but when I looked closer it was the lady who runs the massage room at the lodge. Brenda then said she saw something moving, to which I responded that the massage lady was back there. She gave me a look that would melt ice and politely said “look behind her” – when I looked again the same group of greater kudu from this morning were walking along the lodge’s perimeter fence. Oops.

Days like today have been common recently, but are rare in life, and it was a joy to have this one today. When my time on safari finally comes to an end it will feel strangely empty to pass the hours without elephants and monkeys in them, but I’m hugely glad to have had the good fortune to enjoy all of these tremendous experiences.