Day 8, Sasaskwa Lodge, Serengeti Grumeti Reserve, Tanzania
March 18, 2009, Wednesday
Since this is a relatively new area from being a hunting block, many animals have not dared to come here. It will take several generations for the animals to feel safe. We tracked a small group of lionesses, but they were not doing anything either! We had our usual bloody mary’s for morning break. We drove around for a while looking for animals. We found a pair of cheetahs lounging around ever watchful, and there were giraffes nibbling the tree tops. We came in early. Breakfast is right after morning drive. We do not eat much since it is so close to lunch! Our former ranger at Singita Boulders was now head ranger for Sasaskwa Lodge. We were excited to learn Lee Fuller was meeting us for dinner that evening.
Since everyone had their clothes now, the laundry basket filled up! The break between morning and evening safari is my favorite part. I take my one shower of the day, actually wash and style my hair, and put on fresh makeup. Now this sounds strange, but I do put on makeup for morning safari! I pull my hair back into a ponytail with my safari hat to cover the mess. We wear Tilley hats, which have a great style and are washable. Tilley is the best safari clothes outfitter. During this time, I do all the work of downloading everyone’s cards. I do ask everyone to do their own in-camera editing. We all wanted a few extra pieces of clothes, so we checked out the camp store. Be prepared for sticker shock! Nicole and I each bought a new brown zip-front fleece and long sleeved shirt. Remember, there are tse tse flies here! Their bite is as bad as they are fabled! They can bite through shirts, pants, and socks! The repellant does not seem to deter them. Wearing leaf green colors tricks them into thinking you are a bush or leaf. Brown works also, but you could be a buffalo! They love blue, colors, and white. I finally had to put the heavy poncho on! I really got attacked! I looked like I had the chicken pox!
Tea time is at 4:00 pm with cookies, small sandwiches, tea, wine, and beer. We are usually the first ones to show up so were can be the first to leave for evening safari. We drove down the long winding driveway to the bottom of the ridge this beautiful lodge rests on. Toti saw a single elephant on the plains below the lodge through the powerful camp binoculars. He was curious, because it was not moving or eating. Sure enough, there was something wrong with this elephant. We watched her for quite a while. She weaved back and forth moving her trunk around her tusks, but did not move her feet. Toti said she was urinating red….This elephant was dying. Soon afterwards, the rain came down in buckets and sheets. We decided not to ride it out like last night, and sped toward the lodge. High on the ridge overlooking this vast beautiful valley, we watched nature’s fantastic light show, warm and dry, with a glass of champagne! It rained all evening. Lee met us at the bar, sneaking in through the back bar door to surprise us! It was so great to see him! Tall, good looking, and intelligent with a great future for himself.
We had dinner in The Garden Room. We had all the candles lit, because the electricity went on and off all evening. We had a wonderful conversation about Singita buying an island in the Seychelles. Steve brought up my Lense On! product. I made a short presentation. Lee really liked it! Nicole was feeling awful, so she went to bed early. After a nightcap at the bar, we went home too! It was cold and wet outside, but there was a warm fire in the bedroom fireplace. I love this place!
Join my Fan Page, Outrageous Red, on Facebook!
Tags: Africa, cameras, cheetahs, digital flah cards, dying elephant, editing photos, fireplace, fly repellants, giraffes, Grumeti Reserve, hats, hunting, Hunting block, Lense On!, Lense On! camera and lense stabilizer, lions, nightcap at the bar, safari, Sasakwa Lodge, Serengeti, Singita, Tanzania, teese flies