Tanzania Honeymoon

October 9, 9:15 pm:
We left for our game drive at 4pm, along with about ten other groups, all jockeying for position. I knew it would be so, but....
    The drive started out with an elephant sighting right at the end of the tents, right where Deb and I had been walking two hours earlier! Larger than the Asian elephant, these behemoths can top out at 13,000 lbs. Far from sluggish, though, they can charge at an impressive 25 mph. Nearby we came across another family of elephants, and they crossed the road about 50 feet behind us. Truly amazing. Aside from the sound of them munching grass, they moved silently, their giant feet softly shuffling across the dirt road. We got some great shots.
    Soon after, we encountered a large herd of wildebeest and zebra. The late afternoon light was gorgeous, making the yellow grasses glow as they whispered in the wind. Cumulous clouds caused shadows to flow across the savanna, adding depth to a landscape where perception of scale and distance is difficult.
    It was a very successful drive - in addition to the above, we saw steenbok, hyrax, warthog, waterbuck, hartebeest, giraffe, vervets, vultures hovering on dead limbs, ostrich, secretary birds, marabou storks, blacksmith plovers, guinea fowl, yellow-collared love birds, hornbills, and an eagle. A swarm of quelea birds numbering in the thousands flew silently in a sinuous band over our heads. Again, more birds than we could remember. It doesn't surprise me that Tarangire has the highest recorded number of breeding bird species of any habitat in the world.
     We saw huge termite mounds, grown to the point where they had consumed trees. These mounds may contain up to 3,000,000 individuals. We saw mongoose scampering and playing among the mounds, and we saw silver-backed jackals. As the sun began to set over the highlands, a troop of baboons climbed one by one, in silhouette, up a palm tree to prepare for a nightís sleep. The wind in the palm fronds sounded like a gentle rain. The colossal baobabs, with twisted limbs, stood in ghoulish contrast against the orange glow of the setting sun. Clouds took on shades of purple and lavender, while below the dark Rift wall, the white salts of Lake Manyara were still raining towards the sky, creating yet another backdrop against which the baobabs and acacias rose in silhouette. Breathtaking.
    After dinner, we retire to our beds. The wind rustles outside, and flexes her muscle against the canvas walls of the tent. We hear insects, but little else, as if the entire animal kingdom has retired for the night. We are curious to see (or rather, hear) any animals that may rustle along with the wind.