Tanzania Honeymoon
October 10, 7 pm:
We just finished our last Tarangire game drive. Right outside camp we saw two lionesses. They crossed the road just in front of us, little bothered by our presence, intent on their destination. The first one nonchalantly let out a low growl as she passed in front of us. We caught up with them again at the next bend in the road, and watched them amble off through the tall grass. There was a herd of zebra off to their right, but the lionesses seemed disinterested, varying little from their previous heading. We followed them with binoculars for some distance, and finally realized the purpose of their stroll. They had killed a zebra earlier in the day, and they were returning to gorge themselves on leftovers. The zebra herd to their right continued to move in their direction, believing (apparently correctly) that since the lions were already feeding on one of their fallen comrades, they were safe. The lions and zebras eyed each other as the zebras plodded by in single file. Several of the zebras even stopped and turned towards the feeding lions, as if to pay respect to their dead kin. The sun found its way through the clouds, and painted generous strokes of golden light across the savanna. As the zebras gave up their vigil and moved on, and the lions disappeared into the tall grass to take their fill, another endless fluid swarm of quelea birds passed before our eyes, sinuous and mercurial in appearance as the sun highlighted their wings.
    A little further on, we saw some elephants a little ways away, their black hulks lurking in a passing shadow, their white tusks gleaming in strong contrast.
    We then spent some time watching a troop of baboons in and around a sausage tree. There were several little ones that were fun to watch, sometimes playing on their own and sometimes riding on the backs of their mothers. Older males charged younger ones, reasserting their place in the troop. They made an awful racquet both in the tree and on the ground, screeching at each other. The branches of the tree shook violently as the baboons leapt from limb to limb, never once misjudging their flight path. We could have watched them for hours.
    Saw yet another lioness, sleeping on a dead tree trunk, oblivious to the world. It looked very peaceful and content, like a housecat curled up on a sofa.
    And finally, another family of elephants crossing the road in front of us, one pausing to rub its rough hide against a tough termite mound. A slight brushstroke of pink painted the western sky as we ended our drive.
    After dinner, Deb and I had a beer out on the patio. Tasted pretty good, with a cool breeze blowing in from the dark African night. At one point I saw something skittering across the tile floor. When I went over to investigate, I realized it was a scorpion. It was a little unnerving to see how fast they can move.