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The Serengeti that unfolded
before me was everything I had imagined. Endless yellow plains,
acacias placed sparingly. Kopjes (granite outcroppings) that appear
to have stood unchanged for millions of years. A few feet higher
than the surrounding plains, these kopjes are often the resting
places for lions as they scan the horizon for prey. We see two females
with seven cubs on one such kopje, the cubs yawning, pouncing, playing
as children do. On a nearby kopje, two male lions with thick, bushy
manes, sleep so soundly they donít blink at our intrusion. To the
northwest, a dark, foreboding sky with curtains of rain and lightning.
To the west, a shaft of sunlight breaks through from the heavens,
sending long, ethereal beams to the damp earth. The golden yellow
grasses glow brilliantly against the dark torment of the storm on
the horizon. Thomsonís gazelle, topi, waterbuck, zebra, all wander
the plains in numbers too large to count. As we pass gradually from
open savanna to broken acacia forest, we are able to add elephant,
buffalo, ostrich, baboon, impala, jackals, hyenas, warthogs, and
a kori bustard to the list. The kori bustard, at 26 lbs, is the
largest bird that can fly. We also see one more lion, just before
reaching the Lobo Lodge, which is buried in a massive kopje, perched
above a vast stretch of the plains burned three weeks ago by a carelessly
tossed cigarette. This is what Tobias tells us, although park officials
prefer to say it was a controlled burn, a management technique that
they do employ every year to various sections of the park.
The Lobo Lodge is the
most amazing lodge Iíve ever seen. Buried in the kopje, you don't
see it until you drive in between two massive granite boulders and
realize that youíre 50 feet from the reception desk. Built in 1970,
it is almost self-sufficient, with a spring providing water and
a generator supplying electricity. Our room window stares out at
the burnt savanna to the north. Kenya is only a few miles in that
direction. A mere 15 feet away, tree hyraxes navigate the limbs
of an acacia. In the distance, we can see a ring of fire advancing
up the side of a collapsed cinder cone to the north, its visibility
intensifying as the night moves in. Most likely the work of the
Maasai, clearing forest to create grazing land for their cattle.
 The
dining room/bar/lounge is one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever
seen, beams of periculata running 30 feet or more from floor to
cathedral ceiling. The room is multi-level, and the natural granite
of the kopje is visible around the perimeter, acting as the walls
of the room. There are several stone fireplaces, and just outside,
stone steps lead down to the swimming pool, which overlooks the
savanna. Never seen anything quite like it.
October 12
Had a long game drive this morning, 7:30 to 1:00. Hot and dusty.
Spent a lot of time driving through the burn area, and was surprised
to see so many animals there. I figured the grazing must be better
elsewhere, and the animals were more exposed to predators. But Tobias
reminded us that even though the zebras, etc., are more visible,
so too are the lions, and they canít sneak up on their prey as easily
without the cover.
The scorched earth even smelled as if it
were burned. It must have been a very swift, or low temperature
fire, because the live trees were not burned, except maybe singed
at the base. The dead trees that had previously fallen to the ground
did burn, leaving a bright white ash suggestive of chalk outlines
around dead bodies, acutely visible against the blackened earth.
Also standing out were the sun-bleached bones of animals that had
fallen prey. The bones were littered more frequently than I would
have imagined, but perhaps they were just made more visible by the
absence of grasses that would otherwise obscure them. Seeing the
bare earth also provided an indication of the sheer number of animals
that roam across the savanna, by the myriad criss-crossing tracks
scuffed into the hard earth and stretching towards the horizon.
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