I'm paranoid about getting malaria or bug bites. So I draped myself in the mosquito net last night and sweated out the bug repellent I'd applied before dinner. There was a mosquito trying to get me, I could hear it buzzing around my head all night, and twice I turned on the light to make sure it was outside the net, not inside. I think it lives in the bathroom. It was silent during much of the night, after the celebrations about Ethiopia's performance in the Africa Cup were over. They tied against the favored team, so there was a lot of excitement about that. At about 6 a.m. the park work up. The birds starting singing, and it was as if every creature in the near vicinity was celebrating the morning. It was nice to just be still and listen for a little while.
After I got up,I covered myself in sunscreen, waited 30 minutes, then covered myself in insect repellent. I smelled so awful. Luckily, everyone else stinks as well.
We headed out, and I angled to get into Car One. It is the best car to be in for wildlife sightings, because for one, Claude is in it, and he knows what should be there and how to spot it. The second reason is simple. It goes in first, so you see whatever it is you are looking for before it runs off.
On the way into the park, we were doing some bird spotting, when I saw a baboon run across the street. Our guide said, yes, they are friendly and will come to the car. Turns out they like the bananas that people throw them, and that is why they are so friendly and come right up to the car. These were Anubis baboons.
As we drove deeper into the park, we could see many beautiful Acacia trees. They look like larger than life bonsai sculptures. The people here hang bee hives in them, I'm still hoping for a good shot of that.
We saw giants storks again, an almost purple heron that was magnificent, and another double crested eagle. At one point, Claude was rattling off what birds we saw yesterday, Abyssinian this, Abyssinian that. Then Muleguita, our guide and driver, said, "Look, squirrel!" As one ran across our path. I said, "Was it an Abyssinian squirrel?" That got a laugh. But, technically, it probably was.
We arrived at the boat launch and started our trip on Lake Chamo, which is the third largest lake in Ethiopia and is home to many hippos, crocodiles and birdlife.
We made our way through the reeds, and out into the open water, then started cruising the marshes and shorelines. We saw eagles, white pelicans, and many, many shorebirds. But the big show was still to come.
When a hippo pops up from under water, you are treated to just a glimpse of the awesome beast, the majority of which remains submerged. You get a snort, that massive head , and the delicate ear shake. They eye you. Your threat potential is being calculated.
If you get too close, they open their jaws wide to show you what kind of trouble you could be in for. Then the guide running the boat starts the motor and backs off significantly, muttering, "Too close," as he adjusts his position. They can emerge anywhere, and it is difficult to get a sense of which direction they are traveling. But we saw some beauties.
Then it was time to see the crocodiles. I had spotted a little one sunning itself on a rock, but it was only maybe four or five feet long. It was time to wade into the reeds and see the big ones. We had to cross a sandbar, so there was a point when the boatmen had to get out and take turns pushing each boat over the sticking points. As they were doing this, someone spotted a big head silently rise out of the water to our right. It was a big crocodile head. He went down and up a few more times, all the while our boatman is casually standing in the water. Of course, crocodiles kill their prey by drowning them, so it turns out that standing on a sandbar isn't the worst place to be when a crocodile is in the area. The shallowness of the water doesn't lend itself to the crocodile's preferred kill method. But still...it was a little worrisome.
When it was our turn to take to the marsh, we went in slowly and quietly. It was immediately apparent that this was where they hang out. There were launching decks of mud, with giant foot prints in them, on the shoreline. We were sitting pretty low in the boat, too, so that was a little intimidating.
Then we saw it.
A crocodile that had to be at least 12-14 feet long, maybe more, since the tail was in the water. Our boatman just rowed right up to it, and all of us got a chance to see it and take pictures. I couldn't believe my eyes, really. It was like the camel on the road...that "Oh my, here I am in Ethiopia, with a giant ass crocodile laying right there!" It was surreal.
Then we rounded a bend and saw another giant one. This one was sitting facing us with those giant jaws wide open, and then I heard a rumble. It was like the water was vibrating. It was a crocodile growl. Our boatman got us very close, probably within five feet. If it had wanted to launch itself into the boat, it could have easily done so. It was a little scary, but also so hypnotizing, that it was impossible to be too worried. One woman on my boat was whispering, "Ok, this is a little too close," "All right, that's good enough," "Too close!" But I just kept shooting. If it had moved, I think we all would have clutched each other, screamed like little girls and peed our pants, but it didn't. It was glorious, prehistoric, and downright fight or flight scary, but worth every second.
On the way out of the park, our caravan met another caravan. A cattle herd. A whole, giant herd of them, completely taking up the entire road. Big horns, big beasts, big problem. The drivers usually slow way down and honk, and sort of edge their way around the cattle, while the herder sort of swats them into going the right direction with his stick. Our car, the first one, made it through without incident. But car number two got completely stuck. It turned out that the kid herding the cattle had herded them into the path of car two, resulting in the herd getting excited and confused, because their way was blocked by this big vehicle. In their confusion, the herd started bumping and shaking the card denting it, and impeding it from moving.
The driver, Teddy, got out and yelled at the kid who was herding, and the kid said something back, and Teddy grabbed the stick from the kid and almost gave him a thumping. The people in the car said that Teddy was angry because the herd was directed at the car. This would turn out to be only the first instance of a kid getting a threatened (or real) beating today.
After I got up,I covered myself in sunscreen, waited 30 minutes, then covered myself in insect repellent. I smelled so awful. Luckily, everyone else stinks as well.
We headed out, and I angled to get into Car One. It is the best car to be in for wildlife sightings, because for one, Claude is in it, and he knows what should be there and how to spot it. The second reason is simple. It goes in first, so you see whatever it is you are looking for before it runs off.
On the way into the park, we were doing some bird spotting, when I saw a baboon run across the street. Our guide said, yes, they are friendly and will come to the car. Turns out they like the bananas that people throw them, and that is why they are so friendly and come right up to the car. These were Anubis baboons.
As we drove deeper into the park, we could see many beautiful Acacia trees. They look like larger than life bonsai sculptures. The people here hang bee hives in them, I'm still hoping for a good shot of that.
We saw giants storks again, an almost purple heron that was magnificent, and another double crested eagle. At one point, Claude was rattling off what birds we saw yesterday, Abyssinian this, Abyssinian that. Then Muleguita, our guide and driver, said, "Look, squirrel!" As one ran across our path. I said, "Was it an Abyssinian squirrel?" That got a laugh. But, technically, it probably was.
We arrived at the boat launch and started our trip on Lake Chamo, which is the third largest lake in Ethiopia and is home to many hippos, crocodiles and birdlife.
We made our way through the reeds, and out into the open water, then started cruising the marshes and shorelines. We saw eagles, white pelicans, and many, many shorebirds. But the big show was still to come.
When a hippo pops up from under water, you are treated to just a glimpse of the awesome beast, the majority of which remains submerged. You get a snort, that massive head , and the delicate ear shake. They eye you. Your threat potential is being calculated.
If you get too close, they open their jaws wide to show you what kind of trouble you could be in for. Then the guide running the boat starts the motor and backs off significantly, muttering, "Too close," as he adjusts his position. They can emerge anywhere, and it is difficult to get a sense of which direction they are traveling. But we saw some beauties.
Then it was time to see the crocodiles. I had spotted a little one sunning itself on a rock, but it was only maybe four or five feet long. It was time to wade into the reeds and see the big ones. We had to cross a sandbar, so there was a point when the boatmen had to get out and take turns pushing each boat over the sticking points. As they were doing this, someone spotted a big head silently rise out of the water to our right. It was a big crocodile head. He went down and up a few more times, all the while our boatman is casually standing in the water. Of course, crocodiles kill their prey by drowning them, so it turns out that standing on a sandbar isn't the worst place to be when a crocodile is in the area. The shallowness of the water doesn't lend itself to the crocodile's preferred kill method. But still...it was a little worrisome.
When it was our turn to take to the marsh, we went in slowly and quietly. It was immediately apparent that this was where they hang out. There were launching decks of mud, with giant foot prints in them, on the shoreline. We were sitting pretty low in the boat, too, so that was a little intimidating.
Then we saw it.
A crocodile that had to be at least 12-14 feet long, maybe more, since the tail was in the water. Our boatman just rowed right up to it, and all of us got a chance to see it and take pictures. I couldn't believe my eyes, really. It was like the camel on the road...that "Oh my, here I am in Ethiopia, with a giant ass crocodile laying right there!" It was surreal.
Then we rounded a bend and saw another giant one. This one was sitting facing us with those giant jaws wide open, and then I heard a rumble. It was like the water was vibrating. It was a crocodile growl. Our boatman got us very close, probably within five feet. If it had wanted to launch itself into the boat, it could have easily done so. It was a little scary, but also so hypnotizing, that it was impossible to be too worried. One woman on my boat was whispering, "Ok, this is a little too close," "All right, that's good enough," "Too close!" But I just kept shooting. If it had moved, I think we all would have clutched each other, screamed like little girls and peed our pants, but it didn't. It was glorious, prehistoric, and downright fight or flight scary, but worth every second.
On the way out of the park, our caravan met another caravan. A cattle herd. A whole, giant herd of them, completely taking up the entire road. Big horns, big beasts, big problem. The drivers usually slow way down and honk, and sort of edge their way around the cattle, while the herder sort of swats them into going the right direction with his stick. Our car, the first one, made it through without incident. But car number two got completely stuck. It turned out that the kid herding the cattle had herded them into the path of car two, resulting in the herd getting excited and confused, because their way was blocked by this big vehicle. In their confusion, the herd started bumping and shaking the card denting it, and impeding it from moving.
The driver, Teddy, got out and yelled at the kid who was herding, and the kid said something back, and Teddy grabbed the stick from the kid and almost gave him a thumping. The people in the car said that Teddy was angry because the herd was directed at the car. This would turn out to be only the first instance of a kid getting a threatened (or real) beating today.
Comments
Post a Comment