Last day in Simbavati

We had one more day in this African paradise to see some of the animals we had yet to fully enjoy.  We also switched drivers, as some of our party were raving about a particular guide.  Our previous guide, Jimmy, was probably the best tracker of the bunch, but he was also the quietest, so we had to really ask him a lot of questions to get information out of him.  The other two guides were more chatty and personable, and would often just stop the vehicle and explain about a particular bird or tree.

On this last day, I finally got to see a crocodile, and a herd of bathing hippos – all in the same pond.  The croc even opened his mouth really wide for us as he was sunbathing next to the pond.  He must have been 15 feet long.  Nearby, about 10 hippos were happily lounging, with just their heads or eyes above water.  Every so often, one would open his mouth wide for us, as if to show off.

We also encountered another pride of lions. Our driver brought the vehicle within 20 feet of them, and they didn’t seem to mind us while they were sleeping off their last meal.

At night, it was showtime by the boma.  A boma is a traditional African barbecue, introduced by the British.  They spread out the coals, and had chicken and sausages in enclosed flay grills that were easy to rotate.  While the food was cooking, a couple of the boys in our group did an Eminem rap for us, and then I did a fire poi show for our group and the staff, which was really well receive in spite of the fact I dropped the poi a couple of times.  The staff had never seen anything like it before, and they gave me some nice compliments.  Then, the entire staff sang an African happy birthday to Cindi, Bryce and Laurel. And then we feasted on delicious barbecue meat, with some tasty vegetables and a white polenta-like grain.  After inner, we just sat around the barbecue campfire and chatted.  It was a glorious day.