Simbavati - Second Day

I was looking forward to experiencing the morning game drive, since I missed it yesterday.  The knock on the door came at 5:30 AM as promised, but Sue and I were already awakened by the unfamiliar noises of the bush.  The mornings are advertised as "very cold", and I had long gloves, underwear, pants and sweater, and a shell. Even so, once you get into the open air Land Rovers, the 37 degree weather seems even colder, so they give us a blanket and a hot water bottle. The first hour is indeed very cold, but it warms up quickly once the sun rises.

Morning Sunrise

We tracked a lion pair through the morning mist for about 30 minutes or so, hoping to see a live kill. The driver of our Land Rover thinks he is an animal as well, so we crashed through the bush following the lions, running over trees and bushes like they weren't even there. Bryce loved it.

Our lion in the mist

The rest of the morning we tried to track a pair of rhinos unsuccessfully, but on our way home we saw some giraffes and a warthog family.  Both sets of animals were kind enough to pose for us.

Morning Giraffe

Warthog mommy protecting the kids

The afternoon game drive was equally interesting.  As a part of our "bucket list", we wanted to have a cape buffalo encounter, and we weren't disappointed. Our guides found a herd of about 400 buffalo, and knew exactly where they were going to go.  We parked at their destination - a popular watering hole - and awaited their arrival. You could see a dust cloud in the distance coming closer and closer, and eventually the sound of a couple thousand hoofs filled the air. As they approached the watering hole, they broke into a trot to get to the water. It was quite a sight.

Cape Buffalo

The herd getting a drink

Video: The Epic Cape Buffalo Migration