Safari Part 1b

August 29, 2009 (The second extra day: Lake Manyara)

Continued...

Upon entering the park we spot more baboon. Then vervet monkeys. And then more zebra, giraffe and some impala. We move on and soon stop and get out at the hippo pool.

The hippo are all in a group, mostly submerged, so I’m admiring a fish eagle, when Mike interrupts. ‘This is really rare. Look, look at that hippo, that male.’

We see him. He appears to also just be hanging out.

‘Look, he is mating.’

Now we’re talking. Some hippo sex. Bring it on, Planet Earth, you got nothing on this. We look. What I see is a hippo, sitting in a pool.

‘He’s mating?’

‘Yes.’

‘With who?’

‘The female is under the water, you see. She will stay under the water the whole time. But look closely and sometimes you will see her breathe.’

We look, and sure enough, periodically, we see her two little nostrils surface just ahead of him. This is it folks. Hippo sex. Not nearly as exciting as one would hope. We stay at the pool for about a half an hour; watching the eagle hunt, the other birds, and the impala. And during that time, our hippo friend doesn’t seem to change. So I guess he has stamina. He has that going for him. Well done hippo. Well done. Elephant sex lasts less than a minute and it only occurs every 4 or 5 years. I’d rather be the hippo I guess.

Back in the land rover, and we spot our first tembo (elephant). Baby and mama. Amazing. During our trip we will see a number of elephant. They are always mesmerizing.

But it is a bit disturbing to witness how destructive they are. They pull down the trees and kill them as they strip them of leaves and bark. And often move on and break another tree before finishing the first. The path of destruction left by a family of elephant is easy to see and fairly wide.

We also spot a number of hornbill, a great kingfisher, and a grey-headed kingfisher, as well as our first wild pigs. We spend a lovely day in the park and at dust return to the hotel.

We spend the evening watching the football (soccer) match with Mike, Manchester United vs. Arsenal, and then off to bed. Tomorrow we will head to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Photos: Grey-headed Kingfisher. Tembo. Happy Male hippo--note nostrils in front. Close up of hippo sex. Punda Milia.