Day 13: Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Well, Jean assured us that we would have a “very bumpy van ride to Sarova Shaba Lodge” – and we did, at least the last half. The first half was actually not too bad; however, the latter half was filled with bumps in the road (when we were on it) and some bumps off the road (which was about half the time)! We arrived about 10:30 and had our luggage in the rooms by 11:30 and then “rested” until lunch at 12:30.

This afternoon, we went out for our first safari drive and were blessed with many sitings of a variety of animals. We were able to see the following animals:

· Grand Gazelle (generally in herds)
· Impala (in a group of males only as well as a group of females with a single male)
· Ground Squirrels several places as they scurried about
· Gerenuk. This is an animal that stands on its hind feet to eat but is part of the antelope family (not the “giraffe wanna be’s).
· Oryx (several times in groups. These animals have long sharp horns that they use to spear predators with – including lions).
· Prairie Chickens / Guinea
· Baboons (smaller ones in small groups; nothing really large or intimidating)
· Grevy Zebras: These have a narrow strive and their stomach remains white
· Common Zebras (whose stripes are a little wider and continue around the stomach area.
· Sumari Ostriches (far away). These have a blue neck and legs and are located on the north side of the equator only; the ones on the south side have pink necks and legs. The gestation period is 42 days; and the predominant female (i.e., the first one to lay an egg in a communal basket) and the predominant male (who is attached to the predominant female) are the ones who sit on the nest: the male at night and the female in the day time.
· Elephants
· Water buck (several, but always by themselves)
· Crocodile sunning
· Several giraffes
· Water / Cape Buffalo
· Maribou stork (far off, but we saw one)
· A female lion. Part of the thrill of seeing this lion was watching her as she went from resting in the sun to rising in pursuit of a gerenuk. They ran in front of our van; the gerenuk managed to escape on this night, and the lion walked off.

Thanks to the lion, we were late leaving the park but the guards seemed to be understanding as they realize that tourists don’t always see the animals they come in hopes of seeing.

Submitted by Kellye J