Sabi Sabi - Selati Camp - June, 2013

We arrive at Selati Camp and once again are treated to luxury.  The balcony from the dining area looks out across a plain with a watering hole, where zebra, wildebeest and one lone impala, we have nicknamed Suicide Sam, are grazing.  Why the name Suicide Sam?  It is extremely dangerous for an animal to live outside of its herd but Suicide has chosen to do so and is somehow still surviving.

 

Much to our surprise, our room is the honeymoon suite.  That’s Gilbert somewhere in that comfy bed.  And what about the view from the outdoor shower and bathtub – a chance to go full monty with the wildlife, although we never used it as we would somehow have to fit it in to the demanding safari schedule.  Our only chances for outdoor bathing are very early morning or evening which is too dark or the afternoon and it is just too hot for us at that time.

 

Our first safari from Selati is an evening one with our new Ranger, Craig, and his Tracker, Zeb.  There are 6 of us in the group as we set out on the trail.  One of the first animals we encounter is a White Rhino.  Through our questions to Craig about the Rhino and its symbiotic relationship with the birds and insects that prey on it, we are given the most amazing chronicle of the life cycle of a tick, from its initial start with 2 legs to its mature stage with 6 legs.  The next day Craig even found a tick so we could see what the insect looks like.  I realized quite quickly on that if our guide could get me excited about a tick, he was something special.  It wasn’t only his knowledge but also his extraordinary communication skills in explaining nature to us.  I thought, he must have a photographic memory and referred to him as wikipaedia which eventually led to Craig-apaedia.  I can’t stress enough that his knowledge of plants and animals is phenomenal and we have learned so much.  This is not to take away from our first guide Steve but Craig was just a notch above.

 

I digressed about our first evening safari with Craig and Zeb so will continue with the story.  After the White Rhino, we found a Cape Buffalo that appeared to be on a mission.  He was walking across an open field, every now and then rubbing up against trees to ease the pain and itch in his horns from the insects that plague him.  Cape Buffalo are extremely unpredictable in their nature and will often charge for no apparent reason.  And yet, we followed him at a fairly close range, but making sure never to impede his path.  We soon discovered his intent – the watering hole that is in front of the Selati Camp viewing area.  He was after an evening drink and then a soothing mud bath before heading off into the bush.  Our Cape Buffalo mission accomplished we headed for a Sundowner.

 

So every evening just before sunset, the Ranger and Tracker find a nice safe place to park the jeep for the Sundowner.  It is a chance to stretch our legs, have a drink and celebrate our safari fortunes during the day while enjoying the glow of a red, African sunset.

 

But just because the sun has set, it doesn’t mean our day is over. Instead, it is time for the night safari in the dark to begin.  The jeep headlights go on and the Tracker turns on a spotlight searching for the nocturnal animals who are just coming to life.  We all peer into the light of the spotlight, trying not to go dizzy as the Tracker oscillates it back and forth. 

Truth be told, our eyes are really no match for the night vision of the Tracker.  For example, Zeb was able to detect the colour white against some green and held up his hand to stop the jeep.  Sure enough, he saw a small lizard that had a white patch on its side.  Upon close examination, the lizard had been bitten by a snake and was oozing a bit of blood, which caused the injured area to turn white.  Our Ranger’s guess is that bite was very recent and the snake was probably nearby waiting to reclaim its victim.  Unfortunately, we cannot step in and alter the course of nature so had to put the lizard back where he had been, once again to await his fate.  The snake will either have its meal or the lizard will die from the bite.

 

Another safari story – We are on the morning safari when we come across a few elephants eating their way through the bush.  This stands out in my mind because this huge, male elephant is bending a large tree to the ground with its trunk.  We thought it might uproot the tree in its entirety so it could feast on the tree root, apparently a much sought after snack.  For some unknown reason the elephant let go of the tree, perhaps not up to snuff (?) and it once again stood upright.  That being said, the path of an elephant can be quite destructive - clear evidence is the number of dead, uprooted trees to indicate an elephant has been there. 

Craig-apaedia had us take a close look at how the elephant actually eats – stripping the bark off a branch with its teeth, swallowing it and then tossing aside the branch with the top leaves still intact.  To ensure we understood, Craig even demonstrated the technique to us.

 

Our time at both of the Sabi Sabi camps is starting to come to a close.  Gilbert and I are a touch disappointed with ‘lady luck’ as we only had a brief glimpse of a leopard in the dark and our spotting of lions has been when they are fast asleep in the grass.  Nothing to write home about.  To add insult to injury, we have seen pictures from other guests and they all seem to have some amazing story and photos to tell in regards to these two animals.

 

We head out on our final evening safari.  The goal – to find the leopard that has been lurking near the Selati Camp for the past day or so.  Craig and Zeb are hot on the trail, having spotted very fresh leopard tracks in the sandy road.  The tracks veer off into the bush.  So Craig and Zeb decide to follow them – but on foot.  Craig loads his trusty rifle, Zeb grabs his machete and the 2 of them jump off the jeep, tell the 6 of us to stay put and disappear into the bush, promising to return in about 10 minutes.  So here we sit, in a completely open jeep, with no weapons for defense, no windows to close, wondering what we will do if the leopard actually does appear - ‘Who will take one for the team’?  As it turns out, no one.  Craig and Zeb eventually reappear empty handed, our suspense over.  Although we will continue the evening looking for the leopard, a sighting is not meant to be.  We do stumble across a hippo in the dark who makes a bit of a charge at Zeb and then retreats.  Our excitement for the day over, we head back to camp for a delicious dinner.

 

And then…. our final, intense 16 hours at the camp!

 

Our dinner begins and all of a sudden we hear the roar of a lion.  Craig’s radar ears listen and he tells us it is probably from 2 male lions that are very near the camp.  We continue eating and hear another roar.  Craig now thinks the lions are at the watering hole just a stone’s throw away.  He says, “let’s go find those lions after dinner”.  Of course we all are keen and agree.

 Here we are, in the pitch dark, Craig driving and shining the spotlight with no Zeb up front for back-up protection.  Driving around for about half an hour, not having any success, Craig turns to us and says he will give it one more try and then we will call it a night.  No sooner does he say this when just around the bend in the road we come across 3 huge, male lions sleeping in front of us.  Craig immediately stops the jeep and begins to shine the spotlight on them.  The lions could care less

about us.  Thank goodness as they are only 6-8 feet away.  Craig really wants us to hear them roar and decides to turn off all lights, hoping they will comply.  Now the 7 of us sit, in the pitch dark, unable to see anything, in the open jeep, with 3 male lions by our side – the only sound is of the lion’s breathing (and my pounding heart!).  I trust Craig when he says it is safe(actually, I have no other alternative but to trust him at this point) but on the other hand, we are one leap away from being a meal, and a big one at that.

 

Well, after 10 minutes or so the lions have not roared.  The spotlight goes on (phew!) and the lions get up and saunter off down the road with us trailing closely behind.  Craig then pulls ahead and waits for the lions to pass us, one by one, so close we could reach out and pet them if we wanted to. 

They pass behind the jeep out of the spotlight range and then, as if not to disappoint us, they let out an incredible roar, enough to shake the jeep and us!. That did it, I am convinced we are surrounded and ask Craig to turn the spotlight on them.  He does so while ensuring me they are now further off in the distance.  Gilbert has just turned off the video or he would have caught my comment and immense sigh of relief –‘ I need to calm my heart down or they (the lions) will think I am the weak one’.  Although unintentional, that sure brought out the laughs from everyone.  We stayed with the lions a bit longer and then packed it in for the evening although I doubt anyone fell asleep quickly as one couldn’t help but relive the moment over and over in their mind.

 

The next morning I checked, just to be sure, if Suicide had made it through the evening.  Sure enough, he was out in the pasture.  Later that day, we did come across a zebra that had clearly been attacked by a lion but lived to tell the story - a huge scar across its side as a reminder it’s a dangerous world out there.

 

For Gilbert and I, our desire to see lions has been more than just satisfied – we are elated.  We now have one last morning safari before we leave.  Craig is still determined to find us the leopard.  But first stop, let’s see if we can have one more glimpse of those lions.  We start out, but a call quickly comes over the radio from another Ranger.  Craig says hold on - we are on the hunt for something but what, he won’t tell us.  For 20 minutes or so he is racing to get somewhere, our jeep flying over bumps and all of us flying off our seats in unison. 

It is a mad dash and then just as suddenly as it began, Craig stops the jeep, says get your cameras ready and in that instant, 3 wild dogs come walking out of the bush.  Their mottled coats of fur are beautiful.  This is a rare sighting indeed of these animals as they are an endangered species so not many are in existence. 

As well, they are very elusive, travelling so fast they are not often seen.  What good fortune for us as the dogs lie down on the side of the road for a few photo-op minutes and then in a flash they get up and are gone.  I promise you, this has been a safari bonus.

 

But the morning is still young so Craig says let’s give it one last try to find the leopard.  There has been another sighting so off we go through thick brush and trees with Zeb using his machete to hack down branches and amazing but true, we come across a beautiful male leopard. 

You can feel his strength and power as he slowly makes his way down a dry river bed.  Once again, we are in awe as we sit, watch and film this leopard in earnest. 

I think we must have stayed on his trail for about an hour.  By then it is time for a late breakfast, then pack and catch the next plane out of the camp.

 

We are sad to be leaving the camp but go with some incredible stories and memories and several hundred pictures to look through.  And as for our wildlife viewing, it  did not quite end there.  On the way to the airport we spotted a lizard on a river bank, soaking up a bit of sun.  Then in the airport washroom, as I am just washing my hands, I look up to the ceiling and notice I have a couple bats for company.  I don’t freak out but neither do I hang around – I just send Gilbert in for the pictures.

 

A side note – there have been so many additional stories I could tell.  Instead, I will just add a few pictures here from those ‘hundreds’ we are amassing.  We also have videos that eventually will be edited and sent.  But for now, Tanzania here we come for another safari adventure.