African Safari--Day 2

Our wake-up knock on the door was at 5:30 a.m., and by 6 p.m., we were all settled in the land cruiser singing "Happy Birthday" to Leonard, our guide, who turned 47. Our hopes were high that we spot some lions and leopards today. Our early morning sightings were of hippos, who live to an average age of 42, and elephants, who live to 65. Leonard explained that elephants do not die of old age but rather of starvation. Elephants are born with six sets of molars, with each set lasting about 10 years. When the last set goes, they cannot chew anymore. We followed a middle-aged elephant, probably between 30 and 40, up close and personal by driving through the bush and watching him grab the branches by his trunk and enjoying his fill of leaves. The bulls keep growing until they reach 6 tons.

Then we spotted a warthog with a face that only a mother could love. In fact, the baby warthog looked just like his mother. A herd of buffaloes were resting nearby. One of the land cruiser's drivers put out a call to the other drivers that he had spotted a lion. So all the land cruisers in our section of the park had a reunion at that spot but no one saw a lion. We just waved merrily to our fellow passengers who were on the safari sponsored by the Pacific Princess.

After a two-course breakfast back at the lodge that we thought was complete with the fruit plate before Golden took our orders for eggs, bacon, sausage and numerous other breakfast foods, Leonard offered to take us to the main lodge. Marianne, Sylvia and Sara accepted the extra ride through the beautiful countryside to Shishangeni, a half-hour drive away. When they were almost there, we passed a land cruiser carrying our deputy cruise director Frankie and other ship passengers on their way to visit our lodge. The extra amenities of the rooms at the main lodge included a mini-refrigerator, a telephone and a separate bathroom for the bathtub, sink and toilet plus a workout room and a curio shop. However, we agreed that our lodging had considerably more charm, plus the watering hole behind the Shawu and the faithful blow horns in case of an emergency.

On the trip back to our lodge, we saw a group of young impalas that Leonard said had been born in November. Was this a nursery school for them? In addition to looking at us like they knew we must be substitutes and not their regular teachers, they exhibited a sense of calmness that communicated that they had never seen a lion in this part of the reserve since they were born so we should not expect to see one either. When the three adventurers arrived back at Shawu, the land cruiser with Frankie and the gang was getting ready to leave. Ken said that he had shown Frankie our accommodations but the rest of the passengers preferred to sit on the deck behind the main building and admire the animals drinking and bathing in the watering hole. Several crocodiles joined the party in their honor.

After a delicious lunch, Bev had a massage while the rest of us spent the afternoon on the deck behind the main building or our private decks either relaxing in the sun or watching our own menagerie of African animals. When it was time to leave for our 4 p.m. game run, we debated whether we should just stay on the decks and watch the animals from there. But we were determined to spot a lion. While we had hoped for third time's the charm, we had to settle for three strikes and you're out. No lions but a lovely close-up of an elephant and another sundowner with wine and snacks in the wild.

Back at the camp, we enjoyed a fantastic going-away dinner and turned in early for our 4:15 a.m. wake-up knock on our door to leave for the airport at 5 a.m. When we finished our trip in India, we all agreed that it was incredible but none of us decided to put India on our list of countries to which we must return. As we were completing our safari, our first thought was "How soon can we do this again?" This experience was totally awesome and should be repeated as often as possible!