Finally, a night shift! With all the training and having to cover SAR, I've been getting very few, but when I did, woo hoo! Talking to our local drivers, always thee most connected and the best source of information about areas to avoid, riots, pending trouble, hot spots not to miss, best haircut, where to exchange money, etc. they were shocked at the prices the resort was asking for day trips to Tsavo East National Park. One offered the services of a trustworthy friend, at one quarter of the cost of the hotel tours to Tsavo. The driver arranged for a 5:30am pickup as it's over two hours to the Tsavo East Voi gate, and we had to be back in time to cover the night shift. Alarms were set, gear was packed before bed, and we were there bright eyed and ready for action, but no driver. We later discover that our driver Ali has gone off to pray so we stand patiently by his van until 5:50. When I politely asked why he asked us to be ready for 5:30 when he intended to head off for twenty minutes of prayer, he smiled brightly, nodded, and motioned to enter his van. "We go now" was all that was offered as explanation. We smile as we all know our Western concept of time just doesn't wash in Africa. Best to just accept and roll with it.
Our driver was extremely non aggressive, and we felt very safe despite the condition of our dilapidated and rattling van, but.....we were forever getting stuck behind long lines of heavy trucks bound for Uganda, hauling produce from Mombasa's port into the heart of Africa, creeping up the many inclines at a walking pace, old engines straining and pumping out copious amounts of black smoke, and we are steadily being passed by everyone and anything. We are unsure if our driver has figured out exactly how the gas pedal functions, for he constantly pushes it down to the floor, the engine and our old van surging forward, and he then drops the pedal, the engine eases, we lurch forward in our seats as the van slows, and he immediately pounds it to the floor again, surge, relax, surge, relax and repeat ad naseum. We plod along seemingly unable to pass anyone, despite everyone else doing so with ease, and as the African sun creeps up over the horizon and the heat builds, we ask for the air conditioning and are told we don't have any, and the cost of the hotel tour is looking more and more acceptable. I'd rather be looking at animals in the park than the back of a truck, but hell, it's Africa. We get there when we get there.
Relegated to our fate, we relax and tell flying stories from previous jobs, but even we are surprised when we roll up to the park gate that the two hour drive has taken over three. Ali is off arguing with the park officials and soon we have the top up and are blasting down the dirt roads of Tsavo at a snail's pace. Other tour vans blow by us like we aren't even moving, and I score the horizon with my Swarovskis for signs of wildlife.
We aren't hopeful as the hours creep past, but there has been rain, and the animals are not on the typical dry season watering holes, but down along the now flowing river basin. Ali's FM radio crackles steadily with static and smatterings of Swahili from other tour vans, and after a little redirection we take a few turns and are soon deep amongst the game.
We fall in love with the raised roof concept, bouncing around the dirt roads, standing in shade but with an unencumbered view in all directions, the wind keeping us relatively cool, we laugh like school boys and it's all just too much fun. A tap on the roof gets Ali to stop, my NEX-7 and 300mm lens snap away, we tap again twice and we're off, scouring the brush with my Swarovskis once again.
Giraffes and hartebeest, gazelles and impala, gemsbuck, bushbuck, waterbuck, springbok, lechew, gerenuk, hippos, baboons, zebras, and many, many elephants. It turns into an amazing day. We stop at the Voi Lodge in the park for lunch, and are mesmerized by two large lads scraping by the water hole below us. The young bull elephants appear to be play fighting, but they still make quite a racket and it's impressive to watch. I take a gazillion photos.
Ali does his very best to put us on some cats. Leopards are a very rare sighting indeed, and I was lucky to see a cheetah last year, as well as some lions resting in the shade after devouring an ostrich, and I even got to see a lion on a fresh kill; her face dark red with the blood of the zebra colt under her massive front paws, the parents nearby barking protest, the wild dogs approaching from a distance, but this trip it was not to be. We chased the reports coming in over the radio but they had always moved off by the time we arrived, but considering the game we'd seen, and watching the two elephants scrap....we weren't complaining.
All too soon, it was time to head back into the traffic, back to Mombasa, back to our resort. We hit rush hour on the outskirts of Mombasa and it's gridlock, roasting like an oven in the rancid fumes of countless vehicles vying for the smallest gap. Lurch and quick stop, lurch and quick stop. We drink all our water trying to stay hydrated, we are soaked and dusty and tired, and we see Ali's low fuel light blinking. It's another hour and a half before we make home base. Last time the drive to and from drove me so crazy I ended up taking a room at a lodge in the park and explored from there, but I daresay I got better photos on this short afternoon with Ali. We recommended him to the rest of the crew, and didn't mention the lack of air conditioning.....
For the full photo album, all downloadable full size, please visit;
https://plus.google.com/photos/116188736389762953183/albums/5985748998952600161
No comments:
Post a Comment