Mikumi

Wednesday and Thursday of this week were spent at Mikumi National Park. We left after lunch on Wednesday and made the short drive to the park. When we arrived we unloaded our things at the lodge and had a soda before going out to the bush. As we drank our soda zebras, elephants and buffalo were all drinking at the water hole only a 20 yards away from us- I already knew this was going to be a great trip.

That night we were in the bush to watch the sunset. We had seen so many animals: zebras, elephants, cape buffalo, baboons, wildebeests, hartebeests, impala, warthog, giraffes, a hippo, and numerous birds. It was unreal. At one point we got out and walked around a water hole. Our footprints were minimal compared to the elephants prints we were walking next too. I thought I was living in the Lion King :)

When we arrived back at the lodge we passed a huge herd of cape buffalo on their way to the water hole. There were probably at least 150 of them. Because it was dark, we couldn’t see them well but we could scene their presence. We went back into our rooms before supper and when we were going to walk over the to main lodge, they had moved in and were between our cabins. They were only about 10 feet away from us as we walked on the sidewalk. It was a pretty unique experience but dangerous at the same time. A worker had told us that buffalo are responsible for more human deaths then any other animal in the forest.

We ate super by candle light with a gentle breeze in the air. We could hear splashing in the water hole and the restlessness of animals as they walked around. That night, I fell asleep to the sounds of elephants.

The next morning we woke early in hopes of seeing lions. After getting ready, we went out to the porch and saw 10-15 elephants at the water hole. They slowly meandered across camp, through the cabins. When we walked to the lodge for tea, the elephants were only a few yards away.

We went out into the bush and drove around for most of the morning. We once again saw many animals. In the late morning another vehicle on the road flashed their lights at us. We drove to them and they told us they had seen lions. We went to the area where they told us they were- there were three of them and we drove off the road to get a closer view. Three females sat under the tree undisturbed by our presence. Elephants were on one side of the tree and buffalo on another. I am sure they were much more occupied with watching these animals.

The rest of the day was spent driving and looking at animals. We left the park and went to a snake farm before driving home. Mikumi was a really great experience and it was nice to have a mini break from Swahili class.

I hope all is well back home! Take care- michael