Hello all: Thursday May 8,2008
     Time for a break. On Wednesday at 1:00 Steve,the Wartburg students and I depart Morogoro bound for Mikumi Wildlife Refuge. The drive is west down the good road about 2 hours. We know that we are not in Kansas anymore when we see the triangular sign along the side of the road reading,"watch for elephants". Mikumi is 4000 square miles,mostly low flat grasslands land bordered by mountains. 

We arrive at 3:00,check in to our thatch roofed huts,and board the bus again on the hunt for Africa's "big 5". Not much time goes by and we see dozens of impala's,zebra's,giraffe and birds that I cannot name even though I was told. I do remember the vultures and thinking they would like the soft meat on our Iowa bones.

The roads are 1 lane natural gravel and sand paths that travel over small streams and wind all over the park. This is the end of the rainy season so at some crossroads sticks are laid across the path warning that they are not yet passable. We go to the hippo pond and are entertained by watching 6-8 hippos as they come up for air. Further along we see warthogs,baboons,gazelles  and water buffalo. Also wildebeest by the score. The migration of the wildebeest is the largest migration of animals anywhere in the world. Their numbers are estimated at 1.5 billion. They travel back and forth northward and then southward across Africa each year. I have seen video from an airplane of the migration and the line is nonstop for miles and miles.

As the sun is setting we spot 3 lions in a tree. The sunlight turns them a golden color making this a great shot for the newest National Geographic photographers from Iowa. Of course I thought it would be a good idea to get out of the bus, but that is not allowed. Good rule I guess. Eventually all 3 climb nimbly down and walk right in front of our bus to join some baby cubs that were before obscured by the tall grass. Cute.

As the sunsets we travel back to the lodge for a great dinner under a huge thatched roof that is built around a very old and large native reddish tree. The structures are all made to blend into this natural environment. While they are modern they are not over the top. The generator goes off at 10:00PM and we are all under our mosquito nettings for a nights sleep. Weird noises are all around. Dozens of impala are about 25 yards outside of our hut. They fight once in a while as we shine flashlights on them to see their eyes glow back at us. The stars here are unbelievably bright with dense clusters. We see the big dipper upside down since this is the southern hemisphere and the southern cross that is not visible in the northern hemisphere. Truly amazing and worth the trip.

   Wide awake again at 5:30 a.m. to see the sunrise as we again travel around the park in the bus. Just as the sun rises we spot a leopard in a tree. Great timing again. Seeing the lions and a leopard is somewhat rare for the infrequent visitor. Last year we saw neither. The big 5 are in Africa are elephant,lion,hippo,leopard and black rhino. We see all but the rhino.

    Pater Herb Hafermann sees a pile of rocks at an intersection of  the road. These,chest high piles of rocks serve as markers for the guides and provides distances to the next intersection. Herb,one of the better story tellers I know, begins to capture our attention by telling us that last year as he,his wife Kirsten and his family were here the SUV became immobile. So Herb the warrior set out on foot to save the family. The sun sets and it is dark. Pitch black. Herb hears noises as he sits atop of one of the "markers at an intersection waiting for the park ranger to make a last check for those who have checked in for the day. While atop of the rocks he hears the load crunching of grass,the noise comes closer and closer and louder and louder. A heard of elephants of course. There are numerous signs throughout the park cautioning humans not to mess with elephants. They are now almost side by side with him. What should he do in the blackness? He bangs a stick and makes load guttural sounds and scares them away. A brave and lucky warrior indeed! His new granddaughter,born just after he left Waverly for this trip will have great bedtime stories from grandpa.

     By 10;00 it is back to camp and time for a super large American like breakfast. By 1:00 we depart back to Morogoro,with a short stop at the snake farm, where cobras are king, knowing that we could not have scripted a better 26 hour safari.
     More later.

Click here for a gallery of the pictures so far.