Expedition Post 1 of 3

 Hello dear friends and family. Hamjambo to you all. Hope I haven't missed too much since I've been gone. Apparently Davidson made it to the tournament again. That's bitter-sweet to hear, but all the same it's exciting. Hope I can find a  bracket so I can do March Madness here.

Anyways, about Expedition Nakuru 2012... After about eight hours of driving our caravan arrived at the park in the mid-afternoon. We got out of our vehicles to stretch our legs only to observe a menagerie of wildlife around the perimeter fence (Lake Nakuru National Park is a completely closed system, surrounded entirely by electric fence and the town of Nakuru).

First, there were Vervet monkeys, Olive baboons and impala. Our car saw a monkey literally jump into a visitor's car and take her trash. Man they were crazy. Plus I got super close; so close I could have grabbed it I think. There was a multitude of young monkeys climbing all over the gate as the antelope grazed in the background. We also saw the Defassa waterbuck, well known in Nakuru, especially by Dr. Shem Mwasi, our Wildlife Management professor. They're his favorite.

After arriving at camp, we went over the conditions of the stay and set up our tents. We only ran into a small conflict with the baboons, everyone got away. They just aren't afraid of white women. And the only reason they ran from me is because I had a slingshot or a knife. Granted that was the only real close call.

The following morning, I woke up around 5am and saw buffalo standing right outside camp (If I could upload the video I took I definitely would). I knew then that I was gonna love this particular camping trip. After a quick morning class, we went up to a place called Baboon Cliff to enjoy an incredible view of the lake. On the way, we saw zebra, waterbuck, impala, gazelle, hundreds of buffalo, and even a group of white rhinos. It was an incredibly beautiful place, covered in green. Absolutely gorgeous. While heading back to camp for lunch, one of the cars had stopped in front of us. We had no idea why, but it became quite evident as we looked across the canopy. A breathtaking spotted cat emerged from the shadows and danced across a tree branch. Finally, I'd seen a leopard. My Big Five sightings are now complete. It was absolutely amazing.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Swahili Word of the Day: chui which means leopard

bro tip #1649
sometimes complicated problems have simple solutions. chill out, dude.

Tutaonana,
-Ian