July was a busy and exciting month. It all started when the lions from the Masek pride killed a giraffe about two hundred metres from our end room. All the staff from the lodge took it in turns to go out in the car to see the lions. Damian a new staff member, who has just started working in our kitchen, had never before seen a lion. I think it was quite a thrill for him to see wild lions and hopefully he’ll see many more at Ndutu.
Once the kill was finished they moved to the lodge, all 16 of them, and plonked themselves down not far from the bar. The peace and tranquility of the African night was shattered and I don’t think many of our guests slept much that night. The roaring was phenomenal, windows rattled and heart rates went up. It was an amazing sound and one that I never get tired of. The morning revealed pug marks around the rooms and down the paths.
In the same week we watched on as a cheetah tried to catch one of our resident impalas. All I saw was a big cloud of dust and running impala and I had no idea what had happened. By the time I asked at the bar what was going on, the dust had settled and the cheetah was resting only a few metres away from the dining room. She was a grand sight sitting behind the “DANGER NO ONE BEYOND THIS POINT” sign, trying to get her breath back.
It would have made a great photograph but as always the camera wasn’t to hand. All the kitchen staff came out to have a look; it was also another first for Damian. She was completely unconcerned by our presence and it was only after about twenty minutes when finally she moved off into the woodland.
We always photograph cheetahs for the Serengeti cheetah watch campaign and encourage guests to do so. [See box on left] Researchers use the pictures to identify and monitor cheetah movements in the Ngorongoro/Serengeti area. Being such a big area it’s impossible for the researchers to be in all places at once, so tourist photos of cheetahs have become an invaluable aid to their research. Of course I’m going to be in big trouble when they find out that I didn’t get a picture of a cheetah in our own Lodge!
The genet cats that live in the rafters above the bar have just had kittens. They caused consternation recently when one of the kittens fell out of the banana thatch onto the floor. Once everyone was persuaded to keep their distance, the mother came down and carried the youngster backup into the thatch apparently none the worst for its experience. The resident herd of impala are spending much time around the lodge, eating the fallen acacia pods. During the night they come right up to the steps of the guestrooms to munch these acacia pods. It sounds like somebody is crunching burnt toast outside your bedroom window.
Two hippos have been seen in and around the Big Marsh, which is very unusual. They looked grand grazing around the swamp recently, with little white socks of soda dust on their feet.
July was an outstanding month for elephants. The Ndutu elephants move over huge distances and sometimes disappear altogether, so it’s a treat to have so many around this month. There’s been plenty of pruning of the acacia woodlands by the elephants around the Marsh, as this is probably the only source of protein available to them. I don’t know if the course swamp grass in the Marsh has much goodness in it? The elephants do eat it at times, though it’s probably not very palatable.
Despite all of this, the ellies still look in good condition, though they still have several months to go before the rains. Every year we hope for early rain. It never seems to arrive early, and then when it does everyone complains about too much rain. Africa is either muddy or dusty, they’re both great but too much of either is a bit trying at times.
Although very dry and dusty there’s still plenty to see. Lots of stunning sunsets and on one recent drive we saw cheetah, lion, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, plenty of gazelles and a serval cat all in the space of an hour. I think we had more than our fair share of luck. Then, that’s what game drives are all about, luck!
Paul,
Ndutu Safari Lodge.
