So, the ritual had been established:

• For me, up at 5:30am, everyone else 6am,
• Porridge and coffee at 6:15am,
• Load the trucks by 6:30am and on the hunt.

Before the sun was up we were already at the airstrip looking for Cape Buffalo.

Hunting at sunrise

This time, the trackers spotted a group of about eight just out on the plains to the east of us. We parked, already “salad’d up” and started our tracking.

Tracking the Cape

Looking for their tracks

I think we tracked this group about two hours – up this way and back that way, coming back to some spots. These Buffalo were not standing around waiting on us. They were smart and we were upwind. (I promise, I left all my smell goods at home!) Finally, the first score for the morning was

• Cape Buffalo = 1
• Team Worley and the Replacements = 0

Sneaky sneaky

Moving on, we came across quite a few Monkeys, Topi, Water Buck, Reed Buck, Mongoose, Duiker, Bush Buck, Oribi and my new favorite, the Warthog. When they run, their tails go straight up in the air like an antenna. Made me laugh! Wish I got gotten video each time – would make for a great “cheer you up” reel.

run run run!

Not hanging around

Look at that hair! We called her Tina as in Turner.

Tina and Ike

And, had we known how hard it was going to be to find Hartebeest later…….it was this guy’s lucky day.

Hartebeest

And, as our luck would have it, we came upon another group of Cape. So, out of the trucks we climbed, but this time, we decided to do an end around and get downwind of the herd. I refrained from wearing my Channel No 5 that day, but these animal noses are extremely sensitive. The fact that they can smell us before they hear us is indeed quite remarkable considering the entourage that encompasses Team Worley and the Replacements.

We got pretty close

My view – bringing up the rear

Getting Monty set up

But in the end, this wasn’t the herd for us. So, we called it and made the track through the “grass” back to the truck. I use the term grass, but this stuff is eight feet tall at least, it’s like walking through a corn maze where you don’t want to lose sight of the person in front of you or you might not make it out.

• Cape Buffalo = 2
• Team Worley and the Replacements = 0

While I was finding new joys in Warthog spotting, the boys were quick to remind me those tusks weren’t for hanging jewelry on…..

Nice accessories….

Next up was a watering hole full of Baboons.

King of the Water Hole

We got to watch Nature’s version of The Bachlorette, except there wasn’t a rose ceremony. Clearly there was one female and about 20 would be suitors. It was all her current “date” could do to hold her attention while defending his turf.

Trista and….I don’t think this was Ryan

She looked a little disinterested and perhaps this guy was not going to get a rose in the final ceremony.

Baby, wait!

But, he stayed in hot pursuit, sort of reminded me of the Draegers 🙂

And with that, Johnny’s tummy told us it was lunch time and he had a surprise for us – CHEESEBURGERS – it was indeed like paradise!

Happiness is a Cheeseburger in paradise!

And here’s a view of our campfire during the day. You can see how the view of the stars would have been incredible.

Fire pit at Moyowosi

Tea and Coffee before the afternoon hunt

I think eventually, we began to “grow” on our PH’s (Professional Hunters)……

Johnny “enjoying” our company

Nigel telling us what really happened

Rachel in a brief moment of NOT crying while laughing

Penny was always ready to go!

Jim daydreaming of Cape Buffalo

Amy dreaming of anything BUT Cape Buffalo!

Monty’s been so lucky, he’s dreaming of Vegas

Donnie’s dreaming of…..well, we all know what Donnie’s dreaming of….

So, with full tummies, we were ready for the afternoon adventures.

Lights, camera, ACTION!

And very quickly, we got our adventure. We had gone looking for those camp Cape Buffalo again

In search of….

but imagine our surprise when the trackers spotted these cubs,

you can see 2 of the 3 “cubs”

Just hanging out

and their Momma.

Hi Momma

And the most common photo I took all trip – Zebra butts. They weren’t big on photo opps.

Zebra Butts

But wait – I got more butts:

Sable Butts!

And with that…. we called it a good day and headed back to camp for another wonderous sunset and probably our favorite meal of all time – Chicken Fried Warthog!

Wow – What a Day!

Sunset at Moyowosi

If I could remember half the crazy songs we came up with, we’d have one heck of a playlist. On this particular day, Dwight Yoakam came to mind.

Sometime just after 6:30am we were ready to roll again. The camp Topi herd seemed to give us a send off: “Have a great day”, “See y’all tonight”, “Have fun, but be safe.” And within a few minutes, we were again surrounded by new and strange wildlife.

Where’s Waldo?

I like to use this photo (click for larger image) as a shining example of what happens when you combine my photographic skills and Mother Nature’s gift of camouflage. If you can find the monkey in this picture….turns out, most of my photos from the first week are about like this. It became comical. I think I’m going to publish a children’s Seek and Find book.

Here’s another one for you:

Can you see me now?

Okay, now do you see him?

There’s Waldo!

And then, things got interesting. Far far far in the distance… Let me repeat, Far far far in the distance, Johnny and the trackers caught sight of a herd of Cape Buffalo. Someone on Team Worley and the Replacements jokingly asked if we would just stalk them from here. Johnny had them stop the Land Cruiser and we had our answer. At least from this distance they couldn’t hear use clamoring out of the truck. So, we saladed up (yes, it’s now a verb), the boys got their GoPros ready and the great 1000 mile stalk began.

To say we were shocked that no one broke a leg or an ankle during this stalk is an understatement. The terrain was ridiculous. At first sight, it looked like miles of open, flat plains with tall grass (about 7 feet high) just behind the herd.  But those open plains were broken, hardened land with 8 inch drops and 10 inch hills. To be honest, I never looked up at the herd, just down at my feet and the feet in front of me. I think Johnny said we stalked almost a mile. And he wasn’t kidding (Amy and I found out he never did). Donnie had told us the day before that the Cape were very smart and if we stalked in a straight line, they would figure us out. We were given a demo on how to stalk as a tight group. I just the Cape are less scared of a mound of salad moving at them than a salad caterpillar. So, Amy and I did as we were told, put our heads down, squeezed like Ol’ Army and moved slowly en mass.

I don’t know how long we were out there, but we seemed forever and we got pretty close and then, in an instant, they were gone. I looked up and asked what happened. The herd had spooked and they disappeared into the tall grass as if they were figments of our imagination. It was almost eery.

And with that, Johnny’s tummy rumbled, because we were way past his 11sies – meaning his mid-morning snack, so we hiked back to the Land Cruiser and found the first big shady tree to have our brunch.

Loved this guy too, he’s called a Lilac Breasted Roller.  They are gorgeous in flight.

Lilac Breasted Roller

For the next bit we saw Water Buck, their hides look more like coats and they are magnificent, although apparently very oily and therefore not much will eat them. Yea Water Buck! Amy got great at spotting things – Monkeys, Reed Buck, Duiker. Still in search of our Cape Buffalo, we drove past some watering holes to see who might have been through there the last few days.

Searching for Cape Buffalo tracks

We didn’t see much and instead turned our interests to lunch. And if we thought dinner was impressive, lunch equally phenomenal. No vienna sausages here folks but coffee and tea afterwards, because, well, it’s proper.

Lunch a natural

Amy and I were starting to get the program – and this whole sleep when the animals sleep – we could get used to this…

Nap time

On the Road Again, where we saw Batala Eagle, Zebra, Yellow Baboons and Horn Bills. We were told about how the Beaucarneas palm tree seeds germinate – only after they’ve passed through an Elephant – if you know what I mean…

An elephant was here

We went to another watering hole where we came across a couple of Warthogs “hamming” it up in a mud bath.

What’s not to love about a face like that?

And again, Mother Nature’s camouflage – do you see the Roan Antelope?

Over Here!

We stalked another Zebra herd, but goodness, they are tough to sneak up on. Mostly, all I recall from the Zebra stalks are Zebra butts. I have quite a few pictures of those.

And least you think riding around all day in the Land Cruiser is posh, I will remind you of the terrain and I also use the term “road” loosely. However, the ride home made us very thankful for those “roads” as on this evening, we took a new route – as in one that had just been created and never driven on. We were all hoping that at least we may be burning some calories while we got to know each other very well – we’re quite a close group now.

As as reward for all of our efforts, tonight’s dinner was none other than….Jim’s Topi. And Topi steaks are Wowza! Delicious! We were all sending props to the chef as we patted our once again full tummies at the firepit and remarked “Wow….what a day.”

The wake up calls came about 5:30am, before the sun was even breaking the horizon of the wide plains to our east. We gathered at the dining tent for a warm breakfast on a chilly and damp morning.

Coffee was ready and appreciated

We joked that Donnie’s adamant statements about how “it never rains here this time of year” are surely what brought the rain shower the night before during the Dry Season. Johnny and Nigel (our Professional Hunters) explained how it might change where the animals would be given the change in water supply over night.  But our hearts and heads were filled with excitement at the prospect of what we might see.

After coffee and other forms of caffeine, the girls were ready!

Team Worley and the Replacements were off by 6:30am in one direction and the Draeger Safari in the other. I had no idea what the day would bring, I just wanted to be invisible and do as I was told – after all, Big Game Boys Monty and Jim were serious and committed to the hunt, so Amy and I would have to Ooh and Aww in silence (ok, that didn’t last long.)

We had been less than 2 minutes from Camp when Johnny and the trackers spotted our first thrill – two Cape Buffalo. They were bigger than I could have imagined in my mind and now I understood their name. Their horns covered their heads like capes and scrolled out from their heads into sharp and fierce points. They huffed and off they ran much quicker than their size would suggest. Amy and I simultaneously whispered “Wowwwwww” for the first of one zillion times that day.

Next up – Topi. I will quickly run out of adjectives to describe all of the animals we came upon, but the Topi has the most marvelous hide. At their shoulders, they stand taller than their back end, so they seem to always have their chest out, large and proud. When they run, they change direction like a cutting horse, the front end goes down and they spin around on a dime.

You may not have an appreciation for the conservation of the species that hunts like this can provide. Even growing up hunting in Texas, I was searching for answers in how all this could justifiably work for the betterment of all, and I not only gained knowledge about how the ecosystem works for the prosperity of the land and the animals because of efforts like this, but a huge amount of respect for those that have the passion and commitment to ensure the survival of both. In Tanzania, the rules and regulations are designed very specifically around the sex and age of an animal that may be hunted. I saw ethics, morality and compassion play out in the hearts and minds of all involved, from the trackers, to the game wardens (who were with us at all times), to the Professional Hunters (who were our guides, and our protection and who judged the appropriateness of the animal to be hunted), to the camp staff, to our own hunters. Each one respects God’s creations, the Laws of Nature and concept of hunting over and above taking of animals.  It was calming to see this all in harmony.

We saw the Laws of Mother Nature at work on that very first hunt. Jim got an older Topi and moments after, the next male had already taken charge of his herd. We watched as he pranced and snorted, our eyes wide as we watched it play out. Here he is.

Ready to take over

Who knew by 8:30am we would be back at camp already? It had been a busy morning. But after a quick snack (Johnny’s tummy was already rumbling, something we would start to anticipate each day), we were back in the Land Cruiser to our next stalk.

We decided to track those Cape Buffalo close to the camp. So out of the truck we climbed. I think for most professional hunts, you’d probably feel a little loud with 4 guys walking around – imagine our clown car – 1 Professional Hunter, 2 trackers, 1 game warden, 2 hunters, 2 wide-eyed girls, and 1 guy that Johnny just liked to have around. Johnny wasn’t messing around though – he always made Amy and I “Salad Up” – which meant we wore camo that looked like a bowl of salad all day, every day. Amy went by “Guacamole” Salad, and I went by “Taco” Salad. You can see we took everything seriously.

Since it had rained the night before, things were a little wet, but I think it made the tracking easier and we found our Buffalo. We stalked as quietly as a gaggle of 9 people could do and got pretty close. They led us into the swamp and we followed them a good way. Sloshing quietly – no one told Amy and I to bring rubber boots……At one point, we were staring at them face to face, when the game warden pointed out an onlooker to Amy and I. A couple of Hyenas wanting to see what all the fuss was about. (I think these were the guys hanging around my tent the night before.)

Eventually, the Cape wandered off further into the swamp and we called it. We sloshed back to the Land Cruiser and off we went again. And talk about Noah’s Ark – I think we saw a million animals just that first morning:

Northern Carmine Bee Eaters  – simply the most spectacular birds I have ever seen;

Northern Carmine Bee Eater

Fish Eagle – alot like our Bald Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle – humongous nests! Tawny Eagle; Lizard Buzzard; Coppery Tailed Coucal; Guinea Fowl; Black Bellied Bustard; Zebra; Giraffe; Oribi; Warthogs; Gray Duiker; and Roan Antelope just to name a few and I think that was all before lunch.

We drove all the way to Vundu Fly Camp where we had lunch and a siesta – as long as the animals were sleeping, we thought we would too.

Looking fabulous in my “Salad” at the Malagarasi River

We learned alot about efforts to stop poaching on the leases we were on – more about that later – but importantly – we learned that it’s not just the poaching of animals that are a problem, but even that of trees like this one – the African Mahogany is endangered because poachers can make a years salary by selling just one tree. This is a rare old one and we had a lot of fun gathering it’s “magic beans” – anything to bring good mojo.

giant African Mahogany

On the way back to camp after a very long and adventurous day, Monty got his Warthog. It was my first experience with this creature up close and I was amazed at how prehistoric he looked. Nothing seemed quite right, as if from another planet. Bumps in places you wouldn’t expect, strange hair like an old man as his mane. And strangely enough, over the next several days, these scary looking and extremely aggressive animals would find their way into my heart and make my tummy shake with laughter every time I saw them run.

Team Worley and the Replacements

The sun set as we were making our way back to camp to join the Draeger Safari and compare stories over a campfire and great food. Wow – what a day…..

Ready for our Safari

And away we went….shuttled off to the Arusha Airport

Departures “Lounge” at the Arusha Airport

While the boarding procedure was pretty simple, I STILL had to take my shoes off at security 🙂

We had a pretty good distance to cover to get to Moyowosi, which required a stop over for re-fueling at the equally luxurious Tabora Airport.

Pitstop for all

When we arrived at FishEagle, we knew we were officially on Safari. These Land Cruisers were to be our transport for the next 12 days. Probably the most heavy duty brush guard you can equip a truck with, two spare tires and dual fuel tanks for a very good reason, but most importantly is a small metal box welded just above the back rear tires. This is for Elephant Dung – yep – and when you light it on fire, it’s the best mosquito repellant on the planet – who knew?!?!

Official transport complete with elephant dung burners

We were whisked away to camp where we were greeted with shouts of “Hujambo!” (Swahili for Hello) from the staff. Again, cold towels and welcome beverages, smiles and bright eyes from everyone. And Wow*, was I surprised to find such amazing accommodations. (*Wow quickly become the most overused, but completely appropriate, word during our Safari – you just couldn’t believe what you were seeing and living.)

We sited in the guns and they even let us girls have some target practice (later known as “You Girls…” said with a sigh).

Master Instructor Donnie

Just like Charlie’s Angels…..but different…..

Charlie’s Angles, soon to become….Johnny’s Nightmares

After a long day, the second of our adventures, we had a fabulous dinner and retired for the first of our nightly rituals to the campfire under God’s gracious blanket of stars. And on cue, the thunder rolled and we heard the rains in Africa. Lots of unfamiliar creature sounds throughout the night, many of which not only sounded like they were at our tent doors, they most likely were. You are quickly reminded why you don’t go for a morning jog or an evening walk out here. Not unless you are surrounded by a security detail even the President would envy.

Everyone had put away their cell phones and the only electronic equipment in sight were in the shape of cameras and camcorders. Even on the few nights we pulled out the ITunes, it didn’t last long as Mother Nature’s music was far better than anything we could have produced. We all slept well that night and it would be needed as trucks would pull out at 6:30am the following morning.