Our African trip was planned to coincide with the herd migrations. We decided to drive through Masai Mara where the wildebeest were heading to greener pastures. We drove through the Great Rift Valley in the early morning. We were heading along the highway traveling at 35 MPH. I looked out the window and was surprised to see an ostrich running along beside us, easily keeping pace with us. The ostrich was traveling along side the road, alone and apparently in a hurry to get somewhere.
Soon we were in a wooded area and came upon a creek which crossed the road. We saw no bridge so decided to drive through the creek. The water turned out to be deeper than we thought, but we made it through with water sloshing just below the doors of the bus. Farther along the road, we came to the river at one of the places where the wildebeests cross. There was a narrow bridge crossing the river. We got to the middle of the bridge and stopped to look down at the river. There was very a bad smell coming from the river area. When we looked closer, we saw the crocodiles, feasting on the drowned wildebeests, which were still floating in the water. I have seen this sight many times in nature films. However, experiencing this scene complete with smells and sounds was very thrilling.
After crossing the bridge, we continued towards the plains. We could see the occasional wildebeest, standing alone, separate from the herd. They are very funny looking animals and make strange noises, kind of a ga-nu sound (which probably led to their other name : gnu). Within a few miles, we saw the beginning of the wildebeest herd. We were compelled to stop the bus in the middle of the road. Soon, our bus was surrounded by twenty thousand or more wildebeests walking along and ga-nuing as they went. This was an amazing encounter and we just sat quietly while the animals slowly moved along on their way to new pastures.
After twenty minutes or so, the herd had finally crossed the road. We decided to find a place to camp for the night (inside the bus). We found a nice area under some acacia trees. Later that night after we had gone to sleep, something woke me up. I looked out the car window in the dim light and saw large ears flapping very close to the bus. I was immediately terror stricken. I thought we were in danger of being trampled by a herd of elephants. After my eyes had adjusted to the light, I realized my elephant vision was just our clothes line with some towels flapping in the breeze. My vivid imagination had fooled me.
After two weeks, our great African adventure had come to an end. It was a wonderful experience and we came home with hundreds of great photos of African scenery and African wildlife. Reluctantly, we boarded our flight and headed back to the United States, with many wonderful memories.
