Chiawa Camp, ZambiaMay 9, 2010
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Campfire breakfast
6 AM!
Anne gets ready to go on her game drive
Chiawa Camp, Zambia, Sunday, May 9, 2010
A very early call, sleeping (mostly) through elephant and hippo noise all night brought us to a campfire continental breakfast. Tom decided to go on a walking safari, and Anne went on a game drive. No lions this morning, but Cape Buffalo were abundant as well as elephants and birds and warthogs. A delicious coffee break in the shade of a tree brought us to a drive back to the lodge where we encountered, on the way, an enormous herd of buffalo including babies. But the best part was never recorded because it happened so suddenly and fast - a real YouTube moment - when a lone buffalo saw us and decided to walk off and around a bush only to confront a huge elephant on the other side. He screeched to a stop and ran back the other way - it was hysterically funny.
Tom had a great time with his macro imaging equipment. A beautiful dragonfly posed for him as he adjusted exposure and focus to capture a stunning image. He also made movies of the harvester termites as they dragged pieces of grass twice as large as themselves into their lair that is many feet underground. The area of this infestation is bare ground and Tom asked how their work fit into the balance of nature. Simply put, they create aeration that aids the drainage when the rains fall in deluges. However, you would not want them in your front lawn!
We had lunch on the pontoon boat followed by a siesta. It is entirely too hot between noon and four to go out in the sun.
We ended the day with a night drive followed by a wonderful dinner.