Tue 9th Aug '16 - Day 11

Roika Lodge, Tarangire National Park

The infamous “early start, 8:30” is almost true but when we arrive back at the park gate we end up waiting an hour and a half. We entertain ourselves in the truck playing Heads Up on the phone (highlight on Daniels turn – she’s fit. Jessica Alba he shouts). But frustration rises over the length of the delay – turns out John card has been declined through lack of funds, something about it being a public holiday yesterday so money hadn’t transferred. We’re all chomping at the bit.

When we do get in we have a golden first hour. There are plenty of animals to be seen in the national parks but you can’t help wanting to see the Big Five (so called for being the hardest to hunt on foot). So we’re thrilled to see a leopard lounging in a tree and then seemingly round the corner a cheetah perched on a mound 50 metres away surveying the savannah. Literally around the next bend are three lions lounging a few metres from the road digesting a gnu, fragments of bone around them. Sitting on the trees around vultures wait for their opportunity.

It almost seems a shame to drive away and leave them but we do so, John says we can swing back past here later in the day if we want to appease us. The gnu sightings yesterday and today lead to gnu jokes – no gnus is good gnus, welcome to the six o’clock gnus and so on.

There are plenty of animals around, most are listed below. But it’s their volume and proximity to us that is constantly amazing. Seeing elephants is always satisfying. We discover that Sean is a closet twitcher and he peppers John for bird names to tell his parents from whom he clearly has the bug.

Lunch is in an open picnic area filled with confident blue ball monkeys who will snatch food away without a moment’s hesitation, like the seagulls at the Opera Bar in Sydney. The spot is atop a cliff so we’re afforded views for miles and watch as two herds of elephants cross a river one wave and a herd of giraffes and zebra go the other way. We just wonder how the lions know to stay away from here?

From here we head deeper in to the park, away from the cars who only have a few hours but seemingly away from the animals too. Most of us end up napping as the Land Cruisers rocks along the stony roads.

To finish we do loop back to the first successful hunting ground (for us anyway) and whilst the lions have moved on the leopard is still there in the tree, supposedly joined by another but jury is still out on that one.

Then we spot a commotion and pile of vehicles we head over to; Driver David asks another driver who tells us there is a cheetah over there. Rather than join the commotion David pulls up 80 metres further on to our slight annoyance. After a few minutes of no activity John suggests heading back to the lodge but we over-rule and thankfully good things come to those who wait as the cheetah stalks his way over to the mound right in front of our Land Cruiser. Everyone else rushes and surrounds our prime position. We sit in stunned silence for fifteen perhaps minutes just watching every twitch of fur or whisker of this proud animal who is in turn is watching potential prey not far off.

On a different speed scale a tortoise plods under the car and Driver David bravely/foolishly hops out to retrieve him just metres away from the cheetah.

After that high point we head back to Roika Lodge excited about our day and our sightings. The evening follows the same pattern as night before with chilled beers, cards, smart dinner, cards, beer and bed.