DAY 49: Last day in Ruaha

Good evening, morning and afternoon. Before I tell you more about our day in Ruaha, first an update on our satellite phone data fund raising. In less than a week we’ve been able to raise R7025, only R675 short of our estimated R7700. We’d like to thank you again for your support in this cause! We’ll give it until the end of the week to see whether we can reach our target. Bank details are on the “We need your help, please” post of a few days ago. 

After our first, extremely productive afternoon in Ruaha we immediately decided to stay an extra night. But after two days of seeing relatively few animals, or at least photographable animals, we’ve decided to move on tomorrow as initially planned. We got into bed at 01:00 this morning after watching Barcelona beat Arsenal at the Head Quarters canteen last night. And I’m happy to say, no hyenas bothered us throughout the night! This morning’s safari started off good with a sighting of three male lions next to the road. But as has been the case with all the 48 lions we’ve seen in Ruaha over the past five drives, they were very lazy! I know some of you can't understand why we speak of "quiet" days when we see so much, but it's more a case of "quiet photography-wise". Believe me, it's extremely frustrating to have a pride of lions close by, but all they'll do is sleep, sleep, sleep. But don't worry, we're not taking it for granted. We used the rest of the day to explore those roads we haven’t driven up to date and found some incredibly beautiful places hidden in the Ruaha interior. Our favourite was a picnic spot on the bank of a shallow sandy riverbed. Here we were allowed to climb out and onto the rocks, giving us a breathtaking view of the river and palm trees on the banks. 

One of the three lazy lions from this morning

One of the best views in Ruaha!

As was the case yesterday we found very little in terms of general game. These lions must be vegetarians, because we’ve only seen a handful of zebra and kudu, one buffalo and no wildebeest! As always, there were more than enough small things to keep us entertained, including this miniature tortoise no larger than a golf ball. 

"Come on, you can do it!"

The plan is to go on one last morning safari and then we head for Iringa and the Old Farm House tomorrow afternoon. I’d like to use this opportunity to ask some of you for advice about Malawi and Mana Pools. Can any of you suggest any nice, affordable campsites or lodges on the edge of Lake Malawi (including the northern section)? And, can any of you suggest a specific campsite in Mana Pools? We need names, people! Thank you very much! 

And now, for your entertainment, here are some before and after photos of Ji and I, showing you the transformation from Day 1 to Day 49! Hard to believe, isn’t it?!! 

Ji takes on a whole new look

Villiers is sporting a rather bushy beard

And yes, it's not long before these two scruffy, yet handsome young men transform into:

The inevitable look!

Have a wonderful Thursday! 

Villiers

Highlight of the day:

Villiers: The view from the picnic site!

Ji: The miniture tortoise sighting

Lowlight of the day:

Villiers: That we've got to leave this wonderful reserve!

Ji: Not seeing any lions this afternoon