Safari Part 3

* Sidenote: I've received messages from some of you saying that you had an ERROR response when you tried to comment on the Safari posts. I'm not sure what is going on there; I haven't changed settings. Hopefully the problem will  be resolved. We do love reading your notes (when we have the connection to do so!)

Sunday morning we had our last game drive. We said good morning to the King of the Jungle and watched him stroll around a bit. Then we came upon a group of hyenas feeding on a kill (an unlucky wildebeest). We watched for about 30 minutes as they fed. Two jackals also circled, trying to sneak in while the hyenas were distracted. It was very interesting. I realize some will be interested in these pictures, and some will not. If you fall into the latter group, scroll down until you are past the red blur and take comfort that there won't be bloodshed in heaven.

Madeline especially liked the jackal. The kids thought it bore some resemblance to our dog Dottie.

Our fantastic driver Cosmas.
He has been doing this for about 18 years. On one of our drives, I asked him what some of his favorites things/scenes are that he has seen/experienced. He answered, "Cats. I love cats."
As I thought back to the amazing lions we had watched earlier that day, Cosmas added, "I love my cat at home. He comes and sits in my lap when I sit down." Fortunately on other game drives, he had shared some of the sights he's seen which were more in my line of thinking.

John’s most exciting sighting of the day actually came before the drive. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that our wake-up calls Saturday and Sunday mornings came at 6am when a kind attendant brought a tray of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to the tent (FYI, a large majority of our family are not morning people).

Anyway, we were getting ready and John, in particular, was dragging. We were supposed to be at the front circle for pick-up at 6:30am. David and the girls headed toward the lobby a little earlier while I attempted to move John along. Meanwhile, the attendant came back to retrieve our tray. When John and I (eventually) came out of the tent (which was located about 50 yards from the main building), there where our walkway met the main path, sat a baboon helping himself to our drink tray which apparently had been set on the ground.

The baboon paid no attention to John and me (I had been told they are not afraid of women and children b/c we do not typically carry war clubs), but he did look over his shoulder several times to make sure no one else was coming before he began picking up the pots and drinking from them! John, of course, found it hysterical and before I tried to figure how we could get to the lobby, I decided I HAD to take pictures. I snapped a few (though they came out blurry) before David came walking down the path scaring the primate away. John had a ball telling everyone he saw after that all about it.

Baboons are notorious for their unruly behavior.
David wondered out loud, "What do you think a baboon on coffee would be like?"

I do realize while most people reading these stories will find them amusing, there MAY be a relative or two who will have concern over the “dangerous” points; just remember we have returned safe from the African plains and we've never been sound anyway!