November 20 - Game Drive in Ruaha

 Our breakfast was outside at 6:30 a.m.  First a bowl of fresh fruit with fruit juice.  Then a plate of eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and beans.  This place has the best food yet.  We left for our game drive at 7:15 a.m.  We are about 5 km from the park.  

After going through the entrance to the park, which always has paperwork in Tanzania, we quickly came to the Ruaha River which is pretty much dry.  There were 2 deep pools of water where we found hippos, crocodiles, maribou storks, herons and pelicans.  The rest of the day we had to look really hard to find anything.  The new things we did see were a little antelope called a Creep Springer which can climb rock like a goat, a dicdic which is rather like a rabbit and a lesser kudu.  We saw lots of new birds:  a male and female vonder decker hornbill, crowned hornbill, red bill hornbill, barefaced goaway, black-bellied bustard, crested francolin, African ruff, Ostrich, brown parrots and Verreaux's Eagle Owl.

The Magoos River in the park is also dry, but the animals know where to dig in the sand on the riverbed to find water.  Life is very tough right now, rain is badly needed.

After having a great picnic lunch on real plates, with real cutlery, we made our long drive back to Tandala.  Then swimming, watching the waterhole and a gourmet dinner of pumpkin soup with homemade bread, beef boulanaise with green beans, salad and small potatoes and African tiramisu for dessert with french press coffee.   

We did more water-hole watching with lots of elephants coming and trumpeting and rumbling.  Off to bed around 9.

Another great day!









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