Ndutu - Day I Part III (Elephants, Vultures and Lion)

Having left the cheetah versus lion stand-off behind, we continue in our search of wildlife experiences. Our first encounter is a lone elephant with one tusk.

Followed by an Egyptian Goose family.

In the distance, in amongst the trees, we see a couple more elephants and go to investigate. It turns out to be a large memory (the collective noun for elephants) of at least 32 animals, including several youngsters and a randy old bull.

We follow them as they work their way through the forest, decimating bushes and trees in their wake.

When they are not eating, they try to keep in the shade as much as possible. I don't blame them, that sun is mighty hot!

The elephants are so huge, yet so amazingly silent; mainly because the soles of their feet have built in shock absorbers so it is like they are walking on sponges.

With this area being very much drier than normal (despite this being the wet season), the elephants stir up a great amount of dust, as they slowly meander amongst the trees.

The dust is playing havoc with my already-suffering lungs, and I try to cover my mouth and nose with a bandana so as not to breathe in any more dirt particles than I have to.

This little guy certainly isn't helping!

Having spent a magical 40 minutes just observing these gentle giants as the go about their daily life, we leave them to their clouds of dust and go to “see what else nature has to offer us.”

One of my favourite African birds!

Feasting on the carcass of a zebra who died of natural causes, a plethora of vultures are accompanied by a few storks.

Rueppell's Griffon

Marabou Stork

African White Backed Vulture

What a racket! They sound like a huge flock of sheep as they squabble over the meat.

Check out the short video clip below to hear the commotion a few birds can make!

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There is a distinct pecking order, and some of the birds are very aggressive. This guy is beating a newcomer to a pulp.

Meanwhile, other vultures move in on the dining table and take his place, which means he has to fight them off too before he can dine. And so it goes on.

After a while it turns into massive free-for-all brawl. Like Bristol on a Saturday night.

More and more birds arrive, hoping to get a small piece of the action. Failing that, some food.

You can see who gets to eat.

Further along, a much more peaceful scene, this gorgeous little bee eater just sitting around minding his own business.

Warning – the following photographs contain gory images

In the shade of a tree, we find a lioness feasting on a baby wildebeest.

By the looks of the flies on her dinner, the kill is probably not fresh, so we guess it was an opportunist grab from a cheetah.

Fed up with having an audience while she eats, the lioness decides to move her dinner elsewhere.

Heading for the long grass, she cleverly hides herself and her dinner.

It is time for us to head back to camp as the light fades and evening draws in. Government rules state that we have to leave the park by sundown, which is around 18:30.

As is common when the soil is parched like this, as soon as we stop the car, the dust from the wheels seems to catch up with us, hanging heavily in the air.

Waiting a couple of minutes sees the dust clearing. Normally a very skittish antelope, it is extremely unusual to see one standing still, just looking at us.

As soon as we get back to the camp I jump in the shower, then start to get ready for dinner. I feel totally knocked out by this chest infection with absolutely no energy: all I want to do is sleep. I don't physically have the energy to get dressed, so I make my excuses and send David down to meet Malisa for dinner on his own. I immediately fall into a restless sleep, punctuated by coughing fits and recurring bad dreams. Oh joy.

Yet another wonderful day on safari with Calabash Adventures.