Rwanda - Mountain Gorillas

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...and so the sun sets over the Masai Mara, ending my first ever day on Safari in Africa.

We are instructed not to walk anywhere at night without our armed Masai. It appears that we all have a dedicated Masai who is watching each of the 4 tents all through the night. The camp is inside Masai Mara park with no fencing against the animals. I can hear a lion grunting close by as I fall asleep snuggled up to a hot water bottle that has been slipped into my bed while I was dining. It did give me a bit of a shock when my foot first touched it. Initial thought was ‘snake’. Someone could have warned me! LOL
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While I was watching one of the 3 cheetahs, I noticed the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stand on end. Then out of the corner of my eye a mother and baby gazelle suddenly took off across the plains. Our driver told us to hold on tight (we remained standing up in the back of the Landcruiser), and we raced alongside the most exhilarating chase I’ve ever imagined. Three times those cheetahs seemed about to grab the baby and each time they escaped. The whole thing lasted around 10 minutes.
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Slowly, the cheetahs wandered back to their resting spot, absolutely heaving with fatigue (and still hungry)
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ALH said:
...and so the sun sets over the Masai Mara, ending my first ever day on Safari in Africa.

We are instructed not to walk anywhere at night without our armed Masai. It appears that we all have a dedicated Masai who is watching each of the 4 tents all through the night. The camp is inside Masai Mara park with no fencing against the animals. I can hear a lion grunting close by as I fall asleep snuggled up to a hot water bottle that has been slipped into my bed while I was dining. It did give me a bit of a shock when my foot first touched it. Initial thought was ‘snake’. Someone could have warned me! LOL
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Wow !! How awesome
 
Loving the photos! Sorry to hear you lost some good footage, but presumably the 5DmkIII came into full use at long last!
 
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samh004 said:
Loving the photos! Sorry to hear you lost some good footage, but presumably the 5DmkIII came into full use at long last!
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Do I dare admit that I haven’t used that camera for years as it’s just too heavy? On advice from someone on AFF, I bought a Sony DSC-HX90V for the trip.

I actually enjoyed just watching the animals with my new Binoculars, more than taking photos.
 
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ALH said:
Do I dare admit that I haven’t used that camera for years as it’s just too heavy? On advice from somewhere on AFF, I bought a Sony DSC-HX90V for the trip.
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I think the important differences between the two are the ease of lugging the Sony around compared to the Canon, but also the fact it's a point-and-shoot means it has a lens built-in that many simply couldn't afford to buy separately for the Canon, much less hold steady!

The camera certainly was a good choice :)
 
samh004 said:
I think the important differences between the two are the ease of lugging the Sony around compared to the Canon, but also the fact it's a point-and-shoot means it has a lens built-in that many simply couldn't afford to buy separately for the Canon, much less hold steady!

The camera certainly was a good choice :)
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The Sony is smaller than an iPhone so easy to carry in my pocket and still manage my walking stick.

The head guide on my Gorilla Trek took the camera for the entire trek and I really expected to see some great photos from him. They were all rubbish, so it’s a good thing I also took photos with my iPhone!
 
Great photos - I just love Africa!
We've been twice with the last trip to Uganda with 2 trecks to 2 different gorilla families. I really loved Uganda.
Other places I want to visit over there are Namibia (up the Skeleton Coast to Etosha) and into the Queen Elizabeth NP for the chimpanzee and the tree climbing lions.
I hope your recovery is on track
 
Can I ask the Africa aficionados on this thread (and particularly Gorilla visitors), whether a good pair of runners is OK for Gorilla trekking, or whether we should buy proper hiking boots? We will be there in September, so shouldn’t be too wet. I just hate the idea of breaking in a new pair of shoes, so would prefer to take my nice comfy runners - they do come up reasonably high, but not over the ankles.
 
Flying mermaid said:
Can I ask the Africa aficionados on this thread (and particularly Gorilla visitors), whether a good pair of runners is OK for Gorilla trekking, or whether we should buy proper hiking boots? We will be there in September, so shouldn’t be too wet. I just hate the idea of breaking in a new pair of shoes, so would prefer to take my nice comfy runners - they do come up reasonably high, but not over the ankles.
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Runners are fine, but you definitely need gaiters to cover the bottom of your trousers. You’ll be up to your shins in mud, leaf litter, twigs etc at times.

....and one day I will finish this TR
 
ALH said:
Runners are fine, but you definitely need gaiters to cover the bottom of your trousers. You’ll be up to your shins in mud, leaf litter, twigs etc at times.

....and one day I will finish this TR
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Thanks! I will cross hiking boots off the list. I think the place we are staying at provides gaiters and gloves - lots of nettles apparently. :). For some reason I hadn’t seen your latest photos. Just loved all the predators. :).
 
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I wore boots as tracks were rough and didn’t want to damage ankles- already had a couple of breaks. Quite a few others wore runners. Guide refused to take a person who only had sandles on.
 
CMak said:
I wore boots as tracks were rough and didn’t want to damage ankles- already had a couple of breaks. Quite a few others wore runners. Guide refused to take a person who only had sandles on.
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you would have to be crazy to trek in sandals! My ankles aren’t the strongest, but I think I should be OK. Thanks for the input.
 
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