In The Lion’s Den

Lions which come to rest in the shadow of your vehicle, tree top hotels which overlook watering holes frequented by rhinos, cheetahs going in for the kill… Dr. Niyati Chitalia's African safari has just begun

Masai Mara, Kenya

I am in Tanzania sitting in a van with an open roof speeding towards lake Manyara when suddenly William, our driver, spots a lion. We edge closer and see grass rustling. Three lionesses sedately walk out. We stop respectfully a few metres away. Their stance and expressions show that they are looking for a kill. I look around and spot a couple of wild boars. Williams also sees this and signals to us with fingers on his lips. I look on eagerly. The lionesses have camouflaged themselves once again and cannot be seen. But the flamingoes and other birds sense their presence and edge closer to the waters of the lake. There is nervousness in the air. I am being educated in soft tones by William on how animals hunt. Lions always hunt against the direction of the wind so that their prey cannot smell them. And now, the lionesses approach stealthily and slowly the gap between boar and lion closes. Two of the lionesses corner the boars. The boars are swift but not fast enough. Instead of running into the forest where the third lioness lies in wait they edge towards our vehicle behind which they take cover. The lionesses stop in their tracks. I feel one of them giving me a strange look. Have I deprived them of lunch? William does not think so. He says wild boars are swifter than lions anyway. They could also hurt the lions with their short horns.

This is my first day in a safari and we have already spotted lions. Am I thrilled? That's an understatement.

At The Start

But Tanzania is not our first stop. First we are in Mombasa, Kenya. The journey to Mombasa can be done via air or by local bus. We choose to go by bus and return to Nairobi by air. The bus journey takes six hours and we see local villages and lifestyle.

Lake Manyara game Reserve,Tanzania

The Mombasa RCI resort offers optional tours. We choose the Malindi Tour. Malindi is named after Maldin, the wife of Vasco-da-Gama. This town is inhabited mainly by Italians. Here we visit a lovely bird park and see eagles, kites, hawks and owls of different varieties. I get to ride a 110-year-young tortoise. We also go into the sea in a glass ottomed boat with Alladin, an African who sings Hindi songs to perfection. In between, he anchors the boat and through the floor shows us exotic fish and mollusks. We also swim in the ocean. After a week at the resort, where we also eat fried cassava while witnessing a local football match, Nairobi is the next stop. This time we fly back and from the windows of the aircraft, Kilimanjaro's snow clad peak merges with the blue of the sky.

From Nairobi we head towards Arusha in Tanzania by bus where we are met by our driver William. We plot our route. The next morning, we start at 7.30 am and before long spot lions and deprive them of their lunch. But Lake Manyara is also home to elephants, baboons, wild buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, hippos, innumerable varieties of birds. William knows all about animals and is busy answering all my questions. He has taught me to identify impalas, Grant's gazelles and Johnson's gazelles, all of these known to me only as deer heretofore. William spots everything that moves and shows it to us. For example, there is a monitor lizard so high up in the trees that we all miss it. Except William, of course. We have a lovely picnic lunch at Lake Manyara but I am also eager to feed the birds. William stops however. "What's good for us, is not necessarily good for them," he says.

Rhino crossing in Ngorongoro Game Park,Tanzania

Our next safari Ngorongoro is a crater created by an extinct volcano. We hire a four-wheel drive vehicle, to go into the depths of the mountain. Here too we are lucky. We begin by spotting a rhino and it is crystal clear at least why this particular breed finds itself among the what is known in safaris as Top Five. (Lions, elephants, wild buffalo, and cheetahs are the other four). The rhino is massive and is ambling along at an easy pace. In fact, the animal kingdom here lives at a languid pace. We next spot a family of lions and they too like the easy life, it seems. The cub and its mother come to rest in the shade of our vehicle. I ogle them to my heart's content when a lovely black-maned stately lion also comes along. This is how it seems to be here - a total understanding between man and animal.

The next morning we left Ngorongoro and Tanzania to go to Kenya once again. We visit Aberdares. This is not exactly a safari but a fenced park sprawled over hundreds of acres of land. After a hearty lunch and witnessing a Kikuyu tribal dance we leave for the Tree Tops hotel. As the name suggest, the hotel is built atop a huge fig tree and has two lakes on each side where animals frequent. Leaving the luggage at the base, we climb to our 'room'. We see a dazzling variety of wildlife from our vantage point. Elephants, wild buffaloes, water birds, baboons, a rhino…they are all visitors to the watering hole. Lions do not live around these parts and a cheetah is a rare spot. If any come by and if you are asleep, then the hotel staff buzz you. I am told Jim Corbett, the greatest hunter that India's ever seen, apparently spent his last days here near the base hotel.

Kiyuyu tribal dance at Aberdares

The next day, breakfasted and rejuvenated, we leave for the highlight of the safari - The Masai Mara. On the way to the Mara Sopa lodge, we pass the equator. Here we witness an astonishing sight. We take a bucket of water with a twig in it. At the equator the twig is motionless in a straight line. We take it a little distance ahead into the Southern Hemisphere and the twig starts moving in a clockwise direction. We take it to the other side of the equator into the Northern Hemisphere and it starts moving in a counterclockwise motion.

We didn't need to reach Masai Mara to spot animals. Scores of miles before we started getting a regular dose of giraffes, gazelles, impalas, foxes, ostriches and zebras. The zebras cross the road all the time. The driver has to stop at each zebra crossing, no pun intended.

Yash with membersof the Masai tribe

The morning round into the grasslands is disappointing. We see only elephants and two lions. Of the Big Five, the cheetah continues to elude us. We leave that afternoon for another spin into the grassland and our radio starts crackling immediately. We are told that a group of lions are idling at a nearby spot. We speed in that direction and see lions, lionesses and several cubs with manes which are just about sprouting. I count seven of them. It is time to leave but no sign of a cheetah. I hope for a miracle when the radio crackles again and our driver suddenly accelerates. And there ahead of us is a lovely cheetah. And it is going for the kill. The target - a group of gazelles nearby. We see and record its slow camouflaged movement but the last burst of speed is so fast that we cannot capture it on camera. But it is wasted effort since the gazelles all manage to escape. Now the cheetah with nothing else to do poses for us.

All the Big Five has been sighted and I am happy with the experience. We sleep fitfully that night. After breakfast, we load our luggage and leave Mara Sopa lodge and behold, walking in front of us in a line are one lioness and three young cubs. On hearing the car they all move to one side and let us pass. I imagine them shaking their paws to wish us goodbye. I wave back.