A Safari Journal

7/30/2019 A Safari Journal

1/22


2/22

Like most people, my impressio o Arica was shaped by

a mash o wildlie documetaries, blockbuster movies,the ews ad the occasioal ovel. I could't wait todiscover how it was really like. The idea o a saari was a

much-eeded breather rom the cocrete jugle I lived

i. Imagie towerig skyscrapers, trac jams ad crowdso people replaced by the uearthly beauty o clouds ad

plais that wet o orever.

It was a privilege to see the aimals i the fesh. They

were the stars ad the reaso I had come this ar.Fueled by pure isticts o survival, their graceul ad

determied ways were a precious remider o what itmeat to be bor ree. The world has to leave space or

the wild to just be.

Wherever you come rom, the magic o a saari will

move you i ways like o other. The jourey is ideed thedestiatio ad this oe will always have a special place i

my heart. Most importatly, I would like to thak the sta

at the lodge or their hospitality, especially Seba ad Kassior our memorable coversatios o the road.

Journey toAfrica


3/22

The clock read 06:00. I sprag out o bed ad got ready,

potterig aroud the room as I tured o the backupalarms o my iPhoe.

Hat? Checked. Bioculars? Checked. Camera? Checked.

There was o better time

to begi our jourey.Photographers spoke o the

golde light cast durig the

magical hours o suriseas the best momets or

pictures. Back home oewould almost ever sacrice

a miute o sleep or this.

But here i the Seregeti, the su was kid, getle raysdaced with the breeze, chirpy creatures sag their sogs

ad the dust o the lad had yet to stir up. O a saari,there was o room or the lazy ad early birds were

rewarded well.

Ater a scrumptious breakast, we hopped oto the our-

wheel drive. Elevated i a trasormer-like beast with aope rootop, we traversed across upaved roads o mud,

stoe ad gravel locals likeed to as a Arica massage.

The wid was chilly a remider we were at a relativelyhigh altitude o 2,000 metres above sea level.

It wast log beore I caught a whi o the puget

scet i the air. Ulike o TV where everythig was sosaitized, the smell hit hard ad ast! We had arrived at

the Hippo Pool, a viewig loop overseeig some twety

rumpy, adorable hippos ot ar rom our lodge. Whilethe hippos busied themselves coolig o i a muddy

stream, a sleepig cal rested its head o its mothers

THESERENGE

TI

80C

One of the first Maasaivillages we spotted

up close and personal

You hardly get such space in the city

D A Y O n E

Plains of Gold

Thankful for the smooth flight!


4/22

back, blissully ejoyig a morig sooze.

Aother lurked awkwardly o a slope bythe bak as it tried to d its way dow.

There was a rhythm to the hippos

morig i oe observed log eough.

They disappeared. They suraced.

Ad they pooped. Boy was it itese!Kow as dug showerig, it was theact o hippos spiig their tails while

deecatig to distribute eces as ar out as

possible. What a etertaiig sight!

We drove or a good hour ito the heart o the Seregeti,costatly scaig elds o tall, dese utrimmed grass. The

lad reached ar ad wide where the eye couldt see. It was

a edless palette o mellow. The arrival o the dry seaso

tured lush elds o gree ito a pastel brow, tited goldeuder the Arica su. The occasioal protrudig rock wassometimes mistake or a warthog. I suppose saaris were

magical i that aspect? They reiorced the cocept o destiy,

leavig city-bred cotrol reaks to chace ad luck.

Herds o curious Thomsos gazelles, zebras ad impalaspeered curiously as the egies roar disrupted their peaceul

grazig. Mii rock hills kow as kopjes puctuated the

mootoy o the lad.

Do you kow the Seregeti ispired The Lio Kig? askedSeba, our driver, reerrig to the aimated Disey lm that

had kids xated with lios. You will see may simbas oour tr ip.

He cotiued: "Everyoe kows the big ve, but have youheard o the small ve?"

"They are the elephat shrew, at lio, leopard tortoise, rhio

beetle ad bualo weaver. It is ot easy to spot them!"

Ideed, oe could't help but eel blid i the perpetual

search or somethig you might ot see. I Arica, sighttook o a ew meaig. The vast savaahs were ope to

possibilities, where aimals ra wild like imagiatio. There

were so may thigs happeig at oe time it was up toyou to d it. Ote my eyes would play tricks ad tur

rocks ito aces ad shrubs ito tails. But lady luck was oour side. Already we received a lovely welcome surprise

yesterday a lazy lio sleepig o a tree.

I had to remid mysel it was all about maagig

expectatios. Crossig gers, I scaed the bushes withitesity, looked ear ad gazed ar. We were o a treasure

hut, but with clues ivisible to the utraied eye.

Suddely, the radio exploded ito

a furry o exchage. Seba pressedthe accelerator ad we sped o, ot

kowig where ext.

Whats happeig? I asked.

seba, ou r humanencyclopedia.his knowledge is...

as vast as theserengeti.


5/22

Cheetahs! replied Seba. A ew

o them are aroud the corer.

Withi miutes, we desceded

upo a scee o excitemet aseveryoe tiptoed o the seats to

look. How may? I whispered.

Five! he replied with a twiklei his eye. Ive oly ever see

three beore. You are lucky.

I peered log ad hard through my telephoto les. Theaked eye wouldt go ar i separatig the ve svelte cats

rom grasslad. A collective gasp ra across the lie o

jeeps as oe got up or a stretch. Archig its aerodyamicbody elegatly, it took a quick glace at the crowd that

had gathered.

Seba tured o the egie ad we waited or somethig

to happe.

True to the whim ad acy o Mother nature, othig didor quite awhile. The cheetahs lay still uder the uorgivig

su, soozig i the cool breeze. Gradually everyoe else

dispersed, leavig the cats ad us aloe.

I oly they would stad up ad do somethig, Lucypleaded, eyes glued through her bioculars.

The silece was deaeig. I swam aroud i my thoughts,hypotized by the swayig dried spikelets o oxtail grass

ad occasioally laughig at my travel compaio wholooked like a awkward-lookig statue. My stomach

growled. A cold beer ad some luch would be ice.

Thecool andchic cheetahswereacrowdfavourite.

Oh my! Lucy squealed ater what seemed like eterity. The

ivisible cheetahs had popped up o our visual radar agai.Lookig resh rom a satisyig ap, two youg adults stood

up ad started udgig each other playully. Their classy,

pattered ur glisteed i the eveig light ad stued usspeechless. Short deep purrs passed through the air.

It was hard to believe our patiece had paid o! We returedto the lodge as it got dark, happy ad satised with todays

ruitul harvest. The Type-A results-orieted urbaite i mestarted tickig o a metal checklist o sightigs: Hippos,

eagles, secretary birds, cheetahs Though we were tired outby all the activity, Lucy ad I were already lookig orward to

what tomorrow might brig.

Ifonlywecouldseethemraceoneanother!


6/22

Nulla vitae euismod risus.

Zebras and wildeb eests - comradesin an unfor givin g wo rld


7/22

My heart was racig.

Te miutes passed i utter

silece as three lioessesgraceully walked by our jeep.

With a air o codece, oe

paused ad sied. We had a

brie momet o eye cotact

as she ispected the vehicle.

Her beady eyes shited to the

lad ahead, scrutiizig a herd

o zebras o their way to the

Seroera River.

Were the zebras aware o their presece? They did seem

icreasigly ervous with every passig momet, shufig

their hooves ad oddig their heads.

Dager was i the air.

Two o the three predators stealthily disappeared ito the tall

grass, leavig the last lio out i the ope. With the rhythm

o a seasoed killer, she advaced towards the zebras, which

had morphed ito a crowded mess o agitated bleats. A brave

oe ra up ad dow the lie, warig the rest with itsratic barks.

D A Y T W O

the kill

Seba tured o the car egie ad a hush ell over the grassy

plai. Look at the lioess' stomach, he said. She is hugry.

The kill. What a sight to behold. We held our breath ad triedhard ot to blik. Ay momet ow, I thought. The camera

was o stadby just i case.

Suddely, the lioess stopped i her tracks.

Whats goig o? I whispered.

Secods later without ay warig, she accelerated ito a

mad dash. All hell broke loose as the zebras paicked ad

collapsed ito a headless stampede, chased ito a ambush

by the other two. Heavy gallops stirred up a eruptio o

earthy dust that masked our visio ito a blur o stripes ad

grass. The herd o prey radiated i all directios i a desperate

attempt to escape.

Where are the lios?

Oh my god!

Did you see that?

Sharp ad precise, the lioess took aim ad pouced oto the

rear o a axious feeig zebra. Sikig its razor-like teeth

!


8/22

ad powerul jaws, it wrapped its paws aroud the creature,

sealig the deal.

Lie aded away rom the zebra as piercig agoized cries gave

way to silece ad the ear i its eyes disappeared.

Our hearts pouded as everyoe tried to take i this brutal act

o ature. We thought it wouldt startle us at all that amiliarscee o natioal Geographic Wild where predators were

ote caught i actio. But this beig here was othig like

what we saw o TV. The itesity tripled as it happeed right

beore us.

Lucy embarrassigly wiped away a tear. She took a deep breath.

Wow, I said. That was quite somethig.

The lioess had killed its prey by straglig it ad hid it saelyi the eld o waist-high grass. It got up ad walked away,

leavig o visible trail but a oddly positioed carcass whose

hid leg stood out awkwardly.

Shes goe to call the cubs, Seba explaied. Itll be awhile

beore they retur.

We heeded his advice ad retured to the same spot later i

the eveig, just to get closure o the days adveture. Although

it was likely the carcass would have bee devoured, we decided

to take a chace.

By the time we got there, everyoe else was waitig or

the party to start. Jeeps stood by eatly i a row, as vultures

perched o a acacia tree overlookig the carcass. That

awkward leg glisteed like a psychedelic art piece i the su.

What a surprise! The carcass was ideed still i the same

pristie coditio, as i someoe had paused a DVD or a

dier break. Further dow the road was the most adorable

sight. Slumped comortably o the braches o a sausage tree,amous or its vie-like ruit stalks resemblig giat cordogs,

Can't believe how close we wer e!


9/22

Hangin' on their sausage tree


10/22

were a lioess ad her two cubs, oblivious to the commotio

aroud them. A absolute picture o bliss ad ochalace

that was othig like the erocity we witessed earlier.

I was ready to play the waitig game, but this time roud

evets uolded quickly ater. Just as I got slightly dgety,

more amiliar elie rieds appeared i the distace.

Totterig alog were ve adorable cubs, strugglig to keep

up with the graceul stride o their mothers. Excited whispers

rom our ellow adveturers tured ito gasps o aticipatio

as oe o them approached the dead zebra. We saw othig

but were treated to loud cruchig oises o boes beig

crushed. This time, there was o helpless squeal.

A bloody ace popped up. The lioess had her ll. She made

way or the cubs to ejoy the preys stomach, supposedly the

best part. A meal like that would keep this pride ull or theext ew days.

Today, we are the stars i a natioal Geographic TV show,

joked Seba.

The suset i the distace was a erce, red ball o light. It

tured the skies a sot orage hue. We set o or the lodge,

hushed i the car, i awe o the beauty ad brutality we saw.


11/22

04:15.

The days got earlier.

We were rarig to go, motivated by the thoughts o foatig i

the sky over the Seregeti. Drowsy yet excited I grabbed oly

the essetial, havig bee advised the ight beore to brig as

little as possible.

Ater a quick cup o tea, we were budled up i a jeep to

the balloo lauch site with a ew others rom our lodge.

I struggled to keep my eyes ope as aticipatio built up

i the car.

"I saw a ox!"

"Is that a hyea?"

"Oh my god, there's a hippo right there!"

Speedig across the rocky ueve terrai i the dark was

somethig ew. I gripped the edge o my seat ad bumped my

head rom time to time as we accelerated over big humps. Eve

though it was hal-past ve i the morig, the level o eergy

was iectious as our guide etertaied us with talk o matig

bush pigs ad civet sightigs.

I the chilly pre-daw light, our defated hot air balloos

emitted a strage glow as workers hurried aroud to prepare

or take-o. Loud egies rom as disturbed the calm as

they blew cold air ito the balloo's evelope, a huge bag that

kept us afoat.

Our pilot Masoud greeted us with a warm hadshake ad bega

to explai the procedures o take-o. The wicker basket, tipped

over to its side, was divided ito eight compartmets, eachcarryig two passegers. We would lie o our backs beore it

tipped ito a upright positio.

So this is how we look like to the birds

Rise b alloon, rise!

MAGIC

D AY T H R E E

Soarin g above the plains


12/22

Picture perfect


13/22

I glaced aroud ad spotted some ervous aces. Lucy

ad I climbed i gigerly. We asteed our saety belts oto

a haress ad waited as everyoe else got i. Daw was

breakig ad the birds had awoke. Eyes o the sky, we

watched as erce spurts o re brought the balloo to lie.

Hold o tight, were takig o, said Masoud. We stood up

as the balloo getly asceded to almost 150 metres abovesea level. The ride was exceptioally smooth. The fight pla,

which was pretty much at the wid's mercy, would cover

some 20 kilometres across the Maasai Kopjes i a hour. I

the distace, pretty pik light faked a perect surise over

the Seregeti, as the sky broke ito a brilliat blue. It was

hard to tear our eyes away rom the magicece.

Skimmig across the acacia treetops was absolutely

breathtakig too. We glided slowly alog the riverbak,

lookig out or aimals below.

"I caot promise sightigs but there is a good chace,

Masoud said. Up here we are oe amily so please shout

i ayoe spots aythig.

"Lio!" someoe screamed immediately. I scampered to

the edge o my basket excitedly to witess a lioess busy

devourig whatever was let o a wildebeest. Hidde rom

the rest o the world uder a dese bush, she gave us a

rude glare or iterruptig breakast. Her bloodstaied

mouth kept movig; her eyes i a trace.

"Looks like she has easted o the kill or a couple o

days ow," said Masoud, as the rest o us listeed agape

with woder.

A getle roar rom the burers took us higher. Coloured

i dirty gree ad savaah gold to bled with the

ladscape, these balloos could rise to aroud 300 metres

above sea level.

This chage i perspective gradually trasormed the vast

Seregeti savaa ito a stuig work o ladscape art.

What a east o grasslad, marshes, kopjes ad woodlad!

Everythig looked eatly trimmed, as i a gardeer worked

his way through the plai with a law mower.

A amily o olive baboos broke ito a ru, coused by our

UFO-like presece. A pair o dik-diks (atelopes) skipped

away agaist a paorama o yellow ad brow, disturbig a

small herd o topi ad a couple o odd-lookig ostriches adKori Bustards earby. We eve maaged to see a hare! I the

ar distace, a wildebeest crowd trotted ahead. They looked

like black ats rom where we were.

not log ater, the wid dictated that it was time to lad. We

sat dow i the basket ad held o tight as Masoud steered

the hot air balloo towards the groud.

High rom the ivigoratig

jourey, we were whiskedo to a makeshit bar or a

champage toast. The toast is

said to be a traditio datig

back to the late 1700s, a time

o early ballooig i Frace

where pilots started oerig

champage at ladig sites to

appease villagers aoyed by

the oise.

May glasses o bubbly later, our giggly group was drive to

a clearig where we easted o the quitessetial breakast-

i-the-bush. Admirig this expase o lad rom a birds eye

view was certaily a bucket-list worthy experiece!

The rest o the day passed i a happy blur. I betwee lazy

swims, updatig Facebook with photographs ad laughig

at evious commets rom rieds, we louged by the

iity pool, idulgig i the vastess o lad beore us. Our

comortable lodge was the perect respite rom all the actio

ad excitemet. I replayed the morigs balloo adveturei my head over ad over agai, as time slowed dow.

The gor geous pool and itspriceless view


14/22


15/22

Tesio gripped the air. To cross? Or ot?

We watched with bated breath by the riverbak as the worlds

greatest wildlie spectacle uolded i its ull glory.

Migratio is a ever-edig brutal busiess, ad quite a

mystery too. I the Seregeti, a estimated two millio

wildebeest poud their hooves together with more tha a

millio zebra ad coutless atelopes i the search or resh

grass. They move all year roud, traversig the ngorogoro

crater to the Maasai Mara reserve i Keya.

I could almost sese the paiul idecisio overwhelmigthat sigle wildebeest at the start o the lie as it lited a hoo,

preparig to propel itsel to the other ed. Like lost soldiers

waitig or a commad, the rest looked or a sig.

True to their swarm itelligece, the message was soo

passed dow to buckle up or the ride. nervous gruts

echoed as the wildebeests stepped careully i each others

tracks, creatig a tapestry o the groud beeath. Oe by

oe, they picked up speed ad bega to gallop through the

crossig with a burst o vigor ad desperatio.

We weret the oly oes observig this spectacle. Eyeig

them with great iterest too were crocodiles waitig quietly

i the murky water. With a meacig gaze, they paited a

picture o sooty codece. I cotrast, the wildebeests

were a ugrateul sight, paddlig awkwardly with labored

breaths ad paicky eyes. Oe couldt ault them though it

must have bee tough hoistig some 170 kilograms o body

weight while ghtig or their lives.

D AY F O U R

A Bittersweet Goodbye

A game of survival


16/22

i will beat the crocs.i wont be eaten.

i will survive.

the annual migrationro ute of treachery

and luck...

a zebra crossing


17/22

We soaked i every bit o the actio. Ater all, it was our last

day i the Seregeti ad I was missig it already. Earlier i the

day, Seba had drive us right i the middle o a tese momet

betwee a lioess ad a hostile mass o some two hudred

Cape bualoes.

They look really agry! Lucy exclaimed. To our let, a

deeated but persistet lioess hid i the thicket, biddigtime. O our right, meacig stocky male bualoes had

ormed a lie o deece to protect their youg calves rom

dager. Grutig repeatedly, a hot-blooded male charged at

the lioess ad drove her urther away.

She wot be hutig today, said Seba. The bualoes are

too strog.

With that, our our-wheel drive sped through the Maasai

Kopjes, leavig a orage cloud o dust i its trail. Seba had

spotted a leopard the day beore ad wated to check out the

area agai.

True eough, he was right. It was a case o blik ad you

would have missed it. There, ested lazily i the crow o a

majestic acacia tree was a leopard, most o its sleder body

cocealed rom the public eye, except or a icospicuous

spotted tail.

Silly as it souds, we waited or the leopard or a hour

beore the sprightly creature ally woke up. Our patiece ordecet photographs paid o oce agai.

We headed o quickly, eager to see as much as we could.

I scribbled ervetly i my otebook, tryig to remember

the highs ad lows o our day. We were o a roll ad i

good compay!

Soo, the ateroo's brutal iero gave way to a getle

eveig breeze, sigalig it was time to make our way

back. This jourey was othig short o a treat or the

seses. I loved how ature had its way o puttig thigs

i place to remid us that the world was so much bigger

tha ourselves.

Suddely, seredipity rewarded us with a elephat crossig

a herd o eleve graz ig giats lumberig across the road.

Matriarchs guarded their little oes warily as they tugged at

twigs rom a dried tree. I the distace, two youg elephatbulls ought or attetio, their truks agile ad orceul.

I elt a strage calm i the presece o these giats. Growig

up i a city where zoos were our oly access to wildlie,

the absece o steel cages ad glass walls was movig ad

surreal. This jourey to the Seregeti has opeed doors to a

whole ew world ad ispired me to do my part i wildlie

coservatio. I will miss the aimals ad the hours spet

searchig or them. I will remember Seba. People make

places ad those we met have made Tazaia a treasured

experiece with their attetiveess ad warmth.

I watched as the elephats soldiered o ito the golde

horizo, remidig us to do the same.

AmomentIwillalwaysremember


18/22

Simbas PrideA B A B Y L I O n S S T O R Y


19/22

y ame is Simba ad I was bor i the wide savaah

plais, which Ive made my playgroud ad home.

There are about 3,000 o us livig here. I share it with may

other aimals, icludig over a millio wildebeests, elephats

ad zebra, which do't really like us. Compared to the other

kids o meat-eaters like hyeas, leopards ad cheetahs, we're

pretty much the biggest. The huma ihabitats who graze

their cattle o the grassy plais are the Maasai. They call this

place Seregeti, which meas "edless lad".

We call them the lio huters. A log time ago, durig the era

o my acestors, they used to seek us out with the purpose otakig our lives. To make us agry, they would steal our ood

ad provoke us i a challege amog the bushes or ope plais

agaist their spear ad shield. Mama says we have lost a umber

o our kid to these huters, who

use our mae ad tails or their

ow adoratio. So ar I have yet

to see them. I hear they are still

aroud, but they seem to have

other thigs to do ow ad take

lesser iterest i hutig us dow.

Theres also aother kid o

humas, the o-huters, who

come armed with black br ick-like objects called cameras ad

hide behid large, oisy movig boxes-o-wheels called jeeps.

They are watchig us all the time, whether it's aptime up o

trees or amog the grass plais, ad will sometimes wake us up

rom our sleep by makig uy oises. This really aoys me

because I love to sleep. Together with my brothers ad sisters,

we sped about 18 hours a day sleepig. This is almost as logas the time those grass-eaters sped grazig.


20/22

Zebras ad wildebeests are supposedly easier prey tha

gazelles because they dot move as ast. We also try to steer

clear o the hippos ad the giraes because o the threats they

pose. Hippos are too big ad giraes have powerul kicks that

eve the adults are araid o.

I my pride, mama ad the auts go out to hut. They are ot

lucky all the time, though, ad we go hugry sometimes. Itsot that easy, you kow. It usually takes mama our tries to

succeed oce. I guess she works the hardest out o everyoe.

Papa, o the other had, does the sleepig ad eatig. But Im

ot sure who gets it better there are times where he gets

ito really erce brawls with other male lios to deed us

ad comes back limpig i a bloody mess.

I like mama most because she always makes sure we get to eat

rst. My sibligs ad I ejoy pickig ad choosig the best

cuts o meat. Belly meat, which is boeless, sot ad teder, is

my avourite. Boes taste horrible. Oce, I accidetally ate too

quickly ad eded up throwig up some udigested boes.

The adults ejoy takig their time with the rest o the meat

beore leavig letovers to scavegers like jackals ad vultures.

Ater we eat, we usually stroll alog the plais. I like watchig

the bright glowig su ball tur ito a orage red ad

disappear behid the lad. Its pretty cool. The ight alls

real quickly ad I kow its time to sleep agai.

We live or aroud 15 huma

years, which works out to be a

ripe old age o 76 cat years. Lie

is very peaceul here with my

pride, though thigs were't

always this way. A very log time

ago whe mama was just a cub,

a disease spread by domesticdogs kept i villages, called the Caie Distemper virus,

struck us. It quickly spread ad wiped out almost hal o our

kid i six moths. Imagie hal o us, goe? That was my

brie history lesso yesterday!

My playgroud chages every six moths. Durig the wet

moths rom October to March the golde-brow grass,

which provides us camoufage rom eemies gives way to

lush gree elds. Although I miss beig ivisible sometimes,

I love the cool weather because I ca eel the rai ad breeze

i my ur. I dot have may rieds except or my sibligs.

It used to make me sad that I couldt play with the baby

elephats, baboos ad zebras, but Im used to it ow. Mama

says I will uderstad why whe I grow up.

I like to play the occasioal hide ad seek game with my

sibligs but the adults do't let us roam too ar or ear o the

mighty hawks or eagles, which ca easily crush us. Although I

thik I'm mightier tha that. I try to be. Ill reach my ull size

by my third birthday ad Im still waitig to grow a mae.

It will oly be ully-grow whe I am our or ve years old,but I'm deitely lookig orward to it because Ill look so

strog! It is also the whe I'll eed to leave my amily ad

orm a ew pride. I shudder to thik o all the ghts with

other youg lios that I have to deal with.

Growig up is pretty excitig, I thik. Ive started to sharpe

my claws ote by scratchig o tree truks. Im still ot

quite big eough to brig dow a prey with that sort o

deadly bite to the eck like how mama does. But Ive had a

couple o hutig practice sessios ad also helped to takedow two zebras, uder mamas watchul eye o course!


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22/22

COPYRIGHT NOTICE | The iormatio, text, graphics, images, ad iormatio published orotherwise cotaied i this book are owed by, or licesed to, ASB Developmet Limited ad,except as speciically provided herei, may ot be copied, distributed, displayed, reproducedor trasmitted i ay orm or by ay meas, electroic, mechaical, photocopyig, recordig,or otherwise, without the prior writte permissio o ASB Developmet Limited.

Stories ad photographs by Logue| Jea Qigwe Loo, Huiwe YagCover illustratio by Missyrica

Cocept ad desig by Duet Desig, Sigapore

Copyright 2012 ASB Developmet Limited. All rights reserved.

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