Eye to eye
Next morning we started out on another long drive. This time our destination was the Mountain Lodge, situated on the base of Mount Kenya. The Mountain Lodge was built at a waterhole. It had an observation deck and every room had a balcony overlooking the waterhole. The hotel also had a bunker, closer to the waterhole. Here we shouldn’t do any game drives, only observe.
There was some drama around the waterhole. A herd of about a hundred buffalos arrived at the waterhole, drinking and resting. Later a wounded elephant arrived, badly limping – apparently one of his knees was damaged, and both his tusks were broken. After a stalemate some of the buffalos backed off and gave the elephant access to the water. A Marabou stork walked around close to the bunker, and some of us ran down to the bunker. It was fascinating to watch the big bird, five feet tall, from only a few meters distance. He turned his head suspiciously, showing his peculiar face, as if he understood that he was being watched, but not how.
Later at night we got a remainder that this wasn’t a zoo. I woke up about three o clock in the morning at a very loud howling and a terrifying growling sound. I open the balcony door just in time to see three wild dogs attacking a hyena. (A weak floodlight lighted the waterhole) After a short fight both parties retreated, the hyena limping – or maybe it was just his or hers odd way to walk.
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