It had to happen eventually, I guess. I woke up early in the morning, sick to my stomach. A few bouts of vomiting and I wasn’t up to anything. I spent the morning, sleeping in bed with the occasional sickness. The staff here were kind and offered to help as much as possible, including driving me to the local pharmacy (about 10 minutes away). I insisted on staying in bed for the remainder of the afternoon, where I woke up late in the afternoon feeling much, much better. It was very strange. I’m pretty sure it was something I ate, I’m guessing the Thai food, or it could have been the malaria medication since I didn’t have that with food beforehand. Either way, my body just needed to get rid of it.
I went on the game drive that evening, after resting up, drinking a lot of water, and relaxing. I felt so much better. We started out our game drive in the front row. Luxury seating if you ask me. Jo took us on a smooth ride driving into the African bush, this time to find lions. We followed the male lion, who was on the move and was easily lost among the trees. This time we didn’t follow him through, instead we went a few roads ahead and met up with him from time to time. He seemed to be on a mission, Jo thought he might be meeting up with the rest of the herd so we backed away and headed in the direction he was heading. After a while of driving we came across a lioness eating a warthog with her two baby cubs. The cubs were further away, asleep as the mother grunted and snorted. I swear it was louder than usual as she devoured its insides. We sat and watched the two lion cubs wake up, then share the meal with their mom. Two other lionesses waited on either side, asleep. We sat and watched them. I’ve never been particularly afraid of the lions, however when one woke up and started walking towards me, within 2 feet of the side of the land cruiser, I tensed up. The lion walked away casually, after discerning that we weren’t a threat to her, and she quickly fell asleep under a neighboring tree. We drove away satisfied with our cub curiosity. We stopped off for some drinks in an open dirt area, where we had just missed the sun going down but had the perfect timing to see the moon rise. The moon rose with a golden color through the trees before reaching height in the sky. The trees all lit up with the glow around it. It was a full moon, so the stars weren’t as visible so it wasn’t as easy to see the constellations. As the moon was rising, Jo took out his laser pointer and started pointing out the constellations. We saw the scorpion. I was trying to find the little dipper which was high in the sky the previous luck but I think the light from the moon drowned it out.
On our way back to the camp we came across a hippopotamus just off the road foraging. He would occasionally poke his head up, during his meal as if to acknowledge us then head back to his supper. We also saw a chameleon, which was kind of upset that the ranger picked him up and placed him in the hands of the lady of the Italian couple traveling with us. I mentioned that having a chameleon in your hands must be like a reptile treadmill. Running away as fast as possible but not getting very far. Jo placed him back on the branches, and we sped along the road back the camp.
We arrived at the camp and were offered flash lights to get back to the tent. After placing our stuff down we headed back to the eating area which I would describe as a modern hut, with open side walls. We met a couple from Louisiana, and another from D.C. We must have hit the American lodge or something. We sat down with our ranger who spoke of his tales in the fire department and spoke with two couples on the trip. One couple is a newlywed Italian couple, and the other is a German couple. They all seem to be well traveled. It was pretty interesting getting to know everyone on the trip so far. You seem to meet people from all walks of life, and a variety of interests. We grabbed dinner which was served in a variety of hot pots, and servings of fruit and cheeses. I chose the safe options of steamed vegetables, cheese, and potatoes, with a side of chicken. Everything tasted great, but the chicken had many, many bones. I made dinner short where I headed back to the tent, with the promise of elephants tomorrow.
