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July 4, 2005
There was dense fog and it was very cold as we left our lodge for a game drive. We needed to descend the steep crater wall using a series of switchbacks. As soon as we broke beneath the fog bank we were greeted with a glorious sunrise that Phebe termed a "Hallelujah experience". Almost right off the bat we spotted a cheetah. Our driver jockeyed his position and it ended up crossing the road right in front of us. It was comical to see a jackal tailing him hoping for a kill. We headed to a forest looking for leopards in trees but had no luck.
We saw another vehicle parked alongside a road and we wandered over to see what was up. Lying right next to the road was the fresh kill of a Cape buffalo and a few yards behind was a male lion who had done the dastardly deed. He had already begun to feast on the beast and was probably content for the moment.
We saw literally thousands of wildebeests along with hundreds of zebras. There was another hippo pool and we saw a large bird carrying a snake in its mouth. At one point we saw a male lion (well hidden in the tall grass) and a few feet away were female lions who would occasionally pop their heads up from their stand of tall grass.
We saw many hyenas and one up real close. There were others that were hanging around with some vultures who had their huge wings spread to cool themselves off. We had a boxed lunch in our truck because we were told that if we ate outside birds would attack us for our food.
We saw flamingos in the distance standing beside the salt lake. We also saw a black rhino in the wild. This would be the only one we saw on the trip. We were lucky though because now we only have one other animal to spot to say we have seen the Big 5.
We saw many jackals in the afternoon and several varieties of them. Before returning up the crater wall we made one last pass of the fallen buffalo. Just as we were approaching, the lion had been feeding again and was headed back to his post to keep guard over his treasure.
While at dinner the lights dimmed and the waiter and waitresses came through the restaurant singing, clapping and carrying a cake with candles. We were very surprised when they stopped at our table. The large cake was decorated with an American flag and read "Happy Independence Day".
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