21:17, Wednesday, June 15, 2011

HOLY SHEEEEEEEEEET! WE WERE CHARGED BY AN ELEPHANT TODAY IN THE VEHICLE!!! It was so amazing. We had spent all day driving and were in the Mara when it happened. It had started to rain super hard. Dave and I had to get out to tighten the second tarp; it was excellent because we got so wet, and the tarp refused to cooperate. Once we got back in the car and started driving again, we came upon some elephants. Dave expected them to be okay with us passing, because of course he had never had any problems before. One of the four elephants was a HUGE female with extremely long tusks that were almost crossing in the front. She had a fairly young one with her. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she turned and started running right at us!!! Dave quickly turned the car and drove off of the road, praying that he didn’t hit rocks. Lia and I couldn’t believe what was happening! I wasn’t afraid, but that was only because I wasn’t in control and didn’t have to decide what to do. When you’re in that position, you just kind of tell yourself that whatever happens happens, and enjoy the fact that you are currently being charged by an elephant. The crazy thing is that she didn’t stop charging us for a really long ways; we kept looking back and she would still be following us and start running at us if we stopped. The only thing we could figure is that the tarp flapping around bothered her, especially since she had a young one. Eventually we got far enough away that she stopped, but HOLY SMOKES! How absolutely thrilling! Dave kept apologizing profusely that we had to experience that on our first night, and assured us that had never happened before; I don’t think he knew who he was dealing with. We were so excited! Holy adrenaline rush! Definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be on foot around that mother elephant. I’m a little curious as to whether she would have stopped or actually run into us had we not moved, but like Dave said, much better to just let the elephant win and not find out.

It is unbelievably good to be back in the Mara. You don’t realize how much you love a place until you are allowed to visit it again. It is just so beautiful. You can see for miles and miles across the rolling savanna, and while it is sunny where you are at the moment, you might see rain falling in a sheet in the distance, and the clouds are just so huge and seemingly low. I find the west side of the Mara even more beautiful than the east, which is the side I am more familiar with. After flipping a coin, I ended up in the wilder west camp with Lia; Adrianna and Janie are in east.

We have already seen so many animals. We saw a black rhino for one, and they are extremely rare!!! We stopped at the hippo pool; the rocks along the banks and the Mara itself define the wild side of the word picturesque. We saw several hyenas, including some adorable cubs, as well as all of our antelope friends and cape buffalo, widow birds and lilac-breasted rollers, ostriches and giraffes. Even when there are no animals, it is still the prettiest drive I have ever seen. I noticed how much the savanna smelled like home after it had rained so that the tall grass was soaked. It’s funny how something so simple can make a place half a world away seem like home.

Camp is out of this world cool. It is back in the bush in the middle of nowhere, for real. Lia and I have our own tent, and there is a kitchen tent, a lab tent, a hole in the ground with a makeshift-sort toilet seat behind a simple tarp up a path, and about three other tents for the various graduate students. The current guy on staff is named Filiman; he is such a caring individual, and the lentils and rice he made tonight were phenomenal! (We eat around a rectangular table under the canvas of the lab tent.) Two other American RA’s work here (they get a stipend for living out here and going on observation sessions, but they aren’t graduate students). Their names are Megan and Zac. We have been warned to keep a sock in between the adjoining zippers of our tent to keep out mosquitos, safari ants, and snakes. We have a little washbasin outside of our tent, currently housing an enormous orange slug. I hear hippos and hyenas that sound very close; apparently elephants have been coming right into camp the last three nights. We have been told not to make a bunch of noise if we hear something outside, but just to go about our business and we should be fine. We can look out if we want, but we shouldn’t use a light if we can help it. Peeing should be done in a pee bucket or directly outside the tent; after viewing the very long path up to the choo (toilet), I am okay with remaining next to the tent. I was surprised that we were told that buffalo, elephant, and rhino are of much more concern than carnivores in terms of safety. I guess it’s better to be amongst lions than elephants. Curious.

Either way, I am SO HAPPY to be here. This is just fantastic, and the life I have long dreamed of experiencing. Time for sleep; we have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow. And naturally, I have to use the “bathroom”. Hope that hippo is not too close.