The hunter, the hunted and the observer: Part 2

(Continued from Part 1: Read here.)

As we were returning from the Hippo pools we decided that we would give it another 30 minutes and then leave the park. I realised I was kind of dozing off in the odd combination of bright sunlight and cool wind, because I was shaken by the excited voice of my guide, "Look there is the gecko you missed the last time". Some gecko, it was a Monitor Lizard full six feet in length, head to tail, with Matrix-green slimy skin. I quickly managed to get a couple of snaps, before it disappeared under the little bridge. I must have gone back to dozing because then I was startled by, "There he is, at last! I am amazed how fast you can go to sleep." We were looking at the back of a Lion about 80 feet away. On the other side we could see a couple of Safari vans silently parked in anticipation of the Simba to do something spectacular.

Calvin had an idea that we should go around the lion and come face to face with him. So, we started the engines and followed a circuitous route down the hill turning left and coming halfway up the hill on a track parallel to our current one. The route was longer than I had imagined because out of the blue we were beside a pond with a hippo in dark pink and grey hide munching away the tall green grass. He looked up at us when we stopped and made a waving gesture with his head. I kept shooting away on my digicam. In a few seconds another Safari van that pulled up beside us. Hippos are shy, I thought, as I saw the giant pink and grey beast turn around swiftly and in a running-rolling motion ease itself into the pond. We backed our car and resumed the little trip up the hill back to the Simba.

Within a few minutes, we were back in sight of the Safari vans parked by the Lion's spot. Somehow thinking that we had to tread slowly lest we disturb the Lion, we parked the car and turned off the engine. Looking out for the Lion walk his way downhill, we realised he was not alone. I saw the Lioness first, crouched in the grass looking intently ahead into the distance. We were just about 40 feet away from the Lioness. Then the Lion emerged behind her in a majestic gait down the hill.

I kept switching between video and still modes on my camera and remembered that this was the stuff that National Geographic shows are made of, isn't it? I could feel the tension in the air, as we realised that the majestic couple was indeed checking out the dazzle of zebras about 300 feet away. "Animals can sense danger, you know. The zebras are not behaving normally as they do," Calvin kept talking. I thought, nothing was normal about this scene, as far as I was concerned. I could hear every little tweet that any bird was making. If I tried harder, I could probably hear the sounds of the zebras. I am certain this natural drama plays out thousands of times around the world every day. But when have I  been a witness to it in real life? I was really lucky that this was happening in the little time window that I was in the park.

Hunting is a patient game. We had played it all morning to sight the Simba couple. Now, we were watching these two lay out the ground for their hunt. It was already about 15 minutes since we landed at the scene and the Lion and the Lioness had hardly moved 10 feet. At this rate, the hunt would take some time to end in a kill. Calvin reminded me that we would not have time to go to the Giraffe Park since we had spent more than planned time here. He knew about my meeting and my flight and he knew the sluggish traffic on Nairobi roads. He had been my driver for the last three days. So, I had to agree with him and reluctantly decided to end the observation of the lions.

On my way out, I was so excited, I made a long distance call to let my wife know what I had just left behind. She could not believe it. She  immediately decided that I could watch a full hunt when we went to Masai Mara together. So, there it was, a plan to Masai Mara was made. I am definitely looking forward to a longer Safari that would come about in the next 18 months. The Mara's been on our list long enough. We better figure out how to check it off the list.

Until then I have to be like the Simbas, patiently waiting, carefully observing, remaining out of sight yet keeping the goal in sight and swooping down on the target in a quick action.

The hunter, the hunted and the observer. Part - 1

I saw the Lioness first, as she looked far into the distance crouched 40 feet away in the dry Kenyan Savannah patch. Almost invisible, she had been elusive through the best attempts of my safari driver and me for the last two and a half hours. The Lion emerged about 15 feet behind her, in his majestic gait and crouched about eight feet behind her. Within a few seconds, he stood up and walked up to the Lioness as she continued to survey the dazzle of zebras. Calvin, my Safari driver and guide, let out a knowing smile and said in his Kenyan accented English "She is just trying to spot the fattest one". I said," You mean the slowest one." He replied,"Same thing. Man these zebras are all fat." I looked at my mid-riff and decided that I should not continue talking and instead work on my camera.

While I would have loved to start earlier, we had started off at 7 AM. No time for breakfast, I picked up a couple of small pies and a couple of doughnuts from a supermarket. I bought extra batteries just in case my rechargeable ones gave away. We reached Nairobi National Park at 7:30 AM and picked up our Safari passes. There were three other cars waiting to check in at one of the seven gates that open into the park. As soon as I started wondering whether the tarmac was laid for all of the 100 odd kms of criss cross Safari tracks, the tarmac ended and gave way to hard red and black earth.

The first native of the park we met was an Ostrich. After that they just kept coming - Impalas, the Wild Beasts (Oke, as they are called in Masai), Gazelles, Zebras and dozens of types of birds that I do not know the names of, but they came in all colours. After about half hour we changed tracks as Calvin spotted a Giraffe at a distance. Somehow, everytime we kept getting closer the giraffe changed directions. I never got close enough for my camera. About the camera - I own some of the best equipment for a prosumer of photography. But, this biz trip was put together on short notice and I could not get my Nikkor Lenses (one of them a 450mm effective on the D70 that I own), cleaned. I am the only one I know whose lenses have fungi on the inner element. And since it is rainy season, I was told they would not risk opening it until seasons changed and the dry winter began. So, there I was with a 100 dollar SLR-like Fujifilm S5800  digicam, which had time and again proved itself for street, landscape and macro photography. But, I knew it was a crime or even a sin to not carry to a Kenyan safari the best of the equipment I had. I was counting on the bright sunlight to make up for any limitations that my  digicam had. Anyway, c'est la vie.

Everytime we passed another private or hired Safari vehicle, the drivers exchanged notes about what each other had spotted. Even in the open wilderness of the grassland with sparse Acacia groves and very rare clumps of palm trees, it was difficult to predict where a specific type of land animal would be. It was about two hours into the Safari and we were getting eager to see a pride of three lions that we kept hearing about. We even chatted up a ranger with a gun and wearing camouflage fatigues. I did not have the whole day. I had a flight to catch in six and a half hours and a meeting (I know), to attend in three hours. So, we again changed routes.

Shortly, we spotted a tower of Giraffes and since we were driving into the sun, they appeared as tall silhouettes in a light blue background. For a second, it felt like being in  Jurassic Park. I had never seen a dozen giraffes together, let alone this close in the wild. We were on our way to what they called the Hippo Pools, where sometimes the lions hung around. While we saw neither the hippos nor the lions, we had a close encounter with congress of baboons (I wonder if the connection between monkeys and the government is a deliberate one). An enterprising guard had set up a small refreshment bar of soft drinks in a shelter near the Hippo Pools. To draw crowds to his little store, he had displayed sun-dried and somehow cleaned up skeletal remains of several animals done to end by the predators. The most interesting and difficult to guess was that of an Ostrich.  ( Continued in Part 2: Read here.)

Shooting my neck off

I spent my second last evening at office doing what I like doing most- shooting my neck off! That's just another way of saying that I like setting up my camera on the Monfrotto and shooting away.

I am a huge fan of this campus. When the lights come up and the reflection of each structure is seen in another, it is difficult to stay away from the trigger. Right after sun set, I set up the tools and set out to the remotest corner of the campus. The idea was to capture the splendour of glass and concrete intermingling with greenery, water and light-natural and otherwise.

Ignoring curious looks from people making their way to the company bus terminal, I carried around my camera mounted on the stretched-open tripod. My paraphernalia usually gives an impression that there is some serious work going on. That makes things easier for me, as no one bothers.

And honestly, journalists (by invitation) and cameramen are so common in the campus that one gets used to it. At least once a month, one can spot a bunch of OB vans around the campus. This brings me to an interesting experience, a first for me. Last week, right outside my office building, which is outside the campus, someone from an English language news channel took a reaction from me on the budget. She said I would be on TV 'at 8 PM'. But then I do not get that channel at home. Its sister Hindi channel did not carry me. What do you think...I was glued to the TV. Because never have I been on that side of a camera with a mike pointed at me; for the record, by a good looking journalist. So, unless I was really on TV but missed it, those were five minutes of breath wasted that day.

But you get the picture? Bottom line is that I could work in peace.

I started at around 6 PM, did not care to look at the watch, only made a couple phone calls home to say I would be late and shot around two hundred pictures. I must have walked about three kilometers by the time I made my way back to the main gate. What I did not realise was that it was close to 10 PM when I checked out my 'personal items' on the security register. About four hours? You bet, it was time well spent.

Lest I forget, thanks D for your farewell lunch treat! It made my day.