The balloon ride today was great. The basket we rode was huge - held 14 of us. When we got to the site (before sunrise), they were filling up the balloon with air using 2 huge fans. The pilot got us all into the basket, which was on its side, and we laid down in it like astronauts. Then she hit the initial burners. It was extremely hot on our faces. She actually burned some of the bottom of the balloon from the fire. According to our pilot, you can burn up to 30% of the bottom of the balloon and still be able to fly, however even a pinhole in the top has to be repaired otherwise the hot air will escape and the balloon will not fly. We did not get to see many animals in the balloon - just some giraffes and gazelles.
The balloon ride ends with a champagne breakfast. They had a Maasai serving the drinks, so we were able to get our picture taken with him. The Maasai are the natives in this area, and they are quite the entrepreneurs, charging $10-$20 to take their picture. We ate near the Maasai river, which had over 50 hippos soaking in it, as well as a few crocodiles.
As we were driving back to the lodge, we saw >14 giraffes of various sizes. At one point we noticed one was using his neck to butt another. We thought maybe it was a sign of affection, but was informed that it is a sign of aggression between two males. We were also told that their tongues are blue and can be over 8 inches long in adults! What I think is cool about giraffes is watching them walk. They always move both feet on the same side at the same time. Later in the day we saw another group of over 20 giraffes.
We spent the rest of the day on safari. We noticed a tree with huge branches down and ask our driver what had happened, since it did not seem to be lightning. He told us it was likely elephants which pulled the limbs down. Around the bend, we found 4 elephants, which we guessed to be the mother, baby, younger child (~4), and older child (~8). We were able to get within 20-30 feet of them.
Afterwards, as we were leaving, we got stuck in a huge rut and almost turned sideways. We got out of the van and the men pushed the truck back up onto the road. I am amazed that they were able to do this given how deeply the van was in the ground. I took this opportunity to find bushes and take a "potty" break, and on the way back ripped my only pants (sweats) on a bush. Thank goodness I am supposed to get luggage tomorrow, although I have to admit, I am not letting myself get too excited until it actually happens.
Saw three cheetah laying in the grass, just a little ways from zebra, topi, and peafowl hens. Before we knew it, there were ~9 trucks circling the cheetahs taking pictures. They did a great job of posing for us. Then the cheetahs started walking toward the vans, walked right between two of them and started stalking the prey. The topi buck noticed the cheetahs and started moving the topi and zebra away. The peafowls disappeared. After waiting a while, the cheetahs gave up and walked away. We got some great shots of the cheetah stalking toward the prey before it gave up. And a group with us was in one of the trucks that the cheetah walked beside. They were just inches away from it.
Saw more zebras and wildebeest as part of the migration. Found out the migration includes approx. 100,000 zebras and 300,000 wildebeest! This explains why they seem to go on forever. The wildebeest is called the "leftover" animal because it has a buffalo's body and horns, hyena's rear legs, zebra's strips (although more brown & black), and human's beard.
Other animals seen today include a thompson gazelle, warthogs, African crowned crane, caped buffalo, hyena, lions, and baboons.
Tomorrow we have a short safari in the morning, may go to a Maasai village, and then back to Nairobi. We are still hoping to get better shots of the lion (every time we see the male, he is laying down on the ground and we can't get good pictures) and a leopard. If all goes well, I will be able to change my clothes then.
That's all for now, I'll write later.
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