Breakfast and Flamingos

Monday August 29, 2005


Our camp was up early, taking down our tents and grabbing a quick pre-breakfast of gingerbread cookies and strong coffee. The hot water for showers was limited and I felt in need of a good wake-up so I had a shivering quick wash-up at the cold-water tap.

Anne-Dorte, a Danish woman who is our second guide, officially introduced herself this morning. She is tall and brisk and reminds me a lot of Kira, my brother's partner. Anne-Dorte arrived last night as we were all heading off to bed. She is fresh from Zanzibar where she left the group that travelled this route before us.

Also with us this morning is a friendly white dog that Wayne has nicknamed Grommet. He joined us at dinner last night. The dog nearly lost favour with us after peeing on one of the tents yesterday, but this morning we are all feeling protective of Grommet because Wayne saw his owner hitting him with a stick.

Soon after dawn two matatus carrying local guides arrive at our campsite. Matatus are rattling mini-vans that the locals use for public transportation. We saw many matatus yesterday as we were driving. It seems common practice to squeeze as many people as you can into them. And we follow the local tradition.

We all cram in with the guides (Evan, Michael, and Daniel) and go for a bouncing ride first along a main road and then up and down a hilly rutted track bordered by dangerously irregular ditches. The matatus move surprisingly swiftly considering the abominable road conditions.

It is along this back road that we collectively gasp as giraffes are spotted near the roadside. The first animal appeared out of nowhere as a long neck suddenly rose above the shrubbery and gazed peacefully at our passing vehicle. I see at least three others as we continue along the track. I feel so contented. I have been to Africa and seen giraffes.

Within half an hour we arrive at the dusty entrance of the lodge of a small private reserve, the Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. There is a sign at the beginning of the path warning people to be on the look-out for roaming buffalo but a guide says that there haven't been buffalo seen around here in a while.

We follow stone steps down a steep path lined with vines, cactus, and the bright yellow flowers of the candle-bush. It leads to a lawn-covered area with thatch-roofed buildings down by the green lake. This is where we are going to have breakfast.

When I signed up for a budget camping safari I was not expecting to be served caffe lattes and elaborate English breakfasts by the lakeside the second morning out. It was unexpectedly posh, although we sadly didn't make it a habit on this trip.

Crater Lake is a small emerald jewel of a lake. Sunlight shone through the shifting mists rising off the green water and flocks of lesser flamingos splashed the lakeside with a frosting of pink.

The flamingos migrate along a chain of similar soda lakes in the area. The alkalinity of the water prevents fish from living in Crater Lake, but produces the amazing colour and the algae for the flamingos to feed on. As rain and season change the water level in the lakes, the alkalinity rises and falls and the flamingoes follow where the algae thrives.

We tried to get nearer to them but when we got too close they'd rise as a group and fly further down the shore, kicking up the water behind them with flapping, spindly legs.

There are only a few things that will prey on the flamingos here: the African fishing-eagles, and occasionally baboons, which can swim as well as a human when hungry.

Walking along the grassy path by the shore we also saw ducks, grebes, blacksmith plovers. And hanging low in the trees were the intricately-woven nests of yellow weaver-birds.

The black and white colobus monkeys in the surrounding acacia forest have already become a familiar sight.