Spaghetti on the Serengeti....and Some Bugs

Thursday, September 1, 2005

As evening fall on our first Serengeti game-drive, we must head for our camp-site. We must be off the roads before darkness falls.

We make a quick pit-stop at a large luxury safari lodge that suddenly looms out of nowhere. It looks very modern, with lots of wood and glass. Impala graze just outside the edge of the parking lot.

I wonder aloud how much it costs to stay in such a posh-looking place, but from my pre-trip research into safari options I am quite sure I don't want to trade my cozy sleeping-bag for a frighteningly-expensive bed. No, all I want out of this lodge is to sneak in and use their toilet facilities.

The line-up for the Wanawakes (Ladies) is too long so I make myself into an honourary
gent.

We are bush-camping at Ngiri Campsite tonight. There is a grass-thatched shelter there for cooking under in bad weather, but that is as close as we get to the amenities of a luxury-lodge. The loos are pit-toilets located a short walk away down a trail from our tents.

We pitch our tents to form a horse-shoe shape, the truck forming another side to the circle and our camp-fire in the middle. Once again we are cautioned about the do's and don'ts of bush-camping.

Remember... be careful where you spit your tooth-paste and NO food or toiletries in your tent. Pee behind your tent if you must get up in the night. If you spot animal eyes, that are green or yellow, it's probably not a predator but move slowly away just to be safe. And if you see the reflection of red eyes, do not run away and act like prey. Ah, all good safety tips .

We gather around the camp-fire to eat as Pete works his magic and makes the spaghetti fabulous. I coin the phrase Spaghetti on the Serengeti which is gleefully passed around.

After dinner we stay around the fire to talk. I am sitting on a camp-stool writing in my journal when I notice a scuttling motion near my feet. There is a large odd-looking arachnid of some kind trundling around in the dirt. I fetch my camera and follow it around trying to get a good picture until it scampers away into the grassland around our camp.

Yes, I'm interested in bugs. :)

Nobody was able to tell me what it was at the time, but from some internet research I believe it was a solufigid of some sort. The members of the genus Solifugae include some pretty scary-looking arachnoids, like the infamous camel spiders, but they are non-venomous and quite fascinating. Their Latin name means "flees from the sun" because they are nocturnal and can apparently dig some impressive burrows. They are also known for their impressive hunting abilities and their ability to run at enormous speeds.

One of my fellow campers studied the weird-looking critter I was trying to photograph, and noticing my sandal-clad feet inquired : "Thinking about a change in footwear?"

Soon after this sighting, there was a loud whirring sound to my left and then a THWACK as an enormous beetle crashes like a miniature helicopter into Helen as she sits peacefully by the fire. She was most unhappy about it!

But (lucky for me) it's something I've been wanting to see: a scarab/dung beetle! I scoop it up in my hand for a closer look. It's quite a big and heavy insect and clings to my fingers with a strong grip. It has a hard and shiny black body. There is a mixture of interest and polite revulsion as I bring it around for everyone to have a look.

Helen probably thought I was crazy, but I'd be feeling poorly towards any creature that hit me in the head like that too.

Wayne says its nice when campers are interested in wildlife other than the bigger animals.

We retire to our tents somewhere around nine o'clock. Bedtime comes early on this trip.