Cats In The Belfry...

As nice as Oliver's Camp and Mysigio Camp were, we expected our night at Ndutu to be a welcome break - four walls, a real shower, and more than the usual allotment of hot water. We rolled into camp and checked in, and promptly discovered that our room was the last on the end and quite a walk to the main building. Now, this wouldn't normally be a problem, but the "last room on the end" phenomenon had become somewhat of a joke with us. Since we had arrived in Tanzania, all of our rooms had been the most remote, or nearly so. I think David took as much exception to this as we did (maybe more) so he talked to the manager and got us moved closer. A little thing, but just another of the reasons we appreciated having David with us so much.

By the time we had settled in and taken a shower, it was time to meet David at the campfire for a drink. This group of White Crowned Shrikes flew ahead and reserved some seats for us. I think the fire is one of my favorite parts about camp culture: drinks and snacks around the fire, meeting new people, and discussing the day's events while evening fades into night. It's all very civilized.

Dinner was delicious, served in the open-air dining room. Dinner at Ndutu comes with a show, however: the lodge is famous for the Serval cats that inhabit the rafters of the dining room.

About the size of a housecat, Servals look a little like a housecat, leopard, raccoon, and ferret all rolled into one: small, spotted, long nosed, and long bodied. Normally quite shy and nocturnal animals, they seem to have adapted well to life at the lodge.

We made an early evening of it (again). The last two days had been long, eventful, and tiring, but we could sleep in tomorrow to the luxurious time of, oh, 7:30 or so.

The next morning, we arrived at breakfast refreshed to find lovebirds waiting for us. Lots of lovebirds. As in Alfred Hitchcock numbers of lovebirds. This is why David was so correct when he told us to always keep the binos and camera with us! In any case the lovebirds were special gift from the Serengeti; today marked our wedding anniversary!

We were soon on our way to the Ndutu airstrip for our flight to the northern Serengeti. Our stay at Ndutu was short but fun, and we would like to return someday to spend a little more time. We heard that the game viewing is actually pretty good in this area when the rains move south. Maybe someday...