July 7: Safari Day 1
What was supposed to be a 4-5 hour drive to the “Red Chili Rest Camp” for our safari the next day became the 12 hour tour… Our van broke down on the side of the road and our driver flagged down a random car to take us to town (something I have gotten used to here) We waited several hours in a local restaurant and were finally rescued by our greasy but proud driver who had made the repairs with the help of a passing mechanic. We arrived after dark and were rewarded with a free dinner and drinks from the camp staff.
We learned during dinner that the camp is unfenced. We saw many warthogs throughout the day – but the most shocking things were the hippos. They wander up from the river at night and can be very aggressive. Laura saved me from one as I walked from the bathroom back to the restaurant. My eyes hadn’t adjusted completely and as I walked towards our table Laura yelled my name. About twenty feet in front of me was a hippo the size of a volkswagen. If she hadn’t warned me I would have walked right into it. It could have killed me. We heard them munching around our tent all night and had to be careful if we wanted to leave the tents in the dark for any reason.