One Year Away

Joseph

The highlight of the safari for me was at the Grumeti river in the Serengeti.  That is the famous river that the migrating wildebeest herd has to cross.  We were in the park right at the time of the migration but it seemed that some late rains were keeping the herd in the park.  However, on the way back from the shores of  Lake Victoria we heard the hoof beats of thousands of animals running.   

Moses pulled the truck up onto the bank of the river and the wildebeest suddenly burst past us in a mass of hoofs and horns.  They were running quickly, jumping into the water, crossing the river then continuing on the other side.  The herd was huge and we could see no end to it.  Suddenly, the stream of wildebeest split into two and our truck was in the center of the migrating herd, an island of astounded tourists with cameras on video mode, in a river of wildebeest.  Then Penny yelled, "Lion! Lion!" and we all turned to see a lioness make an attacking run at the wildebeest.  She failed in her attack and crouched down in the grass about 10 meter from our truck, her eyes intently following the panicked herd.  Slowly she got up took a few paces and then made another run at the herd.  This time she disappeared around a bend in the river and we lost sight of her.  Our hearts were pounding and we all had foolish grins on our faces as we finally crossed the river after the herd.