"That one is a lion. This one is a lioness. Over there is a giraffe."
After over a year in Uganda, my knowledge is expanding and I can now name quite a few birds (mostly water birds) by sight and even by sound, thanks to my twitcher friend Sven. The hadada ibis (the clue is in the name!) being a good one for beginners, yet will still gain impressed nods from those novice safari-goers around you.
My African Adventurer then tried to take my enthusiasm for spotting one step further and started to test my knowledge on acacia trees! I have a long way to go (!), but he obviously can see my potential, as has suggested I try and gain my safari guide badge once I am in Kenya (don't tell me if there is no such thing!!). My friend Kerry laughed out loud (a bit too loud!) when she heard this. Yes, indeed, it may be a bit harder than gaining our Girl Guides cooking badge at the age of 12...but I am up for a challenge!
My most recent RUT customers were a bit harder to please than some! How was I to know that one client, Nick, had spent over 20 years in Africa and knew a hyrax when he heard one (not a hyrux) and an eland (not an islander!) when he saw one? (All were slips of the tongue...honest!). We had a bet in the car on which animal we would spot first on safari; I said the Ugandan Kob...surely a easy win. Not, as I found out 5 hours later, when you are in Lake Mburu National Park (like we were at that time) and they don't have any! Bugger! Nick did continue to try to steal my thunder on a couple of occasions, but I wowed him with my extensive knowledge of trees!
It might take me a while to settle in to being a safari guide in Kenya; I think they have different giraffes there!!!
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| Topi |
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| Ugandan Kob |
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| Spotting from the Hide at Lake Mburu |
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| The battle of the ultimate safari guides! |
I am so glad to have stumbled upon your blog - it is fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI'd love you to join me for my Expat Linky Party on March 19th.
I can't believe the life you live! It sounds so exciting and glam!! I've just popped over from Laura's linky party.
ReplyDeleteSarahx
I'd love to go to Africa one day. That Kob (I'd never heard of a kob!) is so beautiful, it makes me want to draw!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear about the differences between Uganda and Kenya. Loving following your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining Post Of The Month Club! XOL
Oh, I can't tell you how jealous I am of all your adventures there. My dream is to go to Africa one day and explore the wild ;)
ReplyDeleteStopped over from Post of the Month Club. Hope you are having a good one!
http://texagermanadian.blogspot.com/
That sounds fabulous!! I really love to see Giraffes run- they are so cute and gangly!!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by from Happy Homemaker :-)
This is so exciting!! Im here from Happy Homemaker UK! So Glad I found yoU!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and for starting to 'follow' my African Adventures.
ReplyDeleteMissy-giraffes are my favourite!
:)
Calling by from Happy Homemaker UK as participating in Post of the Month and really enjoying meeting everyone else and reading their favourite posts. I have been here before and it is always interesting :)
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