Chris and Henry are in Chyulu Hills

Another day and another short ride in a small plane.  This time to Chyulu Hills National Park. 

We are staying at Ol Donyo Lodge which is the only lodge in the park.  There is an underground bunker where you can sit and watch all the animals refresh themselves at a watering hole.

It is fascinating to sit and watch the animals interact.  The elephants are bullies and hog the entire hole while all the other animals patiently wait for them to leave.  Well, not all the animals.  The zebras are like frat boys at spring break.  They push and shove and bite and kick each other just to get a spot at the bar, errr... hole.  They have no system at all.  The other animals all take turns and are calm about getting a drink.  The zebras... a disaster... and so fun to watch.

This lodge is easily our favorite of the trip.  Check out the video of the room... there's a tea chest and a star bed. 

We picked this lodge because, while they don't have the variety of animals as in the Mara, they offer alternatives to the regular just sit around in a jeep and see the animals experience.

We had 2 activities this afternoon: dog tracking and hiking.  

They use bloodhounds to track poachers.  With the covid, there has been an increase in poaching because many people lost their jobs.  These 2 dogs, Bonnie and Clyde, have caught 20 poachers during covid.  As a demonstration, Henry pretended to be the poacher and hid in the bush while Clyde tracked him down.  The best part was listening to the rangers speak with such pride about the dogs and the anti-poaching program. 

The hike was up a small hill with 360 degree views.  Since our bar for difficulty is now "Gorilla Trekking in the Impenetrable Forest," the hike was easy.  The worst part was the wind as you can hear in the video taken from the top.

The balls in this tree are filled with ants. They protect the tree from being eaten by animals because the ants bite the tongue of whoever tries to eat the tree.

Sundowner cocktail

Tomorrow, I am going to ride across the African bush on a horse while Henry is going to do something else.  I guess Henry does not trust the 20 minute lesson Sara and I gave him. I mean we taught him how to steer and stop.  What else does he think he needs?