Days of Adventure (written by Marlys Melius)

We certainly had a few days of adventure this week.  

On Tuesday, February 9 (as Pr Peter, and Neil and Courtney Hess were in transit) the remaining travelers left for Ruaha National Park.  Travel took considerably longer than anticipated due to all the rains and washed out roads.  Our first evening in Ruaha was pleasant, as we did a game drive through the park and enjoyed seeing one sleepy lion.  We also enjoyed seeing some colorful wild dogs, animals none of us had seen in previous trips.

Then, there was Wednesday, February 10.  We were anticipating going on another game drive early in the morning; but it had been raining much of the night and still raining in the morning.  Our vehicles certainly would have gotten stuck on the deeply rooted roads.  Therefore, we decided against a game drive for the moment.  Everyone went back to their Banda (free-standing structures where safari guests stay) to do some relaxing, reading, or just watch the river rise.  It wasn't more than an hour and the raging river continued to climb, eventually coming into our Bandas. 

 

Now, the resort staff became concerned and began moving us and our luggage to higher ground.  Some of us were moved to the kitchen, then to the vehicles, and finally to the owner's Banda. Others were brought to the main dining room to wait out the flooding.  The river continued to rise and concern turned to fear as we thought about our safety.  One group was completely surrounded by water and continued to move to higher areas in the dining room.  Consequently, the staff had to use their zip line to go back and forth between both of our small groups. Staff continued to reassure us that we were safe; but, we didn't have that same level of confidence.

Around noon on Wednesday, the rains stopped and eventually the river began to subside.  Nearly all of us had markers on buildings, trees, and other landmarks that we used to watch the river go down.  We later learned that the river had risen approximately 18 feet!

The staff were amazing in caring for us and eventually served us a gourmet lunch and free drinks mid-afternoon.  Since water had totally filled some of our Bandas, we were assigned different Bandas, including some sharing of rooms, for that evening.  By the end of the day, the river had gone down about 8-10 feet and we enjoyed a gourmet dinner by candlelight; however,  I don't think anyone slept too soundly that night.

More adventures to come!!

Marlys