Reluctantly we awoke and got ready for our last drive. While we didn't have a hangover, EJ and I were still reluctant to leave the comfort of our beds. There were two wake-up call knocks at our door this morning instead of the usual two. I think the security guard was afraid that we had drank so much that we may have slept through the first knock.
We got to the lodge to find everyone already there. There was no coffee left by the time I got to it (EJ took the last one) but Conrad was kind enough to make another pot. I took a few sips of the piping hot coffee and then had to abandon it after getting beckoned by my mother to help her in the car. By the time I got back up to the ledge everyone was in the jeep waiting for me and I couldn't stop to enjoy my much needed coffee.
The goal of today's final game drive was to see the last of the large animals in the territory, the water buffalo. We drove around looking for it for two hours, catching a brief glimpse of a giraffe to break up the monotony. It was so boring and so early that I found myself starting to doze off as the jeep thundered down the rocky, bumpy road.
We voted on taking a coffee break instead of containing to drive towards nothing. Three coffees and scones later I was alert enough to appreciate the slowly rising sun and the large rocks surrounding our location, which is referred to the Rangers as Pride Rock.
Caffeinated and fed I wrapped myself up in the blanket and hunkered down for what I thought would be the continuation of a tour of the dirt but, as always, Josh got a hot tip. He ended up trading a case of beer to the ranger in exchange for us being the first truck on the scene.
The scene itself was just out of a national geographic magazine. A medium sized giraffe carcass was right in front of us and around it a whole pride of lions, including a huge male lion.
The giraffe was amazing. The belly of it had been completely eaten out leaving only the white rib cage exposed. The body of the animal was in perfect condition otherwise. Except for its face. The face of the animal was eaten off and just a foot or two in front of it sat a sleepy, and very full, male lion.
He was enormous and had the itis so it was easy to get up close and take lots of photos. Eventually he decided to lay on his side and take a nap. Just as that happened one of the cubs came up to the male and the carcass and decided to lay on top of it. It was so cute to see this little lion laying on top of the kill so proudly.
On our ride back someone spotted another giraffe. This one, however, was very much alive. It was a humongous male giraffe chewing on the top of the trees. We sat with him for a bit before continuing onwards.
Back at the lodge we packed up, did a bit of shopping, ate breakfast, and said goodbye to the staff. It was hard leaving the lodge behind but I was also grateful not to have to wake up before sunrise again.
Soon enough Glen was at the lodge ready to pick us up and start the long ride back to the city. On our way off the property we passed a group of zebras who I suppose were the farewell party from the bush.
The ride back was uneventful. We stopped for pancakes. The restaurant served both sweet and savory fillings wrapped in pancakes. I got bacon pancake, cause why not. And it was amazing.
For the rest of the ride EJ and I slept, getting up only at the rest stops to stretch our legs and use the facilities. When we got back to the city we hit a ton of traffic. I suppose it was rush hour after all. It was interesting to see first hand all the people walking between car and trying to sell their wares.
We arrived at Montecasino a bit tired but otherwise unscathed and said farewell to Glen from GoSafari who had been such a wonderful guide and trip facilitator. A quick unpacking and we were down in the plaza.
Half our group was starving so we went to the first place that we saw - John Dory's. Little did we know that it was essentially Long John Silvers with sushi. We ordered a few drinks and a few rolls for dinner. I tried the local cider for the first time and it was amazing! I'm so upset I didn't discover it sooner.
After eating and meeting up with EJ we headed to the casino, which is part of the hotel complex. Inside the casino building was another shopping center. It looks extremely similar to Mohegan Sun, there were even Native American statues in front of some of the stores. They also decorated it to look like a European street, complete with stone facades, bicycles chained up to lampposts, and an old Mini Cooper with a parking ticket on it.
We walked through all the stores and wound up back at the casino. The mothers signed up for cards to use the slot machines and the kids headed off to play blackjack. We lost at the blackjack table and I took my 150R that was left over and put it on black at roulette then moved on to craps.
The craps table was hot! I put down 175R on the table and walked away with 550R by the time that the roller crapped out. I'm not entirely sure that he wasn't cheating. His turn lasted well over an hour and at one point he told me to bet on 8 and then sure enough it came up within the next two rolls. I was exhausted by the time his turn was over and shuffled my way back to the room.
It was nice to relax in a warm bed knowing that we didn't have to wake up before sunrise.
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