puffs of ostrich rose out of the flat grass plains, like bushes with legs. immediately identifiable.
the monogamous dikdik, smallest of the antelope, was barely a miniature rocking horse.
a cloud of flamingos floating above lake manyera (in squinting distance) would shed wisps of pink smoke as birds took flight.
the gassy hippos shared a pond with a constantly fluffing water bird. it was like listening to a percussion band.
i love watching the masai and their regal, long legged walk. they have beautiful posture--straight and relaxed, swinging along behind their cattle. up close, you can see their holey ears and decorative scars. they're all ridiculously tall too. they're allowed to graze their cattle in the ngorogoro crater, amongst the zebra, wildebeest, hyenas, and lions. no wonder they carry such formidable weapons (huge spears, but their shields resemble umbrellas--useless against nothing sharper than water).
around the resorts where we are, there are lots of plastic masai--ppl who pretend to be masai so they can sell you trinkets. their identity is betrayed by their walk. at the timeshare in mombasa, they hosted a masai market. all the fake masai were herded into the tennis court under the blazing sun, where they peered out at the white tourists lounging in the swimming pool. it was like watching animals in a cage. depressing. when i passed, they didn't have a single customer, and no wonder. i think anyone who walked into that tennis court would've been pounced.
(most photos courtesy of jakob and his huge lens)
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