坦桑尼亞.動物大遷徙 Tanzania Animal Migration (非洲 Africa 3)

kingkei
2019年9月9日
讀畢需時 69 分鐘

已更新：2022年6月2日

百獸拼命逐水草萬馬奔躍渡河流

旅程重點 Highlights

- 動物大遷徙: 國家地理雜誌的片段就在眼前上演

- 尋找非洲五霸: "野生捕獲"犀牛, 獅子, (花)豹, 大象, 非洲水牛

- 夜宿非洲大草原上的(豪華)帳篷, 與野生動物一帳之隔

- 野外"狩獵": 尋找和認識數十種動物, 了解其演化, 習性和生態

- 免費附送: 回程轉機荷蘭時鹿特丹一天遊

- Animal migration: watching National Geographic Channel in real life

- Track down the Big FIVE of Africa: Rhinoceros, Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Cape buffalo

- Camping in the African safari with wild animals surrounding the tent

- Gaming in safari: encounter tens of animal, understand their ecology and behaviour

- Bonus: Transit in Netherlands for a day trip in Rotterdam

Tips: The reason to pick Tanzania over Kenya is that 80% of the wildebeest's migration route is in Tanzania and only 20% is in Kenya. So you get a higher chance to see the crossing and a better experience, despite harder to get to (limited or extra leg of flight).

Tips: In Africa you will often hear the word "Game" or "Gaming" . "Game" means "wildlife (野生動物)" and "Gaming" means "hunting by human (人類狩獵)". We do a lot of "gaming" in this trip, which basically means "searching for wild animals".

行程路線 Itinerary & 基本資料 Basic Info

(出發地為津巴布韋的維多利亞瀑布機場, 此前行程詳見非洲之旅Part 1&2)

(We depart from Victoria Falls airport of Zimbabwe, refer to African adventure Part 1&2)

進入 Flying into: Kilimanjaro/ 離開 Departing from: Dar es Salaam

(1) Kilimanjaro: Tarangire National Park >>> Ngorongoro Conservation Area >>> Serengeti National Park [5.5 Days]

(2) Dar es Salaam [1.5 Days]

(Bonus) 1 day Transit in Amsterdam, Netherland

Tips: There are multiple small airports in the Serengeti National Park. You don't have to go back to Kilimanjaro, instead you can fly out from any airport to save the back and forth drive. The tour agency can easily adjust the itinerary to replace the drive with the flight. We flew out in the middle of Serengeti National Park and saved half a day of drive time!

衣: 天氣很熱, 短袖基本上適合, 車行走起來會刮起風, 怕曬怕風怕蚊的朋友會穿一件薄外套。 Wear: Short sleeves fit the weather. It can get a little chilly when the car is on the move, a thin layer can protect you from the sun, the wind and the bugs.
食: 早晚在營地提供任食, 有各種肉/菜/湯/主食/水果, 午餐三餸一湯, 車上帶了桌椅枱布, 去到哪吃到哪, 頂級享受! Eat: Buffet breakfast and dinner at the campsite. 3 courses lunch served with proper setting wherever you are, feel like a boss!

住: 在草原上的帳幕, 與動物只是一帳之隔。有不同等級的選擇, 我們選了比較豪華的, 比發達國家的豪華酒店更加舒適! Stay: Campsite in the middle of the safari, we picked the luxurious option and it is more comfy than the 5 stars hotels in developed countries, in great style!

行: 只有 Toyota Land Cruiser 能在這裏草原上行走, 車頂能升起, 讓我們在車中觀察動物和拍照! Get around: Toyota Land Cruiser is the only vehicle in the safari, the pop top allows you to take pictures without blocks! Tips: Do not pick the completely open vehicle. The wind (and sands in the wind) hurts!

Day 1 Tarangire National Park - 大象在綠洲洗澡 - 獅子在山坡沉睡 - 帳篷聳立天空下

由津巴布韋的維多利亞瀑布機場出發, 在肯亞轉機時由於航班取消而在Nairobi滯留了一晚(也就是幾小時), 早上七時出發, 九時的飛機, 抵達坦桑尼亞的Kilimanjaro時大概十時。司機早已在等待我們, 還給我們準備了早餐。我實在有點急不及待期待出發, 所以幾分鐘便把果汁喝完, 我相信悠閒的老外遊客會在這裏慢慢享受。首先要做的是去旅遊公司的辦事處把餘款附清, 然後便踏上旅途! 車子經過一個城市Arusha, 到了午餐時份已離開了城市, 便在路上吃餐盒, 肉串和雞都炸得很脆, 不知是否肚子太餓, 我當時已經覺得很不錯 (沒想到後來的更好)!

We departed from Victoria Falls airport of Zimbabwe, after getting stuck in Nairobi, Kenya for a night due to flight cancellation of Kenya airways, we arrived at Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in the morning. The driver was already here waiting for us, with a table set up for breakfast. Lunch box served on our way, the crispy skewer and the fried chicken wing both tasted pretty decent.

Tips: Since the airport is quite far from the safari, it is most efficient to arrive at night and travel one hour to stay over at Arusha.

Tips: Kenya Airlines emailed to inform us the cancelation of our 2nd leg but did not provide any arrangement. It is very common so do not panic if you come across the same. They should provide accommodation and replacement tickets. Passengers will have to get the tickets at the Kenya airway counter inside the gate (otherwise you don't get anything!). Kenya requires visa for most of the countries, but the airway will give you a document to get a temporary visa. Then you will need to get arrangement for accommodation and transportation at the arrival hall, which is extremely messy. Tons of flights are delayed everyday and tons of buses are out there sending passengers to different hotels. The transportation would pick us up super early next day, so we forfeited the transportation to get a few hours of extra sleep, and took uber to the airport, which was affordable and quick.

下午的行程就是Tarangire國家公園, 這裏的地貌由山脊, 河谷和樹沼組成, 並以Tarangire河而得名。由於該河乃整個Tarangire生態系統的主要水源, 所以吸引了各種動物到這裏喝水和洗澡 (對, 喝自己的洗澡水)。我們把車停在小湖邊, 大象緩緩;在身邊經過走進湖中, 遠處的角馬和斑馬也蠢蠢欲動, 牠們的防禦力比大象可差遠了, 所以都是大伙兒共同進退。

We arrived at the Tarangire National Park in the afternoon, a landscape composed of granitic ridges, river valley and swamps. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River, which is the primary source of fresh water in the Tarangire Ecosystem, therefore a lot of animals are attracted to this area for water and shower (yes, they drink their shower water). We stopped next to a small lake. Elephants passed by us on their way to the lake, and on the other side of the lake, we saw some wildebeest also on their way to get some shower.

大象洗澡後會到岸上把沙泥撥到自己身上, 用以阻隔紫外光, 一時間黃沙滾滾, 象嘯嗦嗦, 還有大象在豎立或倒下的樹幹磨擦身上各個部份抓癢, 一時間巨根搖晃, 不可迫視。

Elephants put sands and muds on the body as sunscreen, and rubbed different parts of the body against the erected or fallen trees, while shaking their big dicks 18+.

離開了小湖後, 司機憑他神奇的眼力發現了山上的獅子! 獅子(特別雄性)在非洲五霸中算是第三難遇上, 我們第一天便遇上, 感覺運氣不錯! 獅子非常懶惰, 在炎熱的天氣下大部份時間是睡懶覺, 草原上也沒誰敢招惹他們, 所以牠們的睡姿非常輕鬆, 一般都是四腳朝天, 我們等了半天, 只有一隻母獅從山坡上下來遠遠觀察獵物, 雄獅則偶然張開牠的惺鬆睡眼, 然後一個轉身又繼續呼呼大睡。

With his amazing eyesight, our driver spotted some lions on the top of a hill! Among the Big Five of Africa, lion is the third hardest to find, so we got lucky! Lions are extremely lazy, they are mostly sleeping during the day time. Since they are not afraid of anyone on the safari, so they don't look very alert while sleeping in a very chill position. We waited for quite a while to finally see a female lion getting up and coming down the slope, probably planning up some hunting activity. The male lion just briefly turned over and soon turned back to sleep in the upside down style. Below is that precious moment!

前往營地的路上, 看到鴕鳥群, 斑馬和角馬群, 疣豬, 長頸鹿和高角羚等。營地建在小丘上, 風景絕美。每個帳篷都有高床軟枕, 獨立廁所和自來水, 都是他們用大貨車從城市運過來。晚餐有湯有肉有菜有水果, 非常豐富, 在國家公園內不能隨便獵殺動物, 吃的肉是附近的遊牧民族飼養的。晚上漆黑一片, 不建議在帳外活動, 因為動物隨時會出現在帳篷外!

On our way to the campsite, we encountered groups of ostriches, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes and impalas. The campsite was built on a little hill and the view looked amazing. Dinner with a great variety was served. It was completely dark outside at night, leaving the tent was not recommended as the animal could get very close to the tent.

Day 2 Ngorongoro Conservation Area - 兩大瞪羚 - 再遇獅王 - 在夕陽下的草原上穿越無窮無盡的角馬/斑馬群

早上起來, 看到一望無際的大草原, 看似十分平靜, 忽見遠方有一些小黑點在移動, 看清楚原來是大象在晨操, 若不是牠們在移動, 就完全不會察覺這大草原其實孕育了無數生命。早餐依然有肉有菜有水果, 還有專人煎奄列, 簡單而豐富, 我特別喜歡當地的冬甩, 和牛脷酥有點相似。

Woke up to see a panoramic view of the safari, at the first glance I thought there were only grasses and trees, only after seeing small black dots slowly moving across, I realized there were elephants. Breakfast was served with variety, even included freshly made omelette.

從山丘下來, 便看到象群和非洲水牛群在距離營地不遠的山坡下, 非洲水牛有一個特點: 就是只要車子靠近, 整群非洲水牛無論身體向著甚麼方向, 脖子都會轉過來狠狠地瞪著你。然後又遇上草原上最小的羚: 犬羚! 牠們大概就只有小狗的身型, 一般在灌木旁出沒。之後遇上出生不久的長頸鹿, 高角羚群, 還有比較罕見的水羚, 據說牠們身體太臭, 臭得連獅子也不想獵殺牠們, 科學家還以牠們的味道製造防蠅液, 不過我們也沒有下車去以身試味。路上司機還發現了遠處一隻獅子在樹上虎視眈眈(獅視耽耽?), 由於距離太遠, 我用望遠鏡看了好久才找到樹椏上的獅子, 完全不能理解司機是如何邊一邊開車一邊以肉眼發現牠們。於是我便對司機建議他去參加綜藝節目<最強大腦> , 和那些看水看山的神奇參賽者一較高下。

Heading down from the campsite, we came across a group of cape buffalos. Whichever directions their bodies were facing, they would turn their head to stare at you. Then we spotted the smallest antelope of the safari: the Dik-dik, this name is from the sound of their females' alarm calls. They were about the size of a small size puppy. A waterbuck stood on the side of the road. They drink more water than other antelope and can enter into water for defense, despite they don't like to stay there. They are rather sedentary compare to other antelope, as we could see. Waterbuck is very smelly and thus is the last thing that lions want to hunt, scientists even use their smell to develop fly repellant. We didn't get close to try though. Later our driver spot a lion on a tree miles away, it took me quite a while with the binoculars to find the lion. I recommended the driver to enter the talent show <The Brain> to show off his eyesight and compete with those crazy participants who could distinguish cups of water by observing the air bubbles.

離開Tarangire國家公園後, 參觀了African Galleria, 裏面有各種各樣的藝術品供遊客購買。當然少不了角馬渡河和非洲五霸的雕塑, 這裏有個好處就是雖然是指定動作(估計是與旅遊公司合作), 但裏面並沒有店員勸顧客買東西, 基本上就像一間藝術館開放讓人參觀, 而且裏面的雕塑也頗具質素(價錢自然也不菲)。司機在第一天也曾提起過當地人會去發挖一種叫Tanzanite的藍寶石, 我還饒有興趣地問他有沒有去挖, 原來卻是這裏的高級商品。除了這樣的大型商店外, 這裏附近也有不少地攤街店, 午飯也是在掛滿畫作的小店外吃。

Dropped by African Galleria, a place that sold antiques, art, carvings and the famous Tanzanite jewelry etc, designated by the travel agency. Their products looked pretty cool and so were the prices. Highlights to me were the Big Five statues and the Wildebeest river crossing statue, which made me even more looking forward to see those in real life. Other than proper shops like this galleria, there were many small street stalls selling handcrafts and arts around the same area. The place we had lunch was surround with paintings.

下午進入Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 這裏曾經是個火山口, 火山倒塌後便孕育了生命。在三萬年前便有人類在此生存, 19世紀時Maasai民族擴張至巔峰, 也佔領了這個地方。我們在路上也看見Maasai部落的人, 他們徒步在山上走, 完全不怕野獸! 連司機也驚訝他們怎麼可以不帶武器在路邊走。我們一直往下到了谷底(也就是從前的火山口), 經過Magadi湖, 再從另一邊上山。在谷底遇上了跑得奇快的湯氏瞪羚, 牠們跑起來時速高達80-90公里, 這時速度只是稍遜於世上最快的動物獵豹的90多公里。湯氏瞪羚一有動靜便會跑起來, 身子輕盈就似武俠小說裏的草上飛輕功, 在車裏也能感受到牠們的速度。葛氏瞪羚側是瞪羚族當中體型第二大的, 牠們和湯氏瞪羚長得有點像, 分辨方法是湯氏瞪羚兩側白棕顏色之間都有道黑邊, 而葛氏瞪羚的屁股奇白, 白色一直到了尾巴以上。右邊有兩幅照片, 大家可以分辨一下。

We entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area after lunch. Ngorongoro Crater was the world's largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera, it collapsed millions years ago. Water from Ngoitokitok Spring runs through this area, making it a good environment to inhabit. Maasai took over the area in the 1800s, on our way we saw Maasai walking along the slope without weapons, even our drivers weren't quite sure why they were not afraid of the animals. We dived to the bottom of the crater, passed by Lake Magadi, where we saw the Thomson's gazelle. They are named after explorer Joseph Thomson. We could tell they were extremely active, as soon as they felt any movement around them they would start running. Their running speed can reach 80-90km/h, just slightly shy of the 90+km/h of cheetah, which was the faster runner in the world. We also saw the Grant's gazelle, which are named after explorer James Grant. If you don't pay attention, you may mix up the two. Thomson's gazelle has dark lateral stripes on their face and both sides of their body, whereas Grant's gazelle has white colour on its rump that extend over the top of its tail.

我們在相對安全的湖邊休整了一下(主要是有個石屎廁所), 正好遇上了從湖中冒出兩個大鼻孔吸呼的河馬。繼續上路後, 我們在遠遠的樹叢旁再次看見了獅子! 和昨天一樣, 牠們正四腳朝天地呼呼大睡, 車子不能走近, 我們只能站在車頂用望遠鏡觀看, 沒多久看見母獅起來巡視, 還有兩隻幼獅在草叢中冒出頭來。在獅群當中, 一般只有一隻或小數成年雄獅, 和大量雌獅, 成年雄獅因為鬃毛太過搶眼而不會參與狩獵, 獵食都是由雌獅和毛沒長齊的年幼雄獅負責, 由於牠們耐力不足以長途奔襲, 所以只能近距離偷襲, 圍捕甚至埋伏。雄獅除了交配外, 主要負責對付其他有攻擊力的狩獵者, 以保護獅群, 但由於厲害的對頭不多, 所以一般都在睡覺。相信人類世界中有不少男生也想過獅子的生活, 每天主要交配, 偶然打架, 食物由女生負責, 但要知道, 雄獅打架輸了便會被奪走雌獅群和驅逐, 然後因為自己不會獵食而餓死。所以只有強大的男人, 才配擁有獅子的生活。

We took a washroom break next to the lake (no, not on the grass, they actually built a concrete washroom here), which was the first time we got off the vehicle in the safari! After we came out from the washroom, we saw hippos sticking out their noses from the lake to breath. As our journey continued, we saw lions again next to some brushes. Just like yesterday they were sleeping upside down again. Our car was not allowed to get off the road so I had to climb to the top of the car and look through the binoculars. Soon a female lion got up to patrol around, together with two little ones which popped their heads up from the grasses. In a pride (group of related lions) there is usually only one or very few male lions, and many female lions. Male lion usually do not participate in hunting as its mane is easily noticeable by the prey. They are not known for their stamina, therefore they need to get close to their prey before starting the attack. Many men probably want to live like a lion where the girls look for food and the man focus on fight and reproduction, but don't forget if you lose the fight you will be exiled, so only the strongest man get to live like a lion, just like in the human world.

Tips: If you encounter a lion, do not run. Lions are naturally scared of human, but if you run they will consider you are the prey. Hit its face with a stick like fencing to give it the impression that you are trying to catch it, then it will run away.

夕陽西下, 黃昏的草原化為一片金黃色, 車子穿過一群又一群的角馬, 還夾著幾群斑馬, 在這般景色中緩緩前進, 但覺十分愜意。我突然發現在大群角馬之間總會看到斑馬的身影, 便問司機牠們二者有甚麼關係。原來斑馬視力較好, 容易察角危險, 而角馬則嗅覺較好, 可以嗅到極遠的水源。而且斑馬擅於記憶遷徙路線, 能幫助方向感不好的角馬。兩者的食物是同一株草的不同部份, 不會爭奪糧食, 所以是牠們便成為流浪途上的旅伴。這一刻我在想, 人生不也是在於找到最合適的旅伴嗎?

We continued our journey at sunset, the safari shined with golden yellow. We passed by groups and groups of wildebeests, I noticed that there were always small groups of zebras among big groups of wildebeests and asked our driver why. It turns out that they have a symbiotic relationships. Zebras have great and wide eyesight and can spot danger from far, while wildebeests have fantastic sense of smell and can detect water even in dry savannahs. In addition, zebras have a great memory of the safe migration routes, which can help direct the relatively aimless wildebeests. Mostly importantly, they feed on different part of the grasses so they would never fight for food, which made them great partners of the journey. At the moment I thought, isn't life all about finding the right partner as well?

我們向山上的旅館進發, 路上遇到一隻落了單的非洲水牛。非洲水牛是群居動物, 只有太老的水牛才會跟不上族群而沒法一起遷徙, 而落單的水牛最容易成為各種狩獵者圍攻的目標, 到族群一年後回到這裏時, 可能老水牛已經被獅子吃得只剩一堆骸骨。剛想起獅子, 便看到一隻雌獅從山坡上下來, 經過車旁。

We made our way up hill to the lodge, saw a cape buffalo our our way, which was probably too old to catch up the migration speed of the group, despite buffalo typically do not migrate as far. When the group come back here next year, they will probably only find its bone as the leftover of a lions' meal. Speaking of lion, we saw a female lion coming down the hill and passed by our car.

總於到了旅館, 沒想到在火山口的另一邊, 人煙稀少的草原深處, 竟然建了一座偌大的豪麗旅館! 大堂裝飾華麗, 房間能在落地玻璃窗前看到日落, 餐廳和酒吧都有180度環迴落地玻璃窗, 能看到火山谷全景, 晚餐是西餐的前菜主菜甜品湯, 這種享受程度令我幾乎忘記了自己身在非洲大草原上。晚上我帶著相機和三腳架到外面觀星, 結果一陣大雨, 本人"雨神"的稱號果然名不虛存。

Arriving at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, I did not expect a luxurious building on the side of a crater in the middle of the safari. Our room offered a view of sunset. The bar and the restaurant both offered panoramic view of the Ngorongoro conservation area. Dinner was a 3 courses meal with soup. For a second, I almost forgot I was in the middle of the African safari. At night, my star gazing plan was screwed by the rain, my nickname of "Lord of the rain" was no kidding.

Day 3 Serengeti National Park - 花豹出沒 - 人類起源 - 獵豹家族 - 獅子王奸角登場 - 連綿不絕的角馬過路 - 夕陽舉杯

早上起來, 在餐廳的落地玻璃窗前吃過早餐, 只見外面一片朝霧。上車之後, 司機便說他有預感我們會見到豹(又稱花豹或金錢豹)。集齊非洲五霸是所有旅客的願望, 非洲五霸之中, 大象無處不在, 非洲水牛也是時常能遇上, 所以2/5是基本分數, 獅子並不多, 但我們此前兩天都曾遇上, 感覺上應該沒有旅客會錯過。剩下比較難的就是花和犀牛, 原野浩瀚, 牠們數量也不多, 花豹更是以行動隱秘見稱, 所以我是非常擔心能否遇上牠們。當中花豹是獨居動物, 同性別的花豹領地不會重疊, 也就是說任何區域最多只會有一隻公豹一隻母豹, 你在牠的區域時, 要和牠的移動軌跡在同一刻交錯在同一地方, 才能遇上! 但司機說完不夠五分鐘, 路旁的樹叢便出現一隻花豹! 想不到司機除了眼力驚人外還料事如神(其實可能是前面的司機在電台上通知, 但花豹並不一定待在路邊等我們)! 花豹只出現了幾秒便鑽進草叢, 幸好我眼疾手快, 拔出相機拍下了寶貴一刻。花豹和獵豹樣子像, 但他們並不是近親, 豹和獅虎美洲豹皆為貓科豹亞科豹屬, 但獵豹卻是貓科貓亞科獵豹屬, 和家猫和之後會出現的藪貓同是貓亞科! 花豹身型較短而更強壯, 膚色更鮮, 斑點是花朵狀的空心圓, 你在照裏留意到嗎? 還有一個明顯分別是花豹獨居, 而獵豹群居。有別於獵豹以速度獵食, 花豹則是擅於隱藏而偷偷接近獵物。

After a nice breakfast in front of the panoramic window, we started our day driving into the fog. Our driver predicted that we would see a leopard today. Among the Big Five of the Africa, elephants and cape buffalos were quite common to be seen, so 2/5 was the basic score. Lions were far less common, but we had seen them every day so far, I felt like no one would miss them. The remaining two, leopard and rhinoceros, were not easy to find. Leopard is a solitary and territorial animal, so at any place there are at max one male and one female, so you really got to be at the some location at the same time with one to see it. However, within 5 minutes after our driver made his prediction, a leopard showed up on the side of the road! Looked like our driver could also join some fortune telling talent shows in addition to the <The Brain>. The leopard only showed up for a few sec then disappeared in the woods. It was fortunate that I was quick enough to pull out my phone for a quick photo. Leopard looks like cheetah, however they are not as closely related as many thought. Leopard is in the pantherinae subfamily of felidae family, together with lion, tiger and jaguar, while the cheetah is in the felinae subfamily of felidae family, together with cat and serval which would show up soon. Leopard's colour is brighter than cheetah's, and the dark spots are grouped in circular rosettes. Another main different is that leopard is a solitary animal while cheetah tends to be more gregarious. While cheetah hunts with its speed, leopard would try to approach as close as possible.

之後我們路過Maasai的住處, 但根據司機所說似乎是個人工收費旅遊點,所以我們並沒有進入。

Passing by a few Maasai huts, per the driver they seem to be set up as artificial tourist spots, therefore we did not enter.

在離開Ngorongoro的路上, 我們在山坡上看到鴕鳥求愛大作戰, 雄鳥張開翅膀跳舞示愛(原來不會飛的牠們翅膀是這樣用的), 雌鳥欲拒還迎, 雄鳥以為成功, 拔槍上前, 豈料雌鳥突然改變主意, 拔腿便跑, 雄鳥奮力追趕, 兩隻鴕以時速60公里的速度在山坡上追逐, 高呼嘶叫。我們都笑翻了, 這情景在人類也時常發生, 女的示意不清, 男的急不及待, 原來動物本性就是這樣。

On our way leaving the beautiful Ngorongoro area, we saw a pair of ostriches with some mating ideas. The male ostrich performed some dance with his wings, attempt to attract his mate. The female ostrich dropped to the ground without out a clear signal, the male ostrich considered himself succeeded, and attempted to mount for copulation. Then the female ostrich suddenly got up and ran away, the male ostrich chased after her. Two ostriches then ran at the speed of 60km/h along the slope, making it a very amusing scene. I am sure you have seen this scene in human, unclear signals leading to some heated actions, and at that moment we realized its just the nature for animals.

日未及午, 進入了Serengeti國家公園的境地, 到達大門前在Olduvai Gorge雕像前稍作停留, 該雕像為兩個骷髏, 紀念人類的祖先在這地方發源, 左邊的是鮑氏傍人, 右邊是能人, 都是在200萬年前在東非出現的最早期人族, 頭顱骨化石在1960左右這個峽谷被發現。

We headed into Serengeti National Park before noon, after we stopped by the Olduvai Gorge monument. The monument consisted of two large concrete skulls modeled using fossils found in this area in 1960s. The two species were Paranthropus boisei, and Homo habilis, both dated to around 2 milion years ago.

由於我們在行程最後會在國家公園的中部離開, 所以這天我們快馬加鞭趕到國家公園最北Tanzania接壤Kenya的地方, 趕上正在遷徙的角馬群, 在那邊待兩天追逐傳說中的角馬渡河, 最後才回到中部。因為想趕到營地看日落, 所以進入國公園後我們馬不停蹄繼續趕路, 午餐在車上解決, 這餐算是全程最簡單的一餐。

In order to have two full days at the northmost part of Tanzania, we had a long ride to the north today. We were hoping to see the sunset before arriving the camp, therefore we had lunch box in the car while the car continued to move along the route.

Serengeti國家公園的地貌主要由草原, 疏林, 石山, 樹沼等組成。其名字來自Maasai語言中的"Seringit", 意思是"無窮無盡的平原"。國家公園在坦桑尼亞最北, 這裏有近200萬隻角馬, 20多萬隻斑馬, 近50萬隻瞪羚, 和無數其他野生動物。半年一次的大型動物大遷徙更令這個地方名聞天下。

Serengeti National Park has a landscape that includes grasslands, woodlands, kopjes and swamps. The name is derived from the word "seringit" in the Maasai language, which means "endless plains". It locates in the northmost of Tanzania. The grasslands feed close to 2 million wildebeest, over 200 thousand zebras, close to 500 thousand gazelles and hundreds of thousands of other plains game.

在路旁等待我們的, 是一隻藪貓, 是在非洲大草原特有的動物。牠們有點像貓, 但更接近豹, 是肉食性動物, 會獵食兔, 魚和鳥類, 甚至小羚羊, 但卻會被豹捕食, 在人類較多的地方會被偷獵, 只有在東非大量存活。現在還有人把牠們和貓雜交後當寵物飼養, 因為牠們比家貓更聰明。

Waiting for us close to the entrance was a serval, which is native to Africa. It look somewhat like a cat yet closer to a leopard. It preys on rodents, rats and birds, or even small antelopes. The threat is mainly from human, where their skins are traded. A hybrid breed of serval and cat became more and more popular over the years as a pet.

迪士尼電影獅子王中的奸角鬣狗終於登場, 長相和2019版本非常接近! 電影中並沒有明確說明是哪種鬣狗, 但憑外形和習性, 我們可以斷定正是在東非的斑鬣狗, 而不是在北非和中東的條紋鬣狗, 除班點和條紋的外表分別外, 條紋鬣狗吃腐肉, 斑鬣狗卻會和獅子爭奪獵物! 電影中起初牠們吃獅子吃剩的食物, 後來獅子吃牠們吃剩的食物, 現實中獅子還真的會掠奪斑鬣狗的獵物, 斑鬣狗只能吃獅只吃剩的, 但猖狂的斑鬣狗會企圖和獅子分享食物, 在人(狗?)多勢眾時甚至膽敢趕跑獅子而奪取其食物, 正是因為這個習性令牠們雀屏中選當上了電影奸角。獅子是誰能打誰吃得多, 斑鬣狗是誰吃得快誰吃得多, 這一點令我想起中餐的晚飯, 當侍應端上一大碟餸菜時, 你們家是按獅子制還是鬣狗制分吃?

A character in Disney's movie "The Lion King" showed up! It was a spotted hyena, not to be confused with a striped hyena. The movie didn't specify but we could tell from the appearances and characteristics. Other than the obvious difference of spotted and stripped, the striped hyena is a scavenger which feeds on dead organism, whereas the spotted hyena is a predator. They occupy the same geographic area as lions just like in the movie, and they steal each others' kills. Typically spotted hyenas would not fight with lions but would leave or wait until the lions finished eating, but in some occasions spotted hyenas are bold enough to feed alongside lions, or even, when they outnumber lions, force lions off a kill. Hyenas also compete with each other when feeding just like lions, but they compete in speed of eating rather than fighting, which made me think of Chinese dinner where large dishes are served. Does you family share by the lion's rule or the hyena's rule?

第三隻遇上的動物是狷羚, 牠和今次行程的主角角馬 (又名牛羚)都屬狷羚亞科。牠的角短而形狀特別, 先向內側, 然後向前, 最後向後尖, 小腿前帶黑色, 像戴了護脛的專業足球員。

The third animal we encountered was a hartebeest. It is under the same subfamily, Alcelaphinae, with wildebeest. It has elongated forehead and very special shaped horns which appear U-shaped from the front and Z-shaped from the sides. The black colour on front legs make them look like a professional soccer player with shin guards.

下午天氣熱, 動物都躲在樹下納涼, 把目光集中在樹下尋找, 不時會遇到驚喜。終於在一棵樹下, 我們找到了世上跑得最快的動物: 獵豹。花豹和獵豹長的有點像, 卻不是近親, 分辨方法是花豹顏色比較鮮豔, 身子比較強壯, 獵豹顏身較淡, 身子比較修長, 後腿肌肉斑駁, 眼部有白斑和淚痕。花豹是獅子以外最喜歡群居的貓科動物, 我們這天和之後幾天(劇透)遇上的都是獵豹家族。獵豹的體型就是一個動物界的保特, 身子輕盈而步大力雄, 爪子較鈍, 看上去有點像我那對已好久沒有穿的釘鞋(植入廣告: 關於我在田徑場那一圈的故事, 請到小說頁看<47秒96>), 跑步時身體保持平穩, 四爪輪流觸地以增加速度, 時速超過90公里, 衝刺時可達驚人的時速110公里以上, 雖然這個速度只能短暫維持。牠們不會如其他貓科動物埋伏或偷襲, 而且單純以速度輾壓獵物。有趣的是, 這個跑步的身材卻不適合爬樹, 所以一般都在平地上看到牠們。牠們如人類的田徑選手一樣, 每次爆發後都需要休息回覆體力, 若奔跑後抓不到獵物, 便要捱餓, 所以牠們一般只有在十拿九穩的情況下才會出手。獵豹決戰湯氏瞪羚, 是動物界當中的奧運水平速度比拚。牠們主要靠視力而不是嗅覺來追蹤獵物, 所以我們時常看到牠們在張望。獵豹並沒有特別的繁殖季節, 但我們有幸看到可愛的獵豹寶寶。

The sun was burning in the afternoon, the animals were usually resting under the trees, we focus our searching around the brushes and found the fastest animal in the world: cheetah. Cheetah look similar with leopard, but they are very different. While leopard has brighter colour and stronger body built, cheetah has a pale coat, and a longer body with lighter built. It has black tear-drop like facial streaks on both side. They live in social groups. During the sprint, the paws take turn to push from the ground to enhance speed. They are capable of running at north of 90km/h, and can have bursts of 110km/h, although this speed can not be sustained for long. Interesting enough is that this body built is not good for climbing, so we always see them on the ground. Similar to humans they need a good rest after the race, therefore they will give up the chase if they determine that a quick kill is not likely, to conserve energy and prevent overheat, as a result, they have a high successful rate on the chase they decided to commit. They hunt small to medium-size prey, a chase between cheetah and Thomson's gazelle is like the Olympic race of the animal world. Cheetahs use their vision to hunt rather than their sense of smell, so we often see them looking around. They breed throughout the year, we were lucky enough to see the lovely cubs.

黃昏的草原最為壯觀, 我們看到角馬群緩緩向北前進, 追逐更新鮮的青草, 這就是動物大遷徙的一部份。有趣的是當任何一隻角馬跑起來, 全群角馬便會一起跑動, 維持好一陣子才緩緩停下, 跑步時牠們非常有秩序, 特別在過馬路時, 一隻接一隻, 連綿不絕。

The safari shined before the sunset, we came across groups of wildebeests slow migrating their way north. It was interesting to see whenever one wildebeest ran, the whole group started running. They ran in a line one by one, especially when crossing the road. It often took an hour to see the end of the line.

經過了一天的趕路, 黃昏時我們趕到營地附近, 在草地上架起桌椅, 邊喝紅酒邊看日落, 遠處角馬在緩緩移動, 耳邊聽到牠們的嘶鳴, 微風吹在身上, 眼前是無盡的原野, 遠離繁囂, 剎那間忘記了俗世中的各種煩惱, 但覺輕鬆愜意。可惜夕陽短暫, 轉眼間便暮色四合。

After a whole day on the road, by the evening we were within striking distance of the camp. We stopped for the sunset, even had a zip of red wine. The safari was quiet and calm, only with occasional movements of wildebeests along the horizon, with their moans. For a moment I forgot about all the problems in real life, feeling chill and relax. Unfortunately the sunset didn't last long, and darkness took over the land quickly.

這晚我們住的營地並沒有固定的位置, 是會隨著動物大遷徙而遷移, 所以連司機也花了好一陣子才在茫茫荒野中找到營地的位置。帳篷相對簡陋, 但仍然非常舒適。在這個距離城市極遠的地方, 晚飯依然豐富。這裏沒有熱水, 洗澡要提前通知他們, 他們燒好水倒進帳篷旁的水缸, 然後大聲告訴我們, 我們便要在熱水冷卻或耗盡前洗完, 他們說加水一次足夠兩個男士或一個愛潔的女士使用, 我不敢挑戰極限, 快速洗完。由於電力有限, 燈到了晚上11時便會熄掉, 11時後大家便能一嘗原始人沒水沒電的生活。

It took the driver some back and forth to locate our camp of the night, as it was a migration camp named Acacia, which migrated around around the safari with the animals. The tent was the least luxurious among all nights, but still very clean and comfortable. Despite locating thousand miles away from the cities, they still offered a range of dishes at dinner. There was no running hot water, we had to notify them in advance of showing. They would boil the water and pour it into the tank outside our tent, then yelled to let us know. Then we had to finish shower before either the water get cold or run out. They said one round is enough for two men or one woman, I did not want to test the limit and finished as quick as I could. Electricity was limited here and the light would be off by 11pm. Then we could start enjoying the nature to the fullest without water and electricity.

Day 4 Serengeti National Park - 角馬渡河 - 石縫中生存 - 百鳥搶屍 - 全城追逐犀牛 - 水牛的眼神 - 夜探角馬

這天迎來此次旅遊的重頭戲: 角馬渡河。從小就在書或國家地理雜誌上看過"動物大遷徙": 動物每年會隨著季節遷移至不同的地方生活, 在非洲, 多種羚鹿類都會參與遷徒, 當中在Serengeti這裏的角馬為數眾多, 加上斑馬和其他羚鹿, 成就了陸地上最大型的"動物大遷徙"。有說"逐水草而居", 角馬遷移就是為了找尋更好的水草。雖然驟眼看去大草原上任何時候都總是被長草覆蓋, 河流也日夜流動, 但角馬需要的是能飲用水源和含磷的鮮草。牠們由Ngorongoro出發, 順時針自南向北經過Serengeti, 到達肯亞的Maasai Mara, 直待到年底才轉向南。萬里奔馳中最驚險的莫過於渡河, 水流會令牠們遇溺, 鱷魚會把牠們吞噬, 所以牠們非常害怕, 誰也不敢踏出第一步, 數千隻角馬聚集在河邊猶豫不前, 只等待著一隻勇敢的角馬帶頭, 然後便會爭相渡河, 而這正是所有旅客最期待親眼看見的一幕。

Wildebeest crossing rivers was the feature of the trip. Many of us watched the Great Animal Migration on National Geographic Channel, where animals perform mass migrations seasonally. In Africa, a list of gazelles and antelopes participate in the migrations. With close to 2 million of wildebeests and other antelopes, the Serengeti hosts the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world. Reasons leading to migration include surface water supply and phosphorus content in grasses. Each year, they start the migration from the Ngorongoro, traveling 800km north passing Serengeti National Park, and arriving at Maasai Mara, where they stay for the rest of the year before heading back south. The most challenging part is rivers crossing, with many wildebeests being eaten by crocodiles and drowning in the attempt. Most of the wildebeests would hesitate and gather along the river to wait for the first brave one to cross the river, before everyone else follow. Most of the traveler came for the river crossing scene.

角馬渡河可遇不可求, 牠們可以在河邊待一整天而不渡, 有許多旅客千里迢迢前來看渡河, 在河邊等了幾天卻敗興而返, 所以我們一直很擔心這次能否看到。Mara河從肯亞的高地發源, 流經坦桑尼亞北部, 最後流入Victoria湖, 全長400公里, 是角馬遷徙路上不能避免必需跨越的障礙。河流橫跨角馬遷徙路線的部份, 有十二個位置的深淺和水流比較適合渡河, 能否選中牠們渡河的那個位置, 就要依賴司機的經驗, 同行觀察後傳來的訊息, 和運氣! 這天我們提早起床, 早上七時許我們在吃餐時, 司機告訴我們他收到消息凌晨六時有一批角馬已經渡河, 令我們十分擔心會否錯過了。八時許我們離開營地, 見到遠處漫野遍山的角馬正在緩緩上山, 應該是早上從南岸渡河而來的角馬群! 我們十萬火急地往河邊趕去, 平常司機開車十分平穩, 這天他一改常態, 在顛簸的路上風馳電掣, 每過一個小坡我們都會被拋離椅子, 但不適被緊張蓋過, 45分鐘後我們終於趕到Mara河邊! 我們選是一個急彎, 因為彎道會令水流減弱, 正適合角馬渡河, 而在河套包圍的半島上, 已聚集了上千隻角馬和小數斑馬!

Wildebeest crossing river is not something you can control, they can be stuck at the riverbank for days without crossing. Many travelers came all the way to Serengeti for the crossing but end up waited along the river for a few days seeing nothing. So we were very worried all along about whether we could see the crossing. Mara river runs from its sources in the Kenyan highlands, flows through Serengeti and drains into Lake Victoria. In the section where it lies across the migration path of ungulates, 12 locations are identified to be favourite crossing points of the wildebeests. We relied on driver's experience, the news he got from other drivers and luck to pick the location! We woke up particularly early this morning, at breakfast we were told by the driver that crossing happened this morning at 6ish, which made us very worried that we had missed it completely. We left the camp at 8ish, on our way we saw hundreds of wildebeests climbing the slope across from us. They were very likely the group that just crossed over from the south this morning. We headed towards the mara river in a hurry, after 45 minutes we arrived at the river bank. We chose a meander where water slow down along the curve to make it easier for the wildebeests to cross, at the peninsula surrounded by the meander, there were already more than a thousand of wildebeest and zebras gathered waiting to cross!

我們把車停在岸邊, 角馬成群結隊的在對岸邊徘徊, 突然有一隻勇敢的角馬飛躍而出, 跳進水中。岸邊水並不深, 牠雙蹄一蹬便又躍出水面, 後面一直徘徊的角馬的爭相跟在牠身後, 角馬群呈三角形陣勢浩浩蕩蕩闖到水中。

We stopped our car on the riverbank, all of a sudden one brave wildebeest jumped into the water and kept leaping towards the middle of the river while it was still shadow. The huge group which were hesitating earlier were then all fighting their way to chase after this brave one, making it a triangle formation.

到了河中, 角馬已不能腳踏實地, 加上水流漸急, 把牠們衝向下游。領頭的仍是一馬當先, 但後面並不是每一隻都能跟上, 漸漸由三角陣化為蛇陣。有些老弱殘兵被水甚至流沖離大隊, 往下游流走。

The current became more rapid in the middle of the river, and they could no longer touch the river bed, not everyone could catch up the speed of the leader so it turned into a snake formation. Some weaker ones were sent away from the group by the current.

當牠們游到對岸重新腳踏實地時, 便又開始跳躍。跟在後面的大伙兒明顯沒有領頭那幾隻般有勁, 只是緩緩低頭前進。

As soon as they got to the other side, they started leaping forward again. Not all of the wildebeests were that energetic, a lot of them just slowly walked into the the river and slowly swam over.

跟著大隊渡可的角馬不計其數, 前仆後繼, 岸邊的衝到水中, 後面的便源源不絕地補上, 這次渡河持續了45分鐘, 突然有這一隻角馬臨陣退縮, 伸出去的腿又縮了回來, 在牠身後的其餘角馬連忙一起起回頭, 退回岸上。

The crossing happened continuously for 45mins, I couldn't count how many wildebeest crossed the river. All of a sudden one of the wildebeest chickened out and stepped back from the river, every wildebeest behind that one all turned around and retreated to the riverbank.

渡河大隊斷纜之後, 我們又等了半個小時, 始終沒有另一隻勇敢的角馬帶頭渡河。遠方仍然不斷有角馬陸續趕到河邊, 原本已經人(馬?)影疏落的半島沒多久又擠滿角馬。其他旅客陸續離去, 一場角馬渡河便要落幕, 岸邊回復平靜, 留下的只有震撼。

We waited for another 30 minutes after the crossing ceased, but there wasn't any brave wildebeest to initiate another crossing. At the very far end there were still more and more wildebeest arriving to the riverbank, and soon the peninsula was filled with wildebeest again. The other cars started to leave and the riverbank returned back to quiet, however the stunning scene of wildebeest crossing still stuck in my head.

離開的路上發生了件趣事, 其中一輛車的後輪陷進了泥漿, 轉動時攪得泥巴滿天飛卻沒法向前, 幾輛車的車機下車幫忙, 用了各種方法, 包括把木條放到泥漿中令後輪有著力點和以另一輛車從後推動, 但都因為角度不對而徒勞無功, 最後其中一個司機找來一條長索, 以另一輛車子在前方拉, 才把那車子從泥濘中拉了出來。你可能會擔心我們下車會不會有危險, 但我的觀察是其實動物非常怕人, 我們一大群人在擾攘, 動物反而不敢過來。一陣掌聲過後, 我們各自回到車上, 向不同的方向離去。

On our way out, there was an interesting incident. one of the cars had the back wheels stuck in the mud and couldn't make it through a small slope, many drivers stopped their cars to help. One of them put wood under the wheels to create some frictions, another one used his car to push from behind, but both methods failed because the angle of force wasn't quite appropriate. End up they found a rope to tie this car to another one in the front, and the other car pull this one out of the mud. You might be worry about our safety as we left the car, but my observation is that the animals were actually quite scared of human, so they actually wouldn't come close when there were such a large crowd. After a big applause from all the travelers around, all the cars start to head towards different directions.

遇上一件很嘔心的東西, 就是一個螞蟻窩, 螞蟻在地底建窩, 會越起越高, 草原上到處都能遇上, 而這個卻特別大, 動物也沒有特別討厭這東西, 譬如獵豹因為不太會爬樹, 又需要靠眼力尋找獵物, 便喜歡坐在上面觀察四周。

Saw something very disgusting on the side of the road, which was this huge ant nest and we were like "ewwww...". Ants built their nest underground but the nest would slowly built up to a fairly tall height. Animals don't seem to find it too disgusting as opposed to us, for example cheetahs who were not good climbers but rely on eyesight to find prey, would sit on the nest to observe.

我們登上了滿佈石頭的高地, 發現了幾種和大石為伍的動物。首先是胖嘟嘟十分可愛的蹄兔, 牠們居於高地的亂石之中, 因為牠們依靠亂石來躲避狩獵者, 牠們會派出哨兵在有利位置放哨, 若有危險便通知大伙兒撤退, 有點像地下賭場或不見得光的組織派出的"天文台", 我們遇上的蹄兔哨兵正目不轉睛地瞪著我們。另一種在高地亂石上看到的是十分迷你的山羚, 牠們名字在南非語是"山岩的跳躍者"的意思, 身型極為細小, 所以甚至不用喝水, 只靠植物的汁液便已足夠支持所需的水份。我們看到山羚時, 牠正在石頭上跳躍, 果然名不虛傳!

We went uphill onto the highland with kopjes and met a few animals who like the rocks. First one being a rock hyrax, they are in habitats with rock crevices on highland, as they make use of rocks to escape from predators. They use sentries to warn of approaching predators. The sentry that we met was starring at us with alert, which looked a like the scout who stood outside the illegal gambling site and pretended to talk on phone but was actually looking around. The other one we spotted on the rocky highland were a pair of klipspringers. Their name is a combination of the words "rock" ("klip") and "leaper" ("springer") in Afrikaans. They are very small in size, so they can even meet their water requirement only with succulent plants. When we saw the klipspringers, they were really leaping between rocks, as their name suggested.

司機聽說附近有花豹出沒, 便火急火燎的帶著我們趕過去, 到達的時候沒看見豹, 只看到一隻被吃剩一半的角馬, 司機說花豹一般會回來巡視牠的獵物, 所以我們便在那裏等。除了一堆人類外, 還有一堆西域兀鷲在附近的樹頂虎(鳥?)視耽耽, 牠們像準備打刧銀行的賊子一樣, 裝模作樣的四處觀看, 其實目光離不開目標。西域兀鷲是食腐動物, 食腐動物並不狩獵, 主要靠進食被殘留的屍體和腐肉維生。結果我們不吃午飯等了45分鐘, 豹卻沒有回來, 一堆西域兀鷲越發大膽, 由樹上轉戰地上, 逐步迫近, 牠們背向屍體左右張望, 然後有意無意向後退一步接近屍體, 就像小偷一樣。終於有一隻大膽的兀鷲走到屍體旁, 開始啄食, 其他兀鷲觀察一陣, 發現花豹始終沒有回來, 便大舉上前分食, 然後附近的兀鷲蜂擁而至, 還引來了另一種大型食腐雀鳥禿來搶奪, 但有別於鷲"餓狗搶屎"的爭吃, 秃鸛的手法是擠開兀鷲, 奪走一塊大肉自到一旁慢慢吃, 兀鷲也不敢過去搶回來。後來我們吃飯時遇上另一批旅客, 他們說在更早的時候那頭花豹回來幾次驅散鳥群, 原來只是我們晚到錯過了牠卻遇上百鳥搶食的好戲。

Our driver learnt from others that there was a leopard hanging around, so we rushed down the hill to the scene. We only saw carcass of a dead wildebeest, but not the leopard itself, but the driver said usually the leopard would patrol around their kill, so we stuck around to wait. We were not the only one there, but were also accompanied by a big group of griffon vultures on the top the tree. There were like some robbers who were about to rob a bank, pretending to check out some neighbour stores, but were actually focusing on the target. Griffon vultures are scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals killed by other predators. We delayed our lunch and waited for 45mins, but the leopard didn't return. Finally one brave griffon vulture slowly approached the carcass, the others stayed put to observe, and as soon as they realized the leopard wouldn't return, they hurried up to fight for the carcass. A few marabou storks also arrived like a storm to fight for the carcass, they have massive bodies, and have the largest wing-spread of any living bird. They just dug in and took pieces of meat away to eat on the side, and the griffon vultures did not fight with them. Later during a lunch we were told by another group of travelers that the leopard actually came back a few times to drive away those birds. We missed that but saw another interest action movie instead.

我們找到一個漂亮的高地午飯, 吃的依舊是兩餸一湯加水果, 一邊吃一邊看著無盡的平原。吃到一半, 司機聽到消息說今天有犀牛出沒, 非洲五霸中我們就只餘下最罕見的犀牛未曾遇上, 所以聽到這消息後我們立刻興奮起來, 進食速度登時翻倍。吃飯前還在慢悠悠和車子拍照的我們在吃完還幫司機收拾桌椅(對, 平常這些都是司機負責, 在這裏旅遊就像是個老闆), 務求盡快起程。

We found a very nice spot on a small hill for lunch, which offered a panoramic view of the grassland. 3 courses meal plus soup was served, although we never able to finish the beverages. During lunch, the driver heard that a rhinoceros showed up somewhere not to far today! Rhino was most difficult to spot among the Big Five and was our only outstanding one, therefore we got really excited, so we finished up the rest of the meal like a storm and helped the driver to pack up (yes normally the driver did everything, we live like a boss here)!

我們下了山坡到了河邊, 卻遇上一場小型的角馬渡河, 只有一百多隻角馬。那地方的岸比較高, 像遊泳池的跳台, 下水時要跳下去, 所以有許多路過的角馬和斑馬都沒有加入。我們在水中看見了正在等待機會的鱷魚, 專門覷準了落單的角馬, 大家在下圖能找到牠嗎?

We went down the hill to the riverbank, and ran into another wildebeest crossing, except in a much smaller scale than the one we had seen in the morning. The riverbank was significantly higher than the river, so it required a jump to get into the water, so many wildebeest and zebras on the other side passed on this location and continued their move on land. We did spot a crocodile in the river waiting for the wildebeest that was left out from the big group, can you find it in the photo below?

這次渡河只維持了約15分鐘, 然後我們便繼續踏上追蹤犀牛之路! 犀牛在地質年代第三世紀中新世時已經出現在地球。來自非洲的共有兩個品種: 白犀牛和黑犀牛, 兩者皆是灰色, 並不是以顔色區分。在這裏居住的黑犀牛, 牠們比白犀牛體型更小, 嘴較尖和耳朵較小。牠們的皮膚很厚, 用以防守荊棘和利草割傷身體。黑犀牛腦袋細小而視力奇差, 一般依靠嗅覺和聽覺來發現敵人。牠們行動笨拙卻異常兇猛, 成年男性之間非常喜歡單挑。在這草原上, 也沒有甚麼動物敢招惹成年的犀牛, 只有獅子偶然會偷襲小犀牛, 但犀牛的數目仍然不斷下降, 只因為人類為犀牛角而大量獵殺犀牛! 目前黑犀牛被列為瀕臨絕種動物當中的極危級別。國家公園安排了犀牛監察隊去保護這裏的少量黑犀牛, 他們不會接近犀牛, 但會在遠距離觀察。連司機也會協助保護犀牛, 我們的司機曾試過開車逐走想要偷襲小犀牛的獅子。有趣的是, 這些監察隊為我們提供了線索, 只要遇上他們, 便知道犀牛就在附近, 這就是午飯時司機知道附近有犀牛出沒的原因。我們往犀牛出沒的方向趕去, 沿途不斷有其他車子加入, 看來方圓百里的旅客都收到消息, 正從四面八方趕來。

The crossing only lasted for 15mins or so, then we were on our way again to chase the rhino! Rhinoceros is one of the existing animals with the longest history, the African species originated in the middle Miocene, about 14 million years ago and diverged into white rhinoceros and black rhinoceros. The one we could find here is the black rhinoceros, this species is classified as critically endangered and three subspecies have been declared extinct. White rhinoceros and black rhinoceros are not distinguish by colour, in fact they are both greyish in colour, but white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage. They have very thick skins to protect themselves from thorns, sharp grasses. Their brain is small relative to their size. Their eyesight is horrible and have to rely on hearing and smelling. They are slow but aggressive and resilient. They do not have predators in the wild thanks to the skin, the horn and the aggressiveness, except the young rhinos may fall prey to lions if the mom is not careful, However their numbers were still severely reduced towards the end of 20th century, solely because of human poaching for their horns. The park has dedicated rhino monitoring teams to protect them, they would monitor rhinos from far but would not go close. The drivers would also help, our driver once saw lions approaching young rhinos, then he drove the car towards the lions to scare them away. Interestingly the monitoring teams gave us an idea of where the rhinos are - when you see the team, you know there is a rhino around. That's how the driver learnt that a rhino was around during lunch. On our way we saw many cars heading towards the same direction, looked like everyone heard the same news!

我們遠遠看見數十輛車在路邊一字排開, 便知道犀牛應該就在前方! 司機把車子停下, 指著遠處, 起初我們根本看不到犀牛在哪裏, 拿著望遠鏡左看右看後終於發現了在數百米外的樹叢後面露出兩隻犀牛角! 等了大約十五分鐘, 犀牛非常給面子的慢慢起來走動, 我們才發現犀牛媽媽後面還跟著一隻犀寶寶! 牠們行動十分緩慢, 任誰都看不出這種看上去人畜無害的動物是草原上最兇猛的動物之一。犀牛媽媽如港姐冠軍那樣由右到左走過去, 停了停, 再由左到右走回去, 犀牛寶寶還上前喝媽媽的奶。當中經過了一段沒樹遮擋的路, 在場的幾十輛車上的遊客屏息靜氣地舉起相機, 大概過了十五分鐘, 犀牛母子又慢慢回到樹後, 然後沒了影蹤。幸好我們沒有晚來, 若然我們來遲半小時, 便會和犀牛母子完美地錯過。雖然牠們只是出現了十五分鐘, 而且相距幾百米, 卻是最令我們無比激動的十五分鐘, 因為我們終於集齊了非洲五霸!

We saw 30+ cars lining up on the side of the road, and immediately knew the rhinoceros should be within sight! Driver pulled the car over and pointed us towards the rhinos but we didn't see anything. We used binoculars to search, and finally spotted the horns behind some brushes! We waited for 15mins, the rhino finally got up from behind the brushes to take a walk, only then we found out there was also a rhino baby behind the mom! They moved slowly, and we totally couldn't find any sign of aggressiveness on them! The rhinos walked from the right to the left, then from the left to the right, just like singers in their concerts, the rhinos mom also stopped briefly to nurse the baby rhinos! They remained exposed for around 15mins, then slowly disappeared behind some trees. It was so fortunate that we did not come 30mins later than we had, otherwise we would completely miss the rhinos. Although they were only visible for 15mins, it was the best 15mins we had in Serengeti because we finally completed our collection of the Big Five!

我們心滿意足地從原路折返, 在回來的路上遇上了世界上最大的羚羊: 德氏大羚羊, 牠們站立時比我高出一截, 但牠們的英文名字中所含的"巨大"一字, 指的不是體型而是牠們的大角。而牠們別名當中的"德氏", 是指第十三代德比伯爵Lord Stanley Edward, 是他在19世紀把一對德氏大羚羊帶到英國。

We headed back with joy, and on our way we saw the largest specie of antelope in the world: a giant eland. They stand over 200cm height, however the epithet "giant" actually refers to its large horns rather than the body. The giant eland is also called "Lord Derby's eland" in honour of Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, who made the effort to introduce giant elands to England at the 1800s.

就在德氏大羚羊不遠處, 我們看到了非洲五霸之一的非洲水牛。我們並非第一次看見非洲水牛, 但一般水牛是夜行動物, 日間會躲在樹下陰涼處, 這次是第一次在陽光明媚的時候在曠野遇見牠。非洲水牛既不像獅豹般吃肉, 又沒有大象的身形, 為甚麼能擠掉長頸鹿成為非洲五霸之一? 原來是因為牠們脾氣暴躁, 危險性高。牠們群居, 只有年老受傷的水牛才會落單(第二天的末段曾提及)。獅子是牠們主要捕獵者，但牠們並不像羚鹿類般只顧逃跑，而是會奮起反抗，而且牠們很有義氣, 同伴受襲時會其餘水牛會衝過去撞飛敵人, 大群水牛甚至能合力把獅子撞死反殺，所以獅子每次獵食水牛時都是生死相搏，被水牛軍團群起圍攻至形勢不妙時甚至要爬樹逃生。所以草原上也就只有獅子 (算上河中的話就有鱷魚)敢招惹水牛, 而即便獅子一般也是圍捕落單的水牛。而獵豹和豹只敢攻擊初生之犢, 大群鬣狗偶然也會打水牛孕婦主意(怪不得牠們演奸角)。非洲水牛的兇悍只要親眼一見便能感受到, 當我們緩緩接近, 本來在高興地吃草的水牛便抬起頭瞪視我們, 那個位置有點背光, 司機把車駛走, 繞到水牛的身後, 然而那水牛竟然再次停了吃草, 回頭狠狠地瞪著我們, 甚至忘了咀嚼口中叼著的草! 這一刻我們立刻明白水牛能擠身非洲五霸之一乃是實至名歸! 值得一提的是牠們和亞洲水牛並不是近親, 性格完全不一樣, 你印象中的水牛是不是被馴化了的亞洲水牛呢?

Not far from the giant eland we found the African buffalo, which was also named Cape buffalo. It wasn't the first time we encountered one, but during the day usually they stayed under the trees to avoid the sun, and this was the first time we saw one exposed under the sun for a good photo opportunity! You may wonder why the African buffalo, which doesn't kill unlike the lion and the leopard, and without the size of the elephant, make it to the Big Five African game, that's because its unpredictable temperament: its widely regarded as a very dangerous animal. In certain years they would make it to 1st rank in terms of number of humans killed among all animals. Their only major predator on land is lion (in the river there is also crocodile). However, rather than running away like antelopes, they are capable of defending themselves against and even killing lions, and they would help each other against the enemy in a fight. Usually the entire lion pride had to join the hunt of an African buffalo, and if a lion was cornered by a group of buffalos, it would have to climb up the tree to escape. Leopard and cheetah normally only target the newborn calves, while larger clans of spotted hyenas may target pregnant cows. When we went close to the buffalo, it immediate stopped eating grass and stared at us. We were against the sun light so the driver drove the car away to the other side, and the same buffalo stopped eating grass again and turned around to stare at us again, even forgot about chewing! After this encounter, we totally understood why they were able to make it to the Big Five. One thing to note is that they are not closely related to water buffalo in Asian, which were domesticated.

黃昏歸家的路上, 我們看到斑馬群, 斑馬脾氣比馬大, 會咬會踢, 所以並沒被人類馴化。牠們雙眼長在頭的兩側, 所以視野寬闊, 唯一看不到的地方是屁股後面, 所以有時候兩隻斑馬會向著相反方向並排而立, 就能互相照應。主要的獵食者是獅子, 逃跑時能急速轉向以擺脫追捕, 被更小的動物如豹或鬣狗攻擊時會咬和踢還擊, 被攻擊時成年斑馬會圍成一個圈保護孩子。很多人誤會牠們是白皮膚黑紋, 但其實牠們是黑皮膚黑白毛。有趣的是, 我和其他旅客聊天, 很多都說覺得斑馬渾圓的屁股和黑白分明的顏色很可愛, 有不少人都拍了特寫!

On our way back in the evening, we passed by groups of zebras. They are known for ill-tempered and would bite and kick so they have never been domesticated. Their eyes are at the sides and far up the head, allowing them to have a great vision even during grazing. Their only blind spot is behind their butt, so we often see two zebras standing side by side facing opposite directions so that they can cover the blind spot of each other. Zebras are preyed on mainly by lions, where they often rely on lateral turns to escape. They act aggressively to smaller predators like leopard, cheetah and hyena, with defensive tactics like biting and kicking. When being attacked, adults zebras would form a circle to defend their young. Many thought zebras have white skin and black stripes, but in fact their skin is uniformly black, with black-and-white striped coats on top. I found that many travelers I talked to actually found their round shaped butt very lovely, and took a lot of pictures of that!

晚上, 我感覺到帳外的角馬叫聲如在耳邊, 於是便打開帳篷出外察看, 只聽得嗦嗦幾聲, 外面的角馬都逃得無影無蹤, 一時間外面變得靜悄悄的, 我等了一會甚麼也看不見, 只得退回帳內, 等了一陣, 又聽到急促的腳步聲自東至西而過, 這次我學了個乖, 只抓開帳篷的一角, 把手機伸出去, 果然被我拍到角馬在帳篷外經過的片段!

At night, I had been hearing wildebeest moaning right outside the tent, so I bravely went outside of the tent to look, but as soon as I got out, all wildebeest fled. I waited outside for a bit and decided to withdrawn. After a while, I heard wildebeest's footsteps again, this time I did it in a smart way, by opening up just a small hole and stuck my cellphone out, and this time i successfully captured a few clips of wildebeest hanging around the tents!

Day 5 Serengeti National Park - 角馬渡河II - 大象獵食

我們早餐過後, 司機問我們還要不要再看渡河, 這麼震憾的情景當然還未看夠, 而且我們已集齊了非洲五霸, 所以決定再去看渡河。我們的車快到河邊時, 已經看到大批濕漉漉和滿身泥濘的角馬迎面而來, 看來渡河已經開始了好一陣子!

After breakfast, driver asked if we wanted to see the wildebeest crossing again, I was still stunned by the scene the day before, and we had already completed the Big Give Game, therefore we gladly decided to try our luck again. We already saw thousands of wildebeest coming our way when we were still a kilometer away from the river, looked like the crossing had started for a while!

我們九時不到便已到達河邊, 這天和前一天非常不一樣, 前一天的渡河是源源不絕, 但中斷了之後再沒開始, 這天每一次渡河為時都不長, 很快便有膽怯的角馬跟不上, 但每次終斷後又很快便有勇敢的角馬不顧一切再衝出來, 旁邊另一輛車上的老奶奶不知道是否看得不耐煩, 不斷說"這到底會不會完?" 由於渡河不斷中斷, 很多過了河的小角馬都跑了一會發現不見了媽媽, 都回頭跑回河邊找媽媽。這次渡河一直到了十時許才完結, 比昨天的渡河更大型, 更震撼。完結之後, 我們又在河邊待了許久, 猶自不能相信剛剛親眼目睹了從前只能在電視上看到的場景。

We arrived the riverbank before 9am. The crossing we saw this day was very different from last time, on the day before wildebeest crossed continuously and once it stopped, it never started again, on this day the span of each crossing was much shorter, but every time after a short break, a brave wildebeest would step up and initiate the crossing again. An impatient old woman on the next car actually got tired of it and asked a few times "is it ever going to stop?". Since each crossing was interrupted quickly, some little wildebeests which crossed the river and ran very far actually went back to the riverbank to look for their mom. The wildebeest crossing did not end until after 10am, it was even more stunning than before, with double or triple the number of wildebeests crossed. After the crossing was over, we stayed at the riverbank for a while again, still couldn't believe this amazing scene just happened right in front of my eyes (rather than on TV).

Tips: You MUST get up early to see the wildebeest crossing. We met a group of young travelers who liked to stay up late at night and slept in, they did not see any crossing. We left the campsite 7ish am each day and got to the river before 9am. Don't take the chance unless you don't care.

離開河邊後, 我們沿路看到無數過了河的角馬群繼續踏上遷徒之路, 又遇上了一隻十分特別的雀鳥: 蛇鷲, 又名秘書鳥。牠們是非洲特有的品種, 有鷹的身和鶴的腳, 最特別的是牠有一張紅臉, 飛羽和大腿是黑色的, 而身體和腳卻是白色的, 就像穿上了單車褲。牠們的獵物包括昆蟲, 兔, 蜥蝪, 蛇, 鼠, 龜或小動物等, 由於牠們樣子兇悍又會對付害蟲, 所以在非洲的地位非凡, 南非和蘇丹的紋章上都包含了蛇鷲, 更有三十多個國家發行以牠們為主題的郵票。

On our way leaving the river we saw groups of wildebeests continuing their migration journey north, the we saw this special bird endemic to Africa: Secretarybird. It is very large with an eagle-like body and crane-like legs. it has a red-orange face, whiteish plumage and black flight feathers and thighs. To me it appeared like it wore a pair of cycling pants. Their prey may consist of insects, mice, hares, lizards, snakes, tortoises and small animals. With the ability to deal with pests and snakes, they have been traditionally been admired in Africa. It is a prominent feature on the coat of arms of South Africa and emblem of Sudan. More than 30 countries issued postage stamps with secretarybird as a motif.

我們在北部的機場附近午餐, 還看到正好有飛機抵達, 估計有些旅客和我們路線相反, 直接飛到最北, 再往南而去。午餐依然是兩餸一湯和水果, 司機每晚會在營地裏清洗器皿, 第二天提早裝好食物, 在這裏特別發一張有他的照片, 表揚一下他的辛勞。

We had lunch near the airport of the north for lunch. A flight arrived and some drivers were there to pick up their guests, I believe they had an opposite route from us where they started from the north. Lunch was the usual 3 courses meal with soup. Driver washed the containers every night and got food from the campsite for us each morning, so I will honour his hard work here with a photo featuring him.

午後看見了大象群在覓食, 相信大家對大象並不陌生, 但值得一提的是大象分兩屬, 非洲象和亞洲象。非洲象當中再分草原象和森林象兩種, 我們在草原上遇到的當然是草原象。小時候玩鬥獸棋, 象是排在獅虎豹之前, 原來大有道理, 除了體型龐大外, 非洲象非常兇猛而且攻擊性強。牠們能驅獅逐豹, 在草原上唯一的敵人是人類, 還有環境變化。牠們是母系社會, 每有象群經過, 我們都能看到一頭老母象殿後。非洲象會用象鼻去搖晃樹幹, 甚至用象牙推倒大樹, 然後把用象鼻把捲起草堆送到嘴中, 但動作不太準確, 一邊吃一邊漏。牠們這種殺樹取葉的方法對草原的破壞極大, 所以非洲象在非洲並不受歡迎。

After our lunch, we saw groups of elephants getting their lunch. Elephants are no strangers to any of you, but in fact there are two genera and three species of living elephants, while the other genera and species in the family are extinct. The two genera are African elephants and Asian elephants, and within the African elephant genus, there are two living species, African forest elephant and African brush elephant. The ones we met in Serengeti were bush elephants. In the jungle (safari) chess I played as a kid, elephant ranks above lion, tiger and leopard, which is consistent with what we saw here in Africa! African elephants are quite aggressive, and the adult elephants are not afraid of lions or leopards. Their biggest threats are poaching by humans for ivory, as well as habitat destruction. The elephant family unit is led by a matriarch, which we usually saw at the end of a elephant marching group. They use their trunks to pluck leaves and their tusks to tear at branches for food, sometimes they even shake down the whole tree, which causes enormous damage to foliage, therefore they are not very popular in Africa.

下午, 我再次在樹叢旁找到獅子, 依舊是雌獅在巡邏, 雄獅則睡得像死豬(獅?)一樣, 然後我們有幸再次看到豹! 不過這次牠盤踞在樹椏之間, 並沒有機會給我們幫牠拍高質素的特寫。除此之外, 我們還看到了外形比較特別的轉角牛羚, 顧名思義牠的角呈環狀, 特別的是牠們面部和大腿都是黑色, 有點像帶了面具和護膝去打架的忍者。最後, 一頭長頸鹿站在我們的車前, 好奇地看著我們。大家可能覺得長頸鹿都長得一樣, 但其實牠們有許多不同品種。主要分為北方長頸鹿和南方長頸鹿, 分別在非洲的北部和南部, 還有一種特別的品種馬賽長頸鹿, 就是我們在這裏遇到的! 馬賽長頸鹿的斑點非常獨特, 呈不規則的鋸齒狀, 也比較深色, 而且在動物園一般都沒有這個品種, 超過99.5%生活在野外, 所以只有來肯亞南部及坦桑尼亞才能看到!

In the afternoon, we found some lions underneath some brushes again, as usually a female was patrolling and the male was sleeping. Then we saw a leopard for the second time, except this time it was on the branches of a big tree so we couldn't find a good angle for close up photo. Other than these two, we also came across a topi, which was also named common tsessebe. They were first named as "crescent-horned antelope" in 1800s, thanks to the shape of their horns, and they are still named this way in Chinese currently. They have a mask-like dark colouration on the face and bluish-black-coloured patches and thighs, making them look like ninjas with mask and knee protectors on and ready to fight. Soon after we waved goodbye to the topi, a giraffe stood right in front of our car, looking curiously at us. All giraffes may look the same to you, however they are actually many species of different giraffes! They can mainly be classified as Northern giraffe and Southern giraffe, found in northern and southern African as their name suggested. Besides the two, there is one special specie named Maasai giraffe, which has distinctive irregular, jagged, star-like blotches which extend to the hooves. They can only be found in southern Kenya and in Tanzania, the one we saw was exactly this specie! In fact, more than 99.5% of this specie live in the wild, so you wouldn't be able find them in the zoo.

我們離開北方, 轉向南下, 黃昏的時候我們趕到營地附近, 再次在無盡的草原上舉杯痛飲看夕陽。一隻湯氏瞪羚朝著夕陽緩緩遠去, 最後消失在暮色之中, 為我們在大草原上接近尾聲的旅程, 添上幾分蕭索。

We turned towards the south, leaving the border and the river Mara behind us. After a long ride we got close to our camp by the evening, leaving us enough time for another glass of wine under the sunset. A Thomson's gazelle slowly walked away from us and disappeared in the dark, seemed to be reminding us that our journey in the safari was coming to an end.

這晚我們住的帳篷極盡華麗, 傢俬都是實木製造, 帳內的佈置也十分有草原的特式。主帳前燒起了篝火, 來自不同地方的旅人在此天南地北地交流著各種經歷。在帳內能呼吸到草原的氣息, 晚上特別涼快, 夜深後沒有人聲喧嘩, 只有大自然的天籟。於我而言, 比起任何繁華鬧市的頂級酒店, 我更喜歡夜宿於草原上的華麗帳篷。

We stayed at a luxurious tent for the night, with hard wood furniture, lovely safari theme decoration. Bon fire was set up for the journey men to share their stories. We could smell the safari in the tent, weather was cool at night, all we heard was the music of the nature. To me, it is a no brainer to pick this kind of accommodation over any high end hotel in the city.

Day 6 Serengeti National Park - 獅羚同框 - 獵豹靠近 - 三遇獅子 - 西蘭花樹 - 狒狒的坐姿 - 黑臉綠猴的人性 - 愛鬥大

這天是我們在離開Serengeti前的最後一天, 我們不用再趕到河邊等待角馬渡河, 便比平常稍為晚了30分鐘起床, 接近八時才到了主帳篷, 享受了一個悠閒早餐。我特別喜歡這裏的地道主食Mandazi和Chapati. Mandazi是種油炸的麵餅, 一般是橢圓形, 吃起來像牛脷酥或冬甩。Chapati類似於麥餅, 吃起來的質感有點像蔥油餅。無論口感和味道都是我喜愛的類型。還有一種當地常見的食物Ndizi Kaanga, 基本上就是炸香蕉, 用的是當地特有, 熟了也是青色的青蕉。

This was our last day in Serengeti before flying out. We didn't need to rush to the river for crossing anymore, so we slept in for extra 30mins and only arrived the main tent for breakfast slightly before 8am. I liked two of the carbs here: Mandazi and Chapati. Mandazi is the east African equivalent of doughnut or ox-tongue pastry (Chinese doughnut). Chapati bread is a simple grilled flatbread similar to crepe or the Chinese scallion pancake. Both the taste and texture was my cup of tea. Ndizi Kaanga is another traditional Tanzanian dish served, which is basically fried plantain, using local banana that stayed green even when they are ripe.

這個早上, 我們捕捉到多個狩獵者和獵物同框的和諧場景。首先在很遙遠的一棵樹下看到一對獅子母子和一隻湯氏瞪羚擦身而過, 雙方相距只有幾米的距離, 但獅子自個兒開了。之後, 我們又在一處一望無際的平原看到一大群湯氏瞪羚在低頭吃草, 獵豹就在牠們身後二三十米的蟻窩上張望, 要知道獵豹的步距是五至七米, 由靜止起步跑一百米只需五秒多, 所以牠們之間也就是一兩秒或三四步的距離, 但卻是一片寧靜, 相安無事。最後我們在午飯前在一棵樹上看到了豹, 樹下則有一隻長頸鹿, 豹的絕招是由樹上跳去了突擊獵物, 我拿著望遠鏡看了好久, 長頸鹿安靜地吃草, 豹安靜地打瞌睡。很多人認為獅子、豹和獵豹都是兇殘的猛獸, 但其實在草原上我們能感覺到牠們除了肚子餓必須找吃的時候之外, 其餘時候根本不會無故傷害其他動物。反而我們人類, 才喜歡在沒有必要的情況下互相傷害, 究竟是誰更兇殘呢? 這時我又想起樂隊Beyond的歌<Amani>(曝露年齡), Amani一字是來自非洲使用人數最多的語言之一Swahili, 亦是坦桑尼亞的官方語言, Amani的意思是"和平", 而我在草原上的動物當中, 正正看到了甚麼叫"和平共處"。

On this morning, we captured a few predator & prey in the same frame. Firstly under a tree far far ahead, we saw a pair of lion mom and son passed by a Thomson's gazelle, they went as close as a few meters apart, but the lions just walked straight ahead. Next, on an endless field of grassland we saw a big group of Thomson's gazelles feeding on grass with a family of cheetahs sitting on the ant nest about 20 to 30m behind them, consider one stride of a cheetah measures 4 to 7m and cheetah can sprint a 100m in 5 seconds or so, they could actually reach the gazelles in a few strides or a few seconds, yet they were both enjoying their morning peacefully. Lastly we spotted a leopard on a tree and a giraffe underneath, the leopard is known for their skill to jump down the tree to attack its prey, I watched through the binoculars for half an hour yet nothing happened. Lion, leopard and cheetahs are often regarded as very fierce and cruel animals, however from what we observed here they would not attack other animals unless they are very hungry. In contrast, human is the animal who have spiteful actions such as creating conflict or hurting each other unnecessarily. At this moment, I wonder which is more fierce and cruel?

除此之外, 我們又近距離接觸了獵豹, 首先是在一個蟻窩上看到一家獵豹, 獵豹因為不擅爬樹, 所以喜歡站在窿起的蟻窩上觀察, 就這個早上我們已在兩個不同的地方看到獵豹在蟻窩上, 我們覺得蟻窩上的蟻爬來爬去是極為嘔心的, 但獵豹們或躺或站, 悠然自得。不久, 獵豹從蟻窩上下來, 反應奇快的司機已馬上預測到豹的路線, 立刻開車繞到另一邊的路上, 果然獵豹慢慢向著這個方向走來, 最後走到我們的車前! 其他的車也趕忙向這邊開過來, 一排車子堵在獵豹前。獵豹對車子的移動視而不見, 正眼也不瞧我們一瞧, 可能對這樣的情況早已見怪不怪。獵豹經過了我們向另一邊而去, 那邊並沒有車路, 所以我們無法繼續追蹤。

We encountered another cheetah family on the same morning. We first spotted them on an ant nest, since cheetahs are not good at climbing trees so they often sit on ant nest to observe. It is already the second time we saw cheetahs on ant nest this morning. We found the ant nest extremely disgusting with ants moving around, but seemed like the cheetahs were enjoying themselves up there! After a while, the cheetahs got up and walked down from the nest, drive anticipated their route and reacted immediately by driving around to the road across. As expected the cheetahs slowly came toward us and finally stopped right in front of our car! They did not react to us at all, might be already so used to this kind of cars moving around them. At the end they crossed the road and headed towards the other side of the field, where there were no roads so we were not able to continue our chase.

近距離接觸獵豹之後, 我們又看在兩處不同的地方近距離看到獅子。首先是遠遠看見很多車圍著路旁的一棵吊燈樹, 吊燈樹的果實很像腸, 所以英文直接便叫腸樹, 那些果實雖然不能食用, 但在非洲會用作醫治皮膚病的藥物。獅子就在樹下睡覺, 對圍觀的車視而不見, 應該也是見怪不怪了。值得一提的是, 這裏的車子是不能離開道路的, 所以在樹的另一方的車子其實是違規了, 司機為了讓客人有最好的體驗還是挺賣力的! 後來在另一個樹叢下發現了獅子一家, 雄獅在睡覺, 雌獅卻在東像西望, 獅子還是男的比較懶啊!

We then spotted lions twice in the morning. First time under a Kigelia, which is also called sausage tree because it grows a poisonous fruit that is in sausage shape, which can be used as medicine. Lions slept like babies under the tree, didn't seem to be affected by the surrounding cars. Note that the cars were actually not allowed off road, so the drivers of the cars on the other side of the trees were taking risks to give the best experience to their guests. Later in the morning we saw another lion family under some brushes, the male lion was sleeping and the female lions were looking around. Looked like the male was always more lazy!

我們遇上了狒狒, 在猴科中牠們的體形排第二。牠們除了吃天然植物外, 還會吃農作物和人類的食物, 甚至肉。有些狒狒乾脆去到人多的地方, 去搶人類的食物。牠們不能直立走路, 但坐姿卻尤其像人! 母狒狒會把小狒狒揹在屁股上走路。

We saw some baboons. Baboon is the second largest in size under the Cercopithecidae family. They eat plants and even meat, basically anything, similar to human. Some baboons would travel to places with a lot of humans such as the national park gate to take food from human. They couldn't stand up unlike human, but the way they sit looked extremely similar to human. Baboon moms would carry their babies on their back.

這天早上見到各種動物, 一直到了下午兩時許才吃飯, 這天的午餐有點像肉醬意粉, 因為不論是肉或是菜都加了濃濃的醬料, 這裏的湯非常濃, 喝起來非常滿足, 薑湯特別的辣, 每天都吃得好飽, 所以都沒有機會吃他們預備的零食。

We were too busy with spotting animals in the morning so we didn't get to eat lunch until 2ish pm. We had spaghetti today. Their soup was always very smooth and creamy, similar to bisque. In particular the ginger soon was very spicy. With the soup and the heavily sauced dished, the meal was usually very filling and I never had the chance to eat the snacks prepared by them.

吃完飯後我們又看見了獅子, 可能因為旅程接近尾聲, 這次司機非常勇敢地離開了道路, 把車子一直駛到獅子面前, 讓我們拍了好多特寫。

After lunch we met some lions again, may be because our journey was closing to the end, so this time the driver was very brave to drive off the road and got very close to the lions, so that we had the opportunity to take some nice close up shots of the lions.

這幾天動物看了不少, 便也留意一下植物。燭台大戟是這裏一個非常特別的樹種, 它遠看有點像西蘭花, 近看卻像很多的仙人掌堆在一起。汁液有毒, 一滴可以致盲, 這裏人會種它們來保護牲畜, 因為動物都不敢越過它們。

We have seen a lot of animals these days, with most animals on our list checked, we turned our attention to some plants. The candelabra tree is a special tree in Serengeti under Euphorbia genus. It looked like a broccoli from far, and looked like many cactuses together close up. It is full of white, extremely toxic latex, which can blind you with a drop. Local people here plant these trees as cattle fencing, since the predators would not attempt to get through.

之後我們陸續看到了幾種動物, 樣子比較特別的是黑臉綠猴, 牠們長著一張沒有毛的黑臉和一身灰白的毛, 尾巴特別長, 只在東南非沿岸的國家看到牠們。牠們的習性和人十分接近, 特別是牠們會無故傷害同類, 譬如搶走同類的食物, 這種行為在動物界除了人類外非常罕見。牠們也被發現擁有人類一樣的情緒, 譬如焦慮症。另一種是在非洲東南部十分普遍的高角羚, 牠們的角十分長, 可達90厘米, 部份彎曲, 據說這結構是方便在打架時能鎖著對手的角將手甩出去。辨認的方法是屁股至後腿上左右都有黑紋, 尾巴也有黑紋。牠們跳得很高,能躍過三米的草木障礙。

We got some close up shot of a few other animals. One being the vervet monkey. It has a iconic black face, along with greyish white body hair. They can only be found on the eastern and southern countries in African. They have been noted for having human-like characteristics, including spiteful actions which are extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Another one is impala which is very common across southern and eastern Africa. They have long, lyre-shaped horns that could be as long as 90 cm. The horns are circular in section, which allow the impala to lock the opponent's horns in fight to throw off his opponent. Black streaks run from the buttocks to the upper hindlegs, and the tail also features a solid black stripe, which help us to identity them easily. It can jump up to 3meters over obstacles.

最後, 在回家的路上我們見到大群河馬躲在水中。河馬是草食性動物卻胖得像豬, 但其實物們是鯨豚類的近親! 牠們性格暴躁而且攻擊性極強, 能吊打並殺死鱷魚, 連獅子也不敢捕獵成年的河馬。河馬生性喜愛惹事, 是少數膽敢無故挑釁非洲五霸包括大象的動物, 皮粗肉厚不怕攻擊, 看起來胖但跑起來並不慢, 雖然吃草卻有犬齒。牠們喜歡聯群結隊擠在水中, 互相倚靠著休息。牠們會在同一個地方放屁撒尿拉屎和喝水, 十分嘔心。我們有幸看到兩隻河馬正在玩鬧, 牠們玩鬧的方法就只有一種, 就是比誰的嘴巴張的更大, 也有說牠們是以牙齒來攻防。

Finally, on our way home we saw groups of hippopotamus in the water. They are herbivorous but are someone huge in size. They closest living relatives of the hippopotamidae are actually cetaceans, such as whales and dolphin! The hippo is actually considered as highly aggressive, and due to their aggression and size, they are not usually preyed upon by other animals, even lions. They like to make trouble and crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, sometimes even the Big Five become their target. They look chubby but run fairly fast. They spend most on the time a day in water as a way to stay cool, where they huddle close together. They fart, pee, poop and drink at the same place. We were lucky to see a hippo fight, which they mainly "yawn" or attack and defend with their teeth.

這晚天氣不錯, 所以晚餐在室外。這個季節的旅客不多, 所以就像個私人俱樂部。營地派人即場烤肉, 連麵包也做成鱷魚的樣子, 十分別緻。

The weather was great tonight, allowing the possibility of outdoor dining at the patio. There were not a lot of traveler at this season, turning the place into a private patio for us. They grilled meat on the spot, even the bread was baked in crocodile's shape. Overall it was a very enjoyable dinner.

Day 7 Dar es Salaam - 德式教堂 - 本地市集 - 美式餐廳

這天早上, 我們在草原上最後逛了一圈, 送別我們的是鬣狗, 湯氏瞪羚和高角羚, 還有黑背豺狼。黑背豺狼的樣子有點像狐狸。牠們捕食小型動物或雀鳥, 也會躲在獅子、豹、獵豹等大型獵食者旁覷準機會偷食物, 反正有機會就不會錯過, 和我們在童話故事裏所認識的豺狼的形象十分接近。和動物告別之後, 我們前往機場, 坐飛機前往坦桑尼的最大城市兼舊都Dar es Salaam。這個機場很小, 但卻十分繁忙, 我們趁著等待的時間買了明信片, 這裏有兩套很有特色的郵票, 都是以這幾天見過的動物為主題, 用來貼在明信片上寄給朋友, 正好合適!

In the morning, we had our last game drive around the safari, waved goodbye to a number of old friends like the Thomson's gazelles, impalas and hyenas. We met the black-backed jackal, which actually looked like fox. They feed on invertebrates and small animals. They may also steal pieces of food from lion, leopard and cheetah's kills. We then headed to the airport. While we were waiting for the flight, we mailed some postcards. They have some cute stamps featuring the animals we saw in the last few days, which were perfect to be used on postcard.

Tips: The default itinerary with flight option would send you back to Kilimanjaro for your departing flight. However these domestic flights are very flexible, you can pick any of the local cities. Popular choices are Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Zanzibar is a pretty coastal island, but we picked Dar es Salaam because it offers a lot of flight options to Europe and middle east, so it fits a group with different destinations.

Dar es Salaam曾經是坦桑尼亞的首都, 現在亦是國內的商業之都, 是非洲第五大城市。名字在阿拉伯語是"和平之港"的意思, 目前是東非國家的主要轉口港。由於曾被多國殖民, 所以城內能看到不同的文化交織。我們在下午參觀了一座德式紅頂教堂Azania Front Church, 又到了本地的市集Kariakoo Market感受本地人的生活, 市集旁還有很多露天的攤檔, 感覺小時候在老家也有這種地方, 但隨著城市急速發展, 這樣的市集和擹檔逐漸被大型商場和連鎖店取代, 只有在比較落後的國家才依然能找到。無論在甚麼地方, 總有大叔在路邊的板凳上下棋, 這裏下的是西洋跳棋。我們又參觀了一些賣手工藝的破落小店, 這裏接受美金, 但價錢卻也沒有比旅遊區特別便宜。我們找到一家人氣很高的餐廳Samakisamaki, 裏面人山人海, 有DJ播放音樂, 不論是氣氛環境還是菜單飲品, 甚至是服務員的態度衣著, 都十分西化。我們點了些海鮮, 不能說是十分好吃但也當算不錯, 值得一提的是這裏和歐洲一樣是不會提供水的, 如有需要可以點餅裝水。

Dar es Salaam is the fifth largest city in Africa and the business capital of Tanzania. The name is commonly translated from Arabic as "home of peace". As a natural harbour on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes, Dar es Salaam is the hub of the transportation system in Tanzania. It was under the rule of a German colony German East Africa, and later was captured by the British. The cultural influence can be observed. We visited a Lutheran church named Azania Front Church, which was among the most well-known landmarks of the city, built by the German in Bavarian style.

We then visited the local Kariakoo Market, which was the busiest and biggest market that contributes substantially to the food provision of the city. I recalled we used to have this type of market in my home town but they were slowly replaced by malls and chain stores. Only the developing countries preserved old cultures like this. We found some middle ages playing chess on the bench just like in anywhere of the world, the chess being played here was draughts (checkers). We then visited some local handcrafts stores. We had dinner at a very popular restaurant named Samakisamaki, it was extremely packed, with loud music. The atmosphere, menu, drinks and even the hosts were all very western. We got some seafood, which was not exceptional but decent. Note that the restaurant don't offer water, so you either need to have your own or to order bottle water there.

Tips: Uber is much cheaper than taxi or whoever approached you. The big stores accept credit card and any locals accept USD. So essentially you don't need to get the local currency at all. At the time when I was there, the uber drivers were not up to standard: the one who picked us up from airport was late for 20mins and told us he couldn't find the route in; the one who took me to the airport said I didn't type the word "airport" which meant he wouldn't be able to reimburse certain fee, and kept yelling at me since I got into the car, I suggested to cancel the trip but he didn't want to lose the trip, and he continued to yell for 15mins, then he called his friend to complain, his friend explained something to him (in swahili) and all of a sudden he shut up. The other local straight forward rides were all good.

Day 8 Dar es Salaam - 面朝印度洋的海灘 - 旋轉餐廳

最後一天, 我到了比較多遊客和富人的Oyster Bay 區, 在Coco Beach上逛了一陣, 這裏水不清沙不幼, 但畢竟是面朝印度洋, 是本地人周末的去處。這邊有船去Bongoyo島, 該島是個陽光與海灘類型的旅遊點, 因離岸頗遠, 所水更清沙更幼。

I visited the Coco Beach in the Oyster Bay district, it wasn't a top beach or anything but it faced the Indian ocean and was a local favourite to spend the weekend. There was ferry to Bongoyo island, which offers a better "sun and beach" kind of experience, as it was located deeper into the ocean.

我非常喜歡在塔上的旋轉餐廳吃晚飯, 在任何國家任何城市我也不會錯過上搭的機會, 這晚我選擇了Akemi Revolving Restaurant, 該餐廳在一座商業大樓Golden Jubilee Tower頂層, 那天是週日, 大樓內水靜河飛, 靜悄悄的空無一人, 餐廳也只有一兩個家庭和一兩對情侶。我點了一客泰式青咖哩配薄餅, 一碗湯和一杯奶昔, 價錢和口味都十分合理, 我一邊看著城市的全景和無盡的印度洋, 一邊慢慢品嚐, 一直到暮色四合, 我才結帳離開。

I am a big fan of dining on the tower that oversee the city (revolving preferred), so I picked Akemi Revolving Restaurant at the top of Golden Jubilee Tower for dinner. It was a Sunday so the business building was completely empty, even the restaurant only had a family or two and a pair of couples or two. I ordered a thai green curry with naan, a soup and a milkshake, the quality and price were both reasonable. I enjoyed them with the panoramic view of the city and the indian ocean until the dark covered the city and I knew it was time to go home.

Tips: It is recommended to book your accommodation at the city center Kisutu area, as you can reach many good restaurants and attractions, including the ferry to Zanzibar, in walking distance. The Masaki and Oyster Bay area along the coast line offer higher end hotels and quieter space, which are also good choices, however they are less convenient and much more expensive, in particular, the luxurious level was really limited as a developing country so the price increment do not convert proportionally to the increment in quality.

Day 9 Amsterdam & Rotterdam

荷蘭皇家航空有前往非洲的航班, 所以回程時我選擇在阿姆斯特丹轉機, 並刻意安排整天的轉機時間出去遊覽, 阿姆斯特丹我曾已去過, 所以經過通宵機程後, 我直接在機場坐火車到了鹿特丹。

KLM offered routes to African countries, so I picked Amsterdam for transit. I scheduled the flight such that I have a full day of transit . Since I had been here already, so this time I boarded a train south from the airport to Rotterdam.

第一站參觀了Kinderdijk, 這名字的意思為"小孩堤防", 是一個著名的村莊, 為抵抗洪水, 在1740年建了19座風車, 是荷蘭最大的風車系統, 現在則成了著名景點。傳說十五世紀的時候, 曾經發生洪水, 洪水過後, 當大家前來救援時, 有人發現有一個木製的搖籃在漂浮, 裏面有一隻貓在跳來跳去保持平衡, 保護一個熟睡的嬰兒沒被淹死。這裏的風車系統能夠把水泵進儲水庫並調節水位, 當中有幾個風車的內部可供參觀, 慢悠悠逛一遍大概需要2個小時。

My first stop was Kinderdijk, which means "Children dike" in Dutch. There is a system of 19 windmills built around 1740 to drain the polder, which is the largest concentration of old windmills in Netherlands and become a popular attraction. During a flood in 1400s, many places were flooded, but this area stayed unflooded. After the storm, villagers went to the dike to see what could be salvaged and found a wooden cradle floating on the water, in there was a cat trying to keep the cradle in balance and afloat by leaping back and forth, and saved a baby from the flood, who was quietly sleeping. The system is able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river to prevent flooding of the polder, a few of these windmills offered guided tour for you to understand more, it will take at least two hours if you want to walk around the whole site and visit all windmills.

Tips: It is in a rural area, uber or taxi will be expensive, but it is assessible by public transport i.e. bus. Waterbus is highly recommended! It takes you right to the entrances of the site, and offers amazing views of Nieuwe Mass of Rhine River. It also takes much less time than land transportation. Only thing is that you will need to check the schedule in advance.

上岸之後, 在步行路程內參觀了兩個景點: 市場大廳和方塊屋。鹿特丹以建築特色而聞名於世, 這兩座建築是當中的代表。市場大廳建於2014年, 融合了住宅, 辦公室和市集。該建築是一座有228戶的辦公室和住宅, 但弧形的設計令它的中心部份容納了偌大的市集, 是個十分有創意又實用的設計。方塊屋是由38個小方塊屋和2個巨型方塊屋構成, 每座房屋方體傾斜45度, 代表一棵樹，所有房屋共同構成一片森林, 最大的作用是減少佔用地面空間, 而增加房屋的內部空間。

Within walking distance after getting off the waterbus, I visited two popular attractions: Markthal and the cube house. Rotterdam is very well known for their architects and these two are among the most iconic buildings. Markthal is a residential and office building with a market hall underneath. Opened in 2014, the complex houses 228 apartments, the building has a glass facade on both sides, and the interior is adorned with artwork. Cube house is a set of innovative houses, with the purpose of optimizing the space inside without using a lot of ground space. There are 38 small cubes and two super-cubes attaching to each other, where each house represents a tree, and all together, they represent a forest.

離開鹿特丹後, 我坐火車到了阿姆斯特丹。我在多年前已曾來過, 所以這次主要在尋找新的景點。A'dam lookout 的瞭望台能觀看阿姆斯特丹全景, 所以我便到此一遊。頂層的邊緣設有一個全歐最高的鞦韆, 我在上面來回搖盪, 看著這個水陸交織的美麗城市。右面的照片不是P圖啊!

After leaving Rotterdam I found my way to Amsterdam. I have been here years ago so I looked for attractions that was new to me. A’dam Lookout is an observation deck with an unrivalled panoramic view of Amsterdam. It has the Europe’s highest swing over the edge of its sky deck, which I swung back and forth at 100 meters above the city. Yes, this is a real photo rather than a photoshop product!

最後, 我在運河縱橫的市中心閒逛, 當然經過了阿姆斯特丹王宫, 狹窄的房屋, 還有名聞於世的紅燈區。De Wallen紅燈區是阿姆斯特丹最主要的觀光點, 在舊區中心, 橫跨數條運河, 有幾十條小巷和三百個多間小屋, 以紅燈和黑燈為號, 每間小屋都有落地玻璃窗作展示用途, 後面則有小房間進行服務。那時還未到黃昏, 紅燈區的美女陸續到達, 我走進一間小店光顧…... 了這裏很有名的窩夫。最後回到中央車站, 乘火車回機場, 結束荷蘭一天充實的轉機之旅, 踏上回家的歸途。

I walked around city crossing many of their famous canals, visited attractions such as Royal Palace of Amsterdam, the narrow houses with gabled facades, and of course the largest red-light district. De Wallen was the best known red-light district and top tourist attractions in Amsterdam. It consists of a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred one-room cabins rented by prostitutes, they demonstrate themselves behind a glass window, and offer services in the room behind. Most were illuminated with red lights and blacklight. It was late afternoon and the ladies working in the district slowly showed up. I went behind one of many windows... to get a waffle, which was popular here. By evening I returned to the Amsterdam Centraal station, where I took the train back to the airport to conclude a busy day of transit in Netherland.