Flying colours

4/10

Waking up at 3.30 am is definitely not my thing, however if there is a chance of a hyena sighting, I am game! It’s all a part of the experience! Walking around with head torches as there’s no electricity and desperately trying not to get the shirts on inside out is just a part of the fun. And since it was 11 degrees outside and we always drive with our windows down, there were a lot of layers to squeeze into. I was pretty much wearing everything that I brought with me, except for the skirt, although to be fair my feet were a bit cold, so I could have probably made use of that too. I literally looked and felt like a polar bear. That’s the only way I can describe it. Am I in Africa even? I just can’t comprehend.

And all that fuss was for nothing as we came back with “empty hands”. These damn hyenas are quick on their feet.

After our morning drive and LMT we came home to rest and relax. I got a cheeky nap in as well, which gave me back the will to live. After lunch we checked otter camera trap photos only to realize that the locals had been messing with the camera and there were no traces of wildlife on there. Bummer!

The highlight of the day was skinning the serval and jackal skulls. Both of these animals were killed by a leopard, so the cause of their death was not poaching. That little factor made it easier to observe the whole procedure. We have anatomy fanatics amongst us so we were shown how to properly skin, clean and bleach the skulls for better presentation.

On a side note, I got to hand wash my clothes today. I stand by what I said earlier. I will never travel without my washing machine ever again.

Off to work on my presentation now. I will be introducing the slender mongoose. PowerPoint, we meet again. So. Much. Fun.