On a sunny morning collecting firewood for the campfire at night from the dry acacia woodland and hour or so from Kwihala camp, who would have known the next 30 minutes would be an adventure to remember? Yes, we collected enough firewood to last us 3 nights of campfires. We loaded it on our TDI defender. We drove slowly down the rough road with hundreds of Combretum trees coloured with a pink complex of beautiful pretty lady flowers. Tony, our trainee guide driving the vehicle, was excellent in spotting different species of birds. Ruaha National Park is best know for its array of colourful bird species. The so-called wet (green) season is the best time for bird watching. It is during this time the migrant species arrive. From forests, dry acacia savannah & wetlands such as the Usangu plains, up to 573 species have been recorded. The 2 latest species being the Ruaha Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus ruahae) & Ruaha Chat (Pentholaea collaris). Watching these birds sing with a high density of Baobabs in the background is a dream scene for any birding enthusiast.
The Greater Honeyguide, Crowned Hornbill, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Black Cuckoo Shrike, Broad-billed Roller and the Buff-crested Bustard (below) were some of the birds Tony & I spotted that day.
The Greater Honeyguide, Crowned Hornbill, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Black Cuckoo Shrike, Broad-billed Roller and the Buff-crested Bustard (below) were some of the birds Tony & I spotted that day.
copyright Akil Halai
Driving slowly down the road I suddenly saw a snake crawl over Tony's Leg. By instinct, not having enough or in fact no guiding experience, I shouted "SNAKE!! NYOKA!! NYOKA!!"
"RUKA…RUKA" was my next reaction, "Jump off the vehicle!”
The next thing you know is that we are both stuck in some scrub and the vehicle is moving on its own with the nearly 2 meter serpent on its accelerator plate.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. Well the crash fortunately did not damage the vehicle and the Land Rover was stopped by a Russet Bushwillow. We ran forward to the vehicle, took an axe from the vehicles rear booth and started looking for the snake. To our disappointment it was an Eastern stripe-bellied Sand Snake. It had strangled itself on the rear left wheel when it tried to escape. It is a thin, medium sized snake with a long head, large eyes and very long thin tail. It is a fast, active hunter of birds, lizards and mice in the coastal grasslands and mesic thicket. Due to its speed and mobility it is difficult to catch although many are caught by birds of prey. Sand snakes are diurnal and mainly terrestrial, possessing enlarged back fangs and kill by injecting venom. The bites of only a few species are of clinical importance.We had a big laugh assuring ourselves, we are alive.
The next 55 minutes drive back to the camp was a pin drop silent drive. We had far forgotten that there was still plenty of birdlife around us.
