Safari Benin Style

Back around March, right after my last entry, I went on a little safari with 6 other volunteers. We hired a guide to drive us through Park Penjari, we sat four people on the roof while three others sat in the SUV. Our guide made it the responsibility of those sitting on the roof to be on the look out for animals, of course that’s what we were doing, but after some time would pass and we wouldn’t have spotting anything he would open the driver door and stand up to get a better look. Yes the car was still in motion, yes we were a little frightening sitting on top of a SUV notorious for rolling over while our driver had one foot stretched to reach the gas peddle (and he would occasionally hit the accelerator), one hand on the steeling wheel and the rest of his body hanging out the door. He would even turn to speak to us, leaving his eyes off of the winding and bending dirt road. Over all it made for a good time.

We spent the repos or breaks between noon and 3 and the nights at the hotel located in the park. Most of the people who come are French tourist so the personnel laughed as we crammed all 7 of us into a room with one double bed and looked with puzzlement as we ate our packed lunches and dinners- something the guides would do, not the guests.

By the end of the second day we had seen plenty of baboons, deer, antelope, hippos, but we were still on the search for elephants and lions (there are no giraffes in Benin, oh well). Then, unexpectedly while at a watering hole we heard an elephant in the distance, so we rushed back into the car and drove out like madmen. There was a family, about 3 big elephants and 3 babies. Sitting on top of the SUV our presence made the elephants defensive and protective of their young. And when the engine made a noise to move forward the elephant made a charge at us, stopping maybe 20 yards away making her intentions aware. So we sat in idle watching the family graze and wonder, each foot step taken was leisurely, never leaving us out of their sight until they were well enough away.

The next morning, our anxieties had dwindled a bit, being satisfied with the elephant sighting that it took a second or two to recognize the two lions that we before us as we drove. They’re much bigger than I was expecting, but being startled then soon dispersed into the forage before getting a good picture. Our guide blamed us for making too much noise when we spotted them, even though it was him who screamed “where?”

Even as we were about to leave the Park and send some time at the waterfalls that are a bit south, we came across another elephant. I could watch them all day long with their slow motion and their tusks moving every which way. It was the perfect way to end the weekend.