"An overcast morning, a non-starting jeep, elephants across the water. Everything falters for a moment - except nature itself. Tarangire continues to breathe, to grow, to move. And us? We just watch."

Thursday morning, like other mornings, begins with overcast skies. So far, that always clears fairly quickly, but I'm still hoping for at least one good sunrise to photograph. Today is clearly not that day.

African-style car breakdown

After another excellent breakfast and checking out, we set out, into the park. The ride is soon interrupted: the car won't start. A bolt on the battery does not stay in place properly, so there is no good contact. With some trickery we get the engine running again. Yet the question is primarily when it will go wrong again, not if.

We drive back to the lodge so Jabiri can call for help there. Fortunately, we are still close by. By the way, the Land Cruiser we are driving is not just any car. In large parts of Africa this is the standard for safaris: indestructible, reliable and built for rough terrain. But even these desert dinosaurs have their quirks from time to time.

Balcony with a view

While Jabiri is making arrangements, we nestle on the large balcony adjacent to the reception area and restaurant. The view is impressive: an open plain full of life. Across the water, we see a group of elephants quietly scurrying along the shore. The sky has now cleared - a bright blue backdrop over a landscape that is constantly changing.

Elephants are surprisingly good swimmers. They use their trunks as snorkels and cross wide rivers without difficulty. So those bulky bodies prove surprisingly flexible when they need to be.

Back into the wilderness

Not much later we are on the road again - with a Land Cruiser starting up again, thankfully. We are immediately treated to a motley parade of animals. Some by now familiar, others rarer. Evita, meanwhile, diligently keeps track of everything we see, from large to small.

Today we note warthogs (aka: Pumba), ostriches, gazelles, impalas, a catfish, a lizard, and, of course, the requisite giraffes and zebras. To our delight, we also see "Zazu" from The Lion King - in reality, a hornbill, a species that is common here and especially noisy.

Among all these birds, one really stands out: the secretarybird. An elegant bird of prey on stilts, it hunts on foot and is known for its deadly kick. Even venomous snakes are no match for its lightning-fast strike.

Changing landscape

Jabiri navigates the various zones of the park with concentration, always looking for a good place to stop. Meanwhile, the landscape under our wheels is changing. Open plains, where visibility is endless, slowly give way to more densely vegetated areas.

In one such forested section, we see a group of vervet monkeys. They swing in the trees, fast, playful, curious. Male specimens, by the way, appear to have strikingly bright blue skin around their noble parts - a color that literally exudes status within the group. The brighter the blue, the higher the rank. So the monkeys' social system is partly visually coded, and remarkably visible.

It is hard to put into words how it feels to be among these animals. To be face to face with elephants, giraffes and other animals in their natural habitat. Not in a zoo, not behind glass, where they belong.

What especially gets me is how little we as humans matter in their world. These animals just live their lives and don't care about us.

Tired but fulfilled

When it's time to leave the park, we only notice how tired we actually are. Not because we are bored - far from it - but because everything is intense. The distances, the heat, the constant searching for movement in the landscape... And then you have the bouncing along dirt trails, which has not been nicknamed the "African massage" here for nothing. A free back rub in the trunk of a Land Cruiser.

In my case, that includes constant shooting. Reacting quickly, changing lenses, finding compositions. I wouldn't miss it for anything, but it does eat up energy.

Music and silence

At Jabiri's request, we put on some music through the bluetooth speakers in the jeep. The choice is John Mayer - an artist Jabiri is not familiar with. John is brutally interrupted. No more range.

That, by the way, is the rule rather than the exception here. The Internet comes and goes like the landscape below us. But it's also nice sometimes - no screen for a while, no distractions. Just driving. Looking. Being quiet.

Hakuna Matata.

Or as a sign in Materuni summed it up nicely earlier this week:

"No WiFi, talk to each other."

Tarangire, day 2