Drive stick again (for first time). Another researcher’s car is down, so get a car full of field assistants with which to practice. The wildlife are out in force this morning: spot a few Waterbuck and Baboons crossing the road, see about a dozen Giraffe heads poking up above the Acacia, feels like we’re passing through a giraffe forest. Once we hit the open plain we see an Ostrich running. It takes the right fork as we take the left, and for a bit I can pace it in the truck.

Okay day in the field, but as I head back to station, can feel the anxiety of having to stop at the gate and start from an uphill stop with a vehicle packed w field assistants. Luckily I don’t kill it and only slightly peel out…

Some folks were kind enough to pick up my packages from Nanyuki (thanks for the candy and field supplies, Mom and Dad!). And my luggage has arrived from South African Airways. It’s like Christmas! Throw a disc with some folks and one manages to get it stuck on the top of an Acacia tree. We start by throwing the biggest, most readily available objects (i.e. dried elephant pooh) but it’s really stuck in there. So then we try some rocks, but to no avail. So we finally resort to a tree pole (i.e. long extendable plastic pole used to measure tree heights). It takes a bit but we finally find success. To celebrate we enjoy some gin and Lemon bitter soda at the (still absent) Director’s house. They feed their Dikdiks over there, and we try to lure them in with some fried peanuts.