Kenya 2023: Chapter 15 – Exit Row Seating

 Luggas from above.

The luggas that cross the park and drain into one of the three main rivers (Mara, Talek, Sand) are great places for lions and leopards to hide. Depth can range from 2 or 3 feet up to 10 or 12 feet in places. They have steep earthen banks with occasional gentle slopes that guides use as crossing points. They can be narrow enough to jump across or a hundred feet wide. Water pools are intermittent and rock outcrops can be visible. Huge olive trees and acacia hang over the water making them perfect places for sleepy cats. Draining into the luggas are smaller rivulets and gullies.

As we left the other trucks behind to follow our Bateleur eagle, it was one of these smaller gullies we came upon. The rain the night before had made the black mud very slick. Lenny carefully drove down into it, but found that his angle was not sufficient to get through. The back tires spun. He reversed and changed his approach angle. He succeeded on his second attempt. The front tires breached the crest of the gully. However, the back tires could not follow suit. The mud forced them to slide sideways towards the lugga, which dragged the front tires over the edge of the bank of the lugga. The truck lurched and tilted. Ed had sat down, expecting a rough jolt to get through the gully. Greg, still standing in the back, was now facing the ground.

A few profanities slipped from our lips. Ed was bracing for a rollover, calculating how to protect himself, but expecting to have some broken ribs. 

The truck was stuck and leaned over the embankment at an awkward angle.

Lenny turned the truck off. He checked his mirrors, assessed the situation, and then very calmly and professionally turned back to us and said “Please exit”. We carefully shifted our weight to the uphill side of the truck, concerned that one wrong move would unbalance the truck or cause the edge of the bank to collapse, sending us over.

We alighted to the grassland and hauled out the d6 with the 600 first, followed by the other big three. We were relieved to have walked away from the encounter, excited to have gotten stuck (it was a secret desire to have a little extra adventure), and still concerned now about our friend still in the truck. Lenny remained for a moment before he exited.

The truck was undoubtedly stuck. There would be little that Lenny could do to extract the truck on his own. This would require assistance. He assessed all sides of the vehicle before calling on the radio. Greg and I shot some pictures, we had a good laugh about it, and then offered to assist Lenny in any way we could.

The two trucks that had been at the eagle sighting rolled up behind us but did not attempt to cross the gully. The next few minutes happened very quickly. Lenny arranged with a driver to pull him out with a long wire cable and a hook. We allowed a Maasai guide to hold the 600 and get some pictures. His guests were Coloradoans and we talked up our Facebook and Instagram pages. The trucks were connected, the Coloradoans alighted from their truck and we all watched as Lenny was pulled free. However, the driver continued to pull Lenny back through the gully entirely. Once on the other side, Lenny made sure that he was completely clear by continuing to reverse. This caused a moment of chaos as a number of us scattered to avoid being run over. Lenny stopped, a good laugh was had by all, hands were shaken, we took some pictures together, and found another way around.