The jackals had devoured everything else. The heat began to rise and it quickly became obvious that we were in for heavy rain. As we made our way back to our tents a storm gathered pace, sending great sheets of water cascading on to the plains, thundering on the canvas and scattering lightning like neon across a dark, boiling sky. By 6am the following day the rain had gone, but before heading for the small airfield from which we were due to fly back to Arusha, we set out to walk across the plains, accompanied by Erasta, a horticulturalist and wildlife expert, and by a park ranger armed with an AK-47 rifle. We soon spotted a large herd of buffalo.
Single males are particularly dangerous.
The week before a female staff member at the nearby Grumeti River Camp had been badly gored while walking at night on the edge of the camp. Erasta talked us through the uses of each of the myriad varieties of thorny acacia bush. The roots, bark, leaves and fruit are used by the Masai people to cure all manner of ailments. The smell rising from the evening earth was like a rich, warm, brown vegetable stew. We were coasting along in the Land-Rover, on a game drive near the banks of the beautiful Lake Manyara, 110km west of Arusha at the end of the first full day of our safari.