Lefty

Lefty told us quickly that his name was his nickname.  Yes, he was given it because he's left handed.  He showed us his missing lower front tooth, a typical way that one can identify someone from his Massai tribe.  There are other signs, some of which he missed, like having the huge ear lobe often seen among the Massai, men and women.

Lefty was a free lance driver; apparently the Sarova was too busy that Saturday afternoon to let Edward take us back to the landing strip.  Lefty was more than happy to handle the job, taking two sisters from Ethiopia, Sarah and me.

"Did you see the Big Five?" he asked.  Our Ethiopian friends assured him they had, but Sarah and I had only seen THREE.  "Oh," Lefty said, "that is really bad to leave the Mara and not have seen the Big Five, especially the rhino.  I will show you."

And off he took, violating all the rules we'd learned from our other game driver like never taking off the main roads etc.  Lefty drove like he knew every square inch of a land that to us looked like you could easily get lost in.  If Sarah had been disappointed she hadn't gotten to raft the level five waterfalls at the source of the Nile, she now had a thrill that had to have matched that.  The Ethiopian ladies' pleadings to just take them to the air strip fell on deaf ears.  Lefty was a man on a mission.

I imagine we were only about 15 minutes into our ride when he DID indeed spot a mother and baby RHINO.  Yes, I'd put my camera away, so I have nothing to "prove" I saw it.  Maybe in time, I'll get Sarah's pictures, for she has "the proof".  All I have is a picture taken at the air strip of Lefty and me holding up our triumphant left hands; yes, we "lefties" have to stick together.

Lefty and me at the air strip.  "Just one more hour and I'd show you a leopard."
You know what, our plane was so late that I do think
he could have done it!