Mika's Trip to Africa

[mikaboshi]

Alright, I've just been dazzled by the amount of creativity on ZA, and finally thought that maybe I should give this whole thing a shot. Join me as I take a trip around Africa, exploring the savannah, the deserts and the jungles.



After 2 years of saving my money from jobs I've done during the summer, finally I discover I have enough money to make the trip of a lifetime: a full round trip tour of one of the most exciting continents on the Earth: Africa! After a week of final preparations, I board the first of two planes, and am on my way! I sleep for the majority of the ride; all of the excitement kept me up most of the night. I arrive in a small African city at about 5 pm. There, I board a small plane that will take me to my first true destination: a small village on the savannah. I arrive close to sundown, and am greeted by the villagers.



They hurry me inside the protective fencing surrounding their huts. I am seated by the fire in the center on a log, and given a large hunk of meat.



This village is small; I find that its main purpose, really, is to hunt for a larger village to the north, in the jungle. That explains for me why there is an abundance of men and only a few women. No children are present. There is, however, an African Wild Dog female here. One man, who calls himself Hazkia, tells me that her name is Adebanke, which in their language means "God is taking care of her." They gave her this name because she was found on a hunting party 3 years ago, snuggling the body of her mother, who had been badly wounded in a fight with some hyenas who were trying to get to her pups. The only pup that had survived was Adebanke, and thus God had been watching her, helping her to survive. At the sound of her name, Adebanke came over and watched the fire with us.



Suddenly, I heard a whimpering noise. Adebanke's ears perked up and she growled slightly. I looked around me, nervous. Hazkia looked too, but not with the nervousness that I was experiencing. "Hyenas" he told me. I looked out into the savannah, and finally caught a glimpse through the fence of a single hyena.



Finally, I decide it is time for bed. I curl up near the fire and sleep beneath the stars. What will tomorrow bring, I wonder?

[Bjrichards]

wow i love it, its amazing and very


Off topic: the fire around the log and the hyena make me wish i knew how to download ZA stuff :IloveZA:

[penguinman]

Wow! What a well done story and I can't wait to see what happens next :IloveZA:

[mikaboshi]

Thanks for the encouragement!

I wake up the next morning, and the entire village is empty, save for Adebanke, who, seeing me awake, leaves to use the bathroom.



I stretch, and take a look at the encampment in the full Savannah sun. There are few buildings, which surprises me until I remember that this is not a year-round establishment.



I notice a couple of tall poles with something at the top of them. Through the glare of the sun, I notice that they contain meat, and realize that they are a means of keeping the animals out of the food the hunters bring back.



Whew! That sun is HOT! I look over the fencing and notice a small river running nearby. It looks perfect for swimming! I jump into the cool, reflective water and look at a nearby Umbrella Acacia Tree.



To my right I hear a strange noise, and turning, I find that I am no longer alone.

[Bjrichards]

awesome,cool,and pretty cannot describe how beautiful and lovely this is i cant wait see more pics and hear more about it: :  :IloveZA:

[mikaboshi]

Lucky for me, its just a small herd of zebras. They make their distinctive noise as they frolic in the water not 10 feet away from me; they must not realize I'm even there!



Even though I thought I was sitting still, somehow I must have spooked them, as suddenly they begin to run away.



A rustle in the bushes tells me that I wasn't the one who scared them; What is with animals sneaking up on me? I sit still, waiting, hoping its nothing. Then...I see her. In the grass, a lioness sneaks through the growth...



I almost miss the swift action of her jumping from the bushes! It seems my trip to Africa will be a short one...



She takes off after one of the zebras instead. Seems like it is my lucky day. Perhaps not so lucky for the zebra though. I watch the hunt, mesmorized by the beauty and cruelty of nature all in the same instant. It seems the zebra has taken his last swim...

[mikaboshi]

The lioness gives up the chase, and slinks off into the African Savannah. I watch the zebra pound his hooves into the ground, running now not for his life, but to rejoin his herd.



I slink out of the water, weary that the lioness is still around. I make it to the village again, where Adebanke greets me as if I've been gone for ages. I find some berries left in bowl and eat from it, and think about what I want to do next.

[supremeruler77]

Posting like this, in other words when you have nothing to say, is considered spamming. Please read the rules.

[Charlee]

Wow, the pictures are gorgeous.

[Griffin_04]

I've been trying to make an african village for ages but yours is waay better than mine!    story too

[world]

Very

[Seraphii]

Mika.
this is one of the best stories i have ever read
great plot, story line and awesome pictures!!
nice work

[Cuddly Panda]

PLEASE.  

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. :Bear3:

[mikaboshi]

Ask and you shall receive Thanks for all the great comments!

Before I can do much thinking, Adebanke sits up and listens.
Although I'm starting to think that I will be eaten out here sooner or later due to my inability to see animals before they see me, I'm also excited over the prospect of seeing yet another of Africa's beautiful creatures.



Behind me has gathered four African Wild Dogs, who pant and yip at Adebanke.



She walks over to the fence where the Dogs sit patiently. To my amazement, she begins to growl at them, her ears thrown back and teeth bared as if this is the last warning before she jumps the fence and rips into them.



Luckily for the Dogs (and for me; I can't stand the site of blood!) Adebanke backs down. She walks away, her emotions unclear to me as she goes and sits in one of the huts.



The Dogs stay for a while, playing amongst each other and napping on and off, until dusk begins to settle in.



Admitting to themselves that the little female wasn't going to come out and play, they finally run off. I stir up the coals in the fire, creating again the friendly flame by whom I slept so cozily next to the night before. As I drifted off into sleep (who knew I could be so tired!) I heard the voices of what I guessed to be the hunters in the distance, surely on their way back to the encampment.

[supremeruler77]

wow! thats great. im sorry if im ruining the magic for all of you, but i must know, how do you get things to happen? like adebanke growling?

[mikaboshi]

Really, its a mixture of me having a rough outline in my mind of what I want to have happen, and then seeing how it actually plays out. For instance, for this scene/episode/whatever, I wanted a pack of AWD outside, and to have Adebanke react to them. I did NOT know HOW she would react; whether she would long to play with them, or be upset by them being outside. She decided that part of the story for me. It's all kinda improvisation. I think its much more a fluid story this way, letting the story half unfold by itself, rather than having a strict script that I want to have happen. Plus, its more fun, because even I don't know exactly how it will happen!

[Rosinas Cat]

Wow, mika! Great story and gorgeous pics!! I particularly love the last one, at dusk:clapping:

[sheltiefan]

Nice story and great pics. Hope to see more soon!

[africanwilddog]

Amazing... especially since teh Wild Dog is the main animal!!!! I love it, cant wait for more...

PS Now I must have AA!

[Dandelion Mane]

How did you get the meat pole?

[Texgnome1]

Very nicely done Mika.  I like the way you've tied the story elements into what is happening in game.  Please keep up the good work.

[lamna]

Great story! Keep it up

[zoo_tycoon2]

How did you get the meat pole?

there is no 'meat pole' in the game, it is just a grass/hay pole. She only says it's meat to enhance the story:original:

awesome story so far mikaboshi!!!

[mikaboshi]

Before I know it, its morning. The sun paints the canvas that is the sky with a palette full of warm pinks, yellows, and oranges.



I stretch and yawn, and because it is slightly chilly. I place a few more logs on the fire. I look around the enclosure, and notice that Adebanke is not here with me. I do not give this much thought, as I know that she indeed has the freedom to do whatever she wishes.

I go down to the river and splash my head with some water from it, waking myself with the brief cold that ensues. I head back to the camp and change into a clean set of clothing. As I pull the shirt over my head, I hear a loud bellow emit across the savannah. Knowing the sound to be a rhinocerous, I peer over the short fence to see if I can view the creature.

There the male stands with a female. They both look extremely agitated, but I cannot see the source for this aggression.



The large male utters another, low but loud sound before he begins running around.



Then, it appears behind him, a jeep. Knowing that regular safari tours do not occur in this area, I knew it could only be one other thing: poachers.



I crouch down behind one of the huts, afraid that they would not be the most friendly sort of people to be noticed by. Here, I am powerless to do something, I know, but I can hardly be any help if I am caught. Or at least that's how I reasoned out my cowardice to myself.

I watch painfully as the poachers circle the rhino male, laughing at how afraid he is. I hope that maybe they are just playing with him, that perhaps they will just drive away when they get bored, but instead of this happening, my worst fear is realized. One of the poachers brings out his heavy rifle, and shoots at the large male. He falls to the ground as what I suspect is his mate trots off, screaming.



They harvest the large horns that adorned the majestic beast's face, and one young poacher also takes a tooth from the rhino's mouth. He takes a moment to add it to a necklace that he wears around his neck, another small token trophy to accompany several already hanging there. The rest of the rhino is left behind in the dust of the jeep as it roars across the savannah.

I lean back against the hut, crying and hanging my head. I cry not only for the rhino, the cruelty that exists in this world, but also at how powerless I felt to do anything. I cried until sunset, when Adebanke finally came back. She whimpered at me and rested her paw on my knee and licked my face once with her long tongue. I hugged her, and she let me.

The hunter's finally returned, but with no meat. They had gotten some figs from a forest not far away, but the hunt had been largely unsuccessful. I told them of the poachers and admitted that I had done nothing to stop it. They had a hurt look in thier eyes, but I knew it was not because of me. A few of the hunters went out and retrieved some of the meat from the dead rhino, and after saying a few prayers, they solemly went to work at cooking it. I knew it was going to go largely to waste if they did not eat of the fallen beast's meat, but I could not bring myself to eat any of it. I stared blankely at the warm fire until my eyes closed and I fell once again the sleep.

My mind was full of nightmares.

[Bjrichards]

poor rhino  what was the rhino doing when u took the picture? dust bath?