Dear Mom and Dad,

There is great rejoicing in Loliondo. The first truck in almost three months arrived today from Arusha. It brought the news there is another truck on the way, due to arrive tomorrow with more food and mail. So, we are beginning to feel we part of the rest of the world again. We heard today that a truck which tried to get through a couple of weeks ago got to this side of the Serengeti, about fifty miles from here, but could get no further. The driver left some building supplies for the hospital at an Indian shop at that point. I’m off tomorrow to see if I can bring the supplies back. I will probably get through using the four-wheel drive Toyota pick-up, although it’s been raining hard since five pm.

The other day I met a white hunter as I was walking from one Massai boma to another about thirty miles north of here. It took a bit of explaining to make him understand what I was doing way off in the bush by myself on foot. At the end he still thought I was a real nut. People don’t realize that as long as one travels with Massai, there is no danger at all. Without a Massai with me, I wouldn’t travel even a mile alone in the bush, but with them I’m not afraid to go anywhere.

This white hunter was after a zebra and its calf. He had found what he was looking for just as I caught sight of him. He shot the mother, and then blew the head off the calf. When he left me, he was off to look for another pair. He was collecting for a European museum.

Love,

Ned