After our goal had been accomplished, it really felt like vacation, in the more literal sense, had finally begun. I'd never been a huge animal person, but when you're in East Africa how could you possibly pass up the chance at a world-class safari? I was definitely looking forwards to exploring new lands and seeing exotic animals, but maybe more looking forwards to just relaxing.
Lake Manyara (Oct 16)
But, as we were eating breakfast at the Keys Hotel and anticipating a nice, comparatively luxurious stay in a safari camp with beds and showers, our guide and driver Jimmy told us to remember to pack our sleeping bags. At this time Calvin also noticed that the same tent we'd spent the previous week sleeping in was packed up and on top of the safari Landrover. WHUT. There were no beds for our safari trip. Back to camping. Sigh.
With spirits mildly dampened, we nevertheless enjoyed a nice game drive at Lake Manyara. Highlights of the drive were baboons, monkeys, zebras, a giraffe, a hippopotamus, a wildebeest, deer, and an elephant. I wasn't necessarily giddy with excitement, but I enjoyed the day. Back at the safari camp lodge, after dinner, we were treated to a dance and music show by a Masai tribal themed group. This was actually a lot of fun. Pat and I were pulled up on stage to participate in a flaming branch limbo activity. When it was my turn to limbo I promptly wimped out and just ducked the branch. Pat, however, passed the test with incredible agility. We listened to the omnipresent "Jambo Bwana" song as performed by the group and I bought a CD with the group's recordings. We turned in early that night as Jimmy told us to be ready to leave for our second game drive at 5 am. Meh.
Ngorongoro Crater (Oct 17)
Really 5am? VACATION?? Grumble grumble. Well, carpe diem, our drive through Ngorongoro was supposed to be the overall highlight of our safari, and it certainly lived up to the hype! But I was sleepy. I napped in the truck on our way to the crater, in between animal sitings while driving around inside the crater, and on the way back to our safari camp.
In between my naps for the day a lot of exciting things happened, though. Entering the crater itself was awe-inspiring. I took a panoramic video from the gate. Once inside, the density of wildlife was a lot higher than Lake Manyara. We got to see our first lions, warthogs, buffalo, and hyenas. We also saw a pretty exciting wildebeest confrontation. Later in the afternoon it looked like a fight was brewing as buffalo seemed to test their boundaries with nearby lions. Hyenas waited near by in hopes of scavenging any wounded animals. Unfortunately (fortunately?) there was no active conflict in the end and both sides peacefully backed away.
Although I was tired, I enjoyed this day the most of the safari. I learned a lot about my various camera settings in attempts to capture some neat shots. I was also pretty excited when lions passed within inches of our Landrover. But, truth be told, I was looking forwards to returning to Moshi.
Tarangire (Oct 18)
We got to sleep in until a late 5:30 am today. So I was still plenty sleepy out on the game drive. We saw more or less the same sets of animals as the day before, with the addition of giraffes and elephants. Overall I enjoyed the safari and found it worthwhile, but I would have been okay with just seeing the Ngorongoro crater. We returned to Moshi, once again, and I appreciatediIt was time to look forwards to our last part of the trip, 2 nights on the island of Zanzibar!
Lake Manyara (Oct 16)
But, as we were eating breakfast at the Keys Hotel and anticipating a nice, comparatively luxurious stay in a safari camp with beds and showers, our guide and driver Jimmy told us to remember to pack our sleeping bags. At this time Calvin also noticed that the same tent we'd spent the previous week sleeping in was packed up and on top of the safari Landrover. WHUT. There were no beds for our safari trip. Back to camping. Sigh.With spirits mildly dampened, we nevertheless enjoyed a nice game drive at Lake Manyara. Highlights of the drive were baboons, monkeys, zebras, a giraffe, a hippopotamus, a wildebeest, deer, and an elephant. I wasn't necessarily giddy with excitement, but I enjoyed the day. Back at the safari camp lodge, after dinner, we were treated to a dance and music show by a Masai tribal themed group. This was actually a lot of fun. Pat and I were pulled up on stage to participate in a flaming branch limbo activity. When it was my turn to limbo I promptly wimped out and just ducked the branch. Pat, however, passed the test with incredible agility. We listened to the omnipresent "Jambo Bwana" song as performed by the group and I bought a CD with the group's recordings. We turned in early that night as Jimmy told us to be ready to leave for our second game drive at 5 am. Meh.
Although I was tired, I enjoyed this day the most of the safari. I learned a lot about my various camera settings in attempts to capture some neat shots. I was also pretty excited when lions passed within inches of our Landrover. But, truth be told, I was looking forwards to returning to Moshi.
Tarangire (Oct 18)
We got to sleep in until a late 5:30 am today. So I was still plenty sleepy out on the game drive. We saw more or less the same sets of animals as the day before, with the addition of giraffes and elephants. Overall I enjoyed the safari and found it worthwhile, but I would have been okay with just seeing the Ngorongoro crater. We returned to Moshi, once again, and I appreciatediIt was time to look forwards to our last part of the trip, 2 nights on the island of Zanzibar!
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