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Johnny wrote most of the blog for this week - we hope you enjoy. Day 83, Sunday, May 22- Day 92, Tuesday May 31st.
Watching as the thick layers of dirt are being washed off the truck, I’m recalling the adventures of the past week. Each layer represents an amazing destination we visited in Tanzania. Five of us from with different homelands across the globe came together for this adventure. We had all met earlier in Pemba, Mozambique where we planned our 8 days together. Our journey across the country started when we met up in the big city of Dar Es Salaam. We set out that day for Moshi, a charming village at the foot of'Mt. Kilimajaro. 10 hours later we arrived late at the Honey Badger. It’s a pleasant clean place run by some of the nicest people we have met on our travels Jenny and Joey. Following a quick stop over in Arusha to stock up we were on our way to the Ngorogoro crater. This place is incredible. Its a series of volcanoes which have recessed into the ground basically providing a 700 meter natural barrier for a plentitude of animals. From above thousands of specs
upon closer inspection turned out to be various types of animals. That night we set up camp along the crater’s edge and were about to eat dinner. Perhaps because it was dark, we didnt notice all the african buffalo, zebra or wildebeest in our camp. Right as we were about to sit down we heard the sound of a herd stampeding our way. In unison we all jumped into the truck in an amazing display of survival skills. With the aid of our high powered light we saw that the zebra, wildebeest and buffalo had been spooked our way by two large spotted hyena. With a constant vigil on the animals we ate our dinner in the company of easily a couple hundred animals.
The following day we were lucky enough to enter the crater. As we descended, the extent of the animal life became evident. There were so many animals and the light grass cover of the crater’s floor made for incredible viewing. We saw hyena, flamingo, lions, elephant, amongst the thousands of wildebeest, zebra and impala. What was so remarkable was the proximity we were able to view these animals. We spent a good half an hour
within 2 meters of a lion and her adolescent cub. In the light rain we also became acquainted with the wildebeest’s call and behavior (some head butting). We spent most of our day circling the crater before we continued on to the Serengeti that afternoon.
The drive to the Serengeti was impressive with all the Masai people herding their cows and their colorful dress and rustic villages. Shortly after entering the park. we were rewarded with the close encounter of a pride of lions perched atop a large rock formation. A mother sheltered her cubs as they played while we watched with amazement from a few meters away. The older lions lazed on the warm rocks in the afternoon sun. From there we drove on to find a leopard sleeping on a fallen tree just 2 meters from the road. We realized early on that the the abundance of animals and stunning landscapes in the Serengeti are spectacular. We enjoyed many other animal sitings on way to our campsite in Seronera. We set up camp and enjoyed our first Serengiti sunset. We fell asleep to the hornlike calls of the migrating wildebeest.
The next morning we were fixated
watching a large heard of wildebeest walking by our camp on their migration path North. It was the first of many encounters with the large herds. At points we encountered wildebeest as far as the eye could see. We estimated as many as 20,000 at one point. We headed West and spent the day watching loads of zebra, gangley giraffes and a large group of elephant families. The following day three of us took to the air in a hot air balloon to get the birds eye perspective. As we took flight we had an amazing view of the hippos walking around the pond below. As we flew on, barely clearing the tops of large trees, we caught a glimpse of a large male lion and caught up to a large herd of elephants. It was amazing to see the rolling grasslands and hills from above. That afternoon we drove North and left Serengeti through the Ikoma Gate. We arrived at the Singita private reserve early afternoon where we were greeted by Biorn, Iamie’s friend from university. He took us on a stunning tour of the property. We visited the properties luxury accomodations while enjoying a game drive on the
extensive grounds that border the Serengiti. We sat under a tree watching for a sleeping leopard to wake and gazed at the massive herds of Wildebeest in the distance. On the way back to the camp we encounted another leopard walking down the road right next to the car.
We stayed the night in Sengita as Bjorn was nice enough to put us up with the other employees and guests of the employees. A nice hot shower and good food hit the spot. At dinner we met Dr. Richard Estes. He entertained our questions and told us stories of his time he has spent in Tanzania since the 1970s. After a few drinks we decided to stick around the next day to take advantage of a barbecue we were invited to during drinks. Our next day we were asked to stay at the camp as we would need an armed guard to roam around the property. The forced rest and relaxation was happily accepted. Following the brai, we set in early to get up early for the long drive back to Moshi.
The drive from Sengita took us up north toward Kenya then East toward Lake Victoria. Although
it would have been a more direct route to return through the Serengeti and Ngorogoro, the parks each charge for admission per day per person and each charge a vehicle fee. Had we gone through the parks we were looking at another $500 or to go around the parks we would have to drive 1200 km. We chose the longer drive and did it in one fell sloop. Jamie was a driving machine and ticked of the kilometers throughout the night as Robyn and Sophie took turns talking to him to keep him awake. Despite the bad roads we made it to Moshi at 4:30 am and 21 hours later. Robyn and Sophie were motivated enough to wake early and do a day long hike on Kilimanjaro. The boys took it easy and got things ready for our trip back to Dar. Tonight we said our good byes to Jeremy as he left the next morning to hike to the top of Kilimanjaro. We wish him the best of luck and hopes he sends some good photos. Tonight we also enjoyed an east african feast with our hosts Jenny and Joey of the Honey Badger. We enjoyed a wonderful sampling
of various scrumptious dishes. After filling (or over filling) us up, we headed to the outdoor patio for African drumming and dancing. We all did our best to shake our rumps. The food was wonderful and the dancing was uplifting as well as educational.
We are now arriving in Dar where Jamie and Sophie are dropping us off as we head to Spain. Best of luck you guys we will miss hanging out and the fun adventures we have shared. I dont think that we could have had a better Safari. Asante Sana, Rafiki!
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