ON SAFARI

Hi, everyone!
We are still here! I'm sorry that I skipped yesterday, but we seemed to need a day of adjusting- we were experiencing culture shock - temperature shock- and luxury shock! I don't know if we have recovered, but there cannot be a better place to try.
First, I must write about our safari in the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. We started Tuesday for a 3 day - 2 night safari in 2 vehicles so we had plenty of room. Our first unexpected (this is Africa) event was a flat tire in Mwanza about 20 minutes into the trip, but, no worries, this vehicle carries two spare tires. We drove about 3 hours to the entrance to the Serengeti, but ( our 2nd unexpected event) a glitch in the credit card of the driver kept us there for an hour. The drivers raised the roofs of both Landcruisers and we were all set. We could stand or sit as we wished. We had sited about 14 or 15 different animals by dark. Most of the animals paid absolutely no attention to us and just went on their way. Some were right next to the bumpy, dusty road and some were far off and hard for Chrissy to spot. At dusk, we did see a jackal and about 10 vultures eating a carcass of a zebra, but it was too dark for me to get a picture. Because of our delay, we arrived at our lodge well after dark. It must be spectacular in the daytime. It was built, quite literally, on and in a formation of rock. The architects must have been really challenged when the idea was first proposed. Great use of natural woods, stones, etc. Very cool after the sun goes down, but plain, clean, simple rooms. Buffet style meals served in the dining room.
We left at 8:30 am and almost immediately saw our first lion hunt of the day. We watched for about 20 to 30 minutes as these lions crept up on a small herd of zebras. When the one lion made its move, the zebra ran behind some rocks and somehow got away. We actually saw 2 lion hunts, but neither made a kill. We stopped about 2:00 for a box lunch provided by the lodge. Very tasty and too much food, but we ate most of it. We saw quite a few more animals and left the Park about 3:00. Then, headed straight across the desert to some distant mountains to the Ngorongoro Crater.
About 4:30 pm, we had our next unexpected event - The smaller vehicle broke something rather necessary in its crankshaft, but, again no worries, all 9 of us and our driver just squeezed into the 8 passenger Landcruiser, tied all our luggage on the top and proceeded on. We had not been on a paved road since Mwanza. The narrowness, enormous potholes and washboard effects of the roads were pretty tiring, not to mention the sand-blasting effect on your face from the dirt & dust, but we were having fun. Now, in one vehicle, we are climbing up to about 10,000 ft in 2nd gear with the Landcruiser saying "I think I can, I think I can." It, of course, gets colder and colder as we climbed and soon we were actually in the low-hanging clouds. The Masai tribe begins in this area and their villages of grass huts in a circle were interesting to see. The Masai get very angry if you take their picture without paying them, so we did not take many of them.
It was just dusk as we reached our lodge on the upper rim of the crater. It was another beautiful building just hanging on to the edge. Now, I must go and will finish this part of our saga later. This afternoon when we go on a desert safari, Dubai style, from 4:00 to 10:00. Chrissy hopes to ride a camel.
Shirley

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