Bloomin' Jacarandas

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Well, the jacarandas are in bloom and the rain is here- everything has gone green and I find myself feeling less homesick for the 'green green grass of home' aka 'the green and pleasant land' (I frequently sing 'Jerusalem' to Benjamin and other equally patriotic songs which seem to jump from my schooldays and in to my head now that I am a Mother and in those desperate hours trying to sing my son to sleep!).

Since my last blog we have ventured to Lake Manyara National Park. Famous for its' tree climbing lions apparently and yes we did (from a distance) see a lioness sunbathing at height. We did however, also see a lion in a tree in Tarangire National Park so it would appear that the marketing needs to catch up with the lions behaviour!

Lake Manyara lies at the base of the Rift Valley Escarpment before you climb up to Karatu and the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. The nearest town to the park entrance is called Mto ma mbu ( Swahili for The River of Mosquitos) - fortunately we escaped the worst of these but as we get more rain the town will no doubt begin to live up to it's name.

Our first night away was spent at possibly the least atmospheric lodge we have come across; Serbian owned and managed and quite possibly a base for money laudering (money hanging from washing lines may have improved the atmosphere!). We were the only guests and the manageress was so friendly I think she was desperately lonely as it is fairly isolated, certainly from other Serbs (of which she tells me a number are employed here in Arusha to work for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda). Her husband had obviously seen some action during the Serbian/Bosnian Wars too. Despite their friendliness we decided to move on to a lodge perched on the edge of the escarpment with a spectacular view over the national park and across the Monduli Hills to Mt Meru and even as far as Kilimanjaro. The Lake below was a beautiful haze of pink from the flamingos who gather their due to the alkaline waters.

Out in the park we saw plenty of game and as we gave Benjamin his milk about 10 giraffes ambled past our truck just metres away which was stunning- beats watching day time TV whilst feeing your baby (those early days breast feeding in front of Jeremy Kyle or worse back home in the UK seem a lifetime away- guess they are though- Ben's lifetime!) To keep an 8 month old entertained on safari and indeed yourselves when there is just MAMOBA (miles and miles of bloody Africa) I would strongly recommend bringing your baby out of their car seat and in to the front seats to climb around, you will find they are far more interested in a gear stick than they are in a grazing elephant right outside the car.

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Photos

Lots of Zebra
About the only animal Benjamin seems to see from the car window.