Safari!

---

I hope that everyone is enjoying their holidays and had a very merry Christmas! I enjoyed my time on the safari, but missed you all dearly!
I’m not sure where to even begin with my safari, but one thing I can say is that it was absolutely breathtaking! The feeling of being able to watch wild animals in their natural habitat is indescribable by words, but I’ll try my best! We visited three parks, Tarangire National Park, The Serengeti National Park, and Ngorogoro Conservation Area. Tarangire’s name comes from the Tarangire river that crosses through the park, and is the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. “Serengeti” is derived from the Massai word “Serenget” which means “endless plains”, and let me tell you, that is exactly what it is! Ngorogoro is a large volcanic caldera, our tour guide told us that animals can’t get in or out of the crater, so the ones who are in there are there to stay. We decided to camp for 3 nights at each of the respective parks as opposed to staying at the fancy lodges. Although the lodges were really nice, I felt more connected to my surroundings by camping.

Tarangire had a secluded campsite so we didn’t encounter much wild life there, but a pride of lions did walk through our campsite while in The Serengeti. I heard them, but didn’t know what was making the sound until another camper told us all in the morning that he had seen a pride when he was in the bathroom in the middle of the night. We camped on the rim of Ngorogoro crater on the last night, which was by far my favourite place to sleep, the views were stunning and we had a friendly elephant visitor who dropped by to drink out of our water tank.
I was lucky enough to see all 5 of the big game animals (Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, and Leopard). Tarangire was covered in elephants of all sizes, zebras, giraffes, as well as some beautiful birds.The Serengeti is where we saw most of the lions as well as a leopard who was hanging out in a tree, and two cheetahs on the hunt. We also saw a huge pond filled with hippos, and grazing wildebeest and buffalo. Ngorogoro crater is where we saw 1 of 11 Rhinos, as well as a lion eating a buffalo. We didn’t get to see the take down, but it was still pretty cool to see her eat a giant buffalo. I think my favourite part of the whole safari, aside from watching the lion eat her breakfast, was seeing the fawn of a Thompson Gazelle take its first steps. We didn’t see the birth, but we saw the mother licking the amniotic fluid off her baby, and our guide explained what was happening. We watched for about 20 minutes as it tried to stand on all fours, after a few attempts and one collapse, the little guy was on its way! We were all a little bit nervous because there were a couple of hyenas nearby, and although they are not hunters they will eat newborn gazelles if the opportunity presents itself.

The whole trip was 3 nights and 4 days, we spent a full day in Tarangire, two days in Serengeti and a full day in Ngorogoro. I costed me about $630 USD and was worth every penny. If any of you are considering coming to Tanzania and would like to do a Safari, I highly recommend booking through Kiliclimbers and Safaris . (They may quote you a higher price, but will budge if you say you want it for $600…can’t blame them for trying :p). Our guide, Anthony was incredibly knowledgeable and was committed to giving us the best experience possible. The food was delicious, and our camping gear was warm and durable, I have no complaints!
Well there it is, my 4 day safari in a nutshell! I did leave out quite a bit, but I am more than happy to share my stories in person when I am back home (which is in 3 months). I took over 1000 pictures and quite a few videos; I will share some here with you all, but will be able to show you the rest when I’m back 😊

I hope you’re all staying warm and are able to welcome the New Year with the people you love. I am off to Zanzibar today to get our New Year partying started, but am looking forward to seeing the photos from all of your celebrations! Missing you all very much, but sending positive energy and good vibes for the New Year from Moshi 😊

Swahili word of day: Safari which for those of you who don’t know, means Trip or Journey

Peace&Love
- Lisa

---

Photos

First Stop!
Tarangire

Marabou Stork
We're basically the same height.