Lions, and Elephants, and Zebras Oh My!

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Habari!

So my time here is flying by and I will be heading home in one week! But I wanted to give you all another update before I head home :D I think the most exciting thing that has happened in the last week or so is that I got to go on Safari for two days! I wasn’t planning on going on one, but one of the local women we work with at another children’s home was able to get us an amazing deal so last Thursday and Friday we head off to Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater. Lake Manyara is this beautiful reserve out near Maasai land, so the whole drive there is basically desert and then all of the sudden you are in the middle a literal oasis of trees and a huge lake where millions of pink flamingos come during the mating season I believe. We were able to see giraffes, lions, zebras, and tons of monkeys during our time there, but I have to say the most exciting part was when one of the male elephants thought our land rover was another male trying to hurt his family and charged us! He followed behind us for a good half mile, making as much noise as he could until he decided that we were scared enough and would leave his family alone haha. Then we headed off to the Ngorongoro crater, which is a huge crater that is 5 miles wide across both ways, and was formed when an inactive volcano collapsed upon itself. The view from the rim was probably the most beautiful thing I have seen, the crater rim and sides are incredibly lush and then the floor of the crater is like a savannah, where herds of antelope, wildebeest, zebra, hyena, and warthog roam freely. We were able to seen 10 or so lion just hanging out, sleeping, and even a few cheetahs taking a drink from one of the lakes. The animals are really used to seeing the land rovers driving through the land (they must think they are just some other kind of animal) so you can get super close to them without scaring them, it was amazing!

All is well here at the orphanage, the kids are out of school for a month on vacation, so we have been planning lots more for them to do. I have started teaching a computer class in the mornings, which consists of me yelling out letters and the kids racing to find them on the keyboard, it’s amazing how long they can be entertained by this 😊 Last weekend, we were able to take the kids up to one of the waterfalls on the side of Kilimanjaro which was beautiful and hilarious. Some of these kids have been through a lot of tough stuff and see to be very brave, but as soon as they saw the huge waterfall, they all ran screaming to the care givers! They were deathly afraid of the waterfall which we never expected; it’s amazing the things we take for granted, like having seen a waterfall in our life. But after some comforting, the kids recovered and by the end of the trip were calling the waterfall ‘pendeza’ (which means beautiful). We also took them to a local blacksmith, and they were able to stoke the fire and help the men make of all things, spears, which they sell to muzungu (white people) like me lol.

It’s been a little raining here so on the rainy days, so we broke out the dress-up clothes for the kids. They are hilarious when they get all dressed up. It’s a little joke here that the kids and staff don’t really know how to match they clothes daily, but when you add dress up clothes to the mix it gets even worse. Forget matching, how about the boys putting on the girls costumes and running around dressed like Minnie Mouse! Very entertaining I must say. Otherwise everything here is great, we will hopefully be getting 4 more children before I leave, so I will keep you all updated on the status of that. I hope all is well at home and I miss everyone lots but I will see you in a week!

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Photos

Ngorongoro Crater
This is the most incredible view from the rim of the crater

Hyena
I was so very lucky to be able to witness hyenas in action, eating a big dead animal yuuuum my favorite thing to see! or not

Elephant family
This is the family of our angry elephant friend

Kilimanjaro Waterfall
This is the ohh so scary waterfall that sent all the kids running and screaming haha

The princesses
Ohh boy are they, they know how to throw temper tantrums better than any kid I have seen haha

Comments

[Anthony P. Graesch]

E- 'Tis great to see your photos and hear about your experiences. I can think of no better application of an anthropology degree! Let's catch up when you get back! Best- APG

[Elizabeth]

Cool trip!
I went to Ngongoro a few years ago and I have to agree. It was amazing. We saw fat-bellied lions wearing "lipstick" (blood from the kill) and got stuck in the inevitable cross-crater wilderbeest jam. Glad you are having a wonderful time!

[Hilary]

hey
Aww Beth, I absolutely love seeing all these pictures!! Can't wait to see you and hear more of your experience in person!!

[Rebecca]

dont lie, you cut those pics out of national geographic!
I can't believe the animals got that close to you, how crazy! It sounds like the time has flown by for you. It actually has gone by pretty quickly for me too and Im so bummed that you get back right after we leave. Billy is really excited to see you too. Glad to hear all is well I love you!