SAFARI!!

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I don't know where to start I loved safari so much! Yesterday coming home was such an anticlimax. AND we had no water (it's back on now!)

Lewis and Laura sorted out safari last monday with the guy, Tom who chivvied us along to the waterfall last weekend. We wanted to go Ngorogoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara but the safari lady said we wouldn't be able to fit in Serengeti so we did Tarangire instead.

We were picked up by a sooped up extended land cruiser on a almost rainy and cold Friday morning. The drive to our camp site took a couple of hours, during which we ate some RED BANANAS(!) we tumbled out and walked along a path to the most amazing view ever. Below the camp site was Lake Manyara, a soda lake which in the dry season is considerably smaller than usual, indicated by a white tide mark and varying shades of green grass around the lake. Being home to 5000 flamingos the lake in places is streaked pink which was so beautiful. Around it is forest and a man pointed out to us the silhouettes of a couple of giraffes in a clearing as well as a few lying down near the water. EEEEEEEEE! Our cook, Innocent, whipped up a humongous spaghetti bolagnaise (we scraped the bowl at the end) and we set off on our first game drive for the afternoon. It was so exciting and so much fun, the excitement increased several fold by the novelty of riding hanging out of the roof of such a huge car...we had a SEAT EACH! Wow. A bit different from our usual dalladalla mode of transport. The park had loads of elephants, warthogs, giraffes, hippos in a hippo pool, dik-diks, impala and buffalo and because its quiet we were usually the only ones on the scene of each "sighting".

That evening we ate a fish curry until we were about to burst and then a acrobatic show turned up featuring the incredible bird man of Manyara (he liked to call his group the Black Tigers but whatever...) All I can say is that we gave him money just because he didn't die. I was so relieved. I think when he messed up juggling three hats at the start I lost faith in his ability to climb an unsupported ladder, ride a unicycle and do a handstand on precariously placed bricks.

Saturday we got up at 6 for sunrise, had a hearty breakfast and set off for Ngorogoro Crater. The park we'd heard was amazing and was our number one destination, we climbed up and up the side of the crater into the clouds and for ages could only see the trees closest to us. When we reached the descent road the cloud had cleared and the crater visible. I think it's about 40km wide but seems a lot smaller and is as the safari lady described a fishbowl of animals. We saw most of the same animals again as well as a pride of lions (easily located by the hordes of jeeps surrounding them) and a cheetah and 2 rhino in the far distance. The last too we were first or second on the scene of so it was a lot more exciting, especially the rhino, of which there are only 12 in the whole crater, that being the largest rhino population in Tanzania. We had lunch by a lake with an elephant drinking at the other side, we at first attempted to picnic but were thwarted by a giant black kite bird dive bombing us so retreated to the car to our driver Amos' amusement. We had a sneaky peak at some of the other packed lunches, the car next to us had yogurts and chocolate bars, and the $500 a day safari company had coffee and rose wine on a picnic blanket. Pfth. Ours wasn't bad for less than the price of 1 day for 3!

Coming out of the crater was a bit hairy. The cleared clouds let the almost vertical drop on either side of the dirt road out become visible and we were flying along at quite a pace! I took a moment to admire the scenery and then returned to hoping not to die. At the park exit Amos got out of the car to hand in our papers and baboons got in!! We caused quite a stir I think. One stole a banana skin and ran away, then was doubly chased away by a man.

Tarangire on the third day was less spectacular, more of a flat plain studded with baobab and acacia trees the kind of which I had always associated with Africa. Again there were zebra, giraffes, warthogs and elephants everywhere. It was more of a relaxing day than the other two and for the third day a third different type of habitat.

When we got back to Kisongo we had a group photo with Amos taken by the man we're sure is at least partially blind who runs our nearest shop and was almost certainly operating a camera for the first time. Still, it went well! We rang key man, the plumber came (Lewis is convinced its the same man who swaps his Maasai blanket for a plumbing uniform depending on our emergency), our water was fixed, then the electricity went off! Lol.

Still no photos, sorry, I'll try and upload some next week!

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