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Saved: November 30th 2021
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Bowling in Mombasa
From left: Peter, Joel, Jan, Laini
Front from left: Shi, Faridah We were only going to stay a few days in Shanzu before leaving Kenya - but it got extended as usual, as we relaxed into life at Melrose Place again! We took Jan and Faridah bowling before we left and Joel and Shi joined us. We had a great evening out with plenty of goofy photos and hearty laughter. We got home quite late, so it was a good thing we weren't leaving on the 6am bus the next day, but the day after.
It was hard to say good-bye to Jan and Faridah and the pool at Melrose Place, but it was time for us to move on and Tanzania was waiting. Moshi is the starting point for Mount Kilimanjaro treks, and although we would not be climbing Kili, we did want to at least look at this magnificent mountain. Unfortunately, Kili had other ideas and it was only on a fleeting glance that the clouds cleared late one afternoon and we snapped a few photos of this famous mountain.
We arrived into Arusha in search of a budget safari, something we could not locate in Moshi. Some advice to fellow travellers: 1) be VERY careful at the
Mt. Kilimanjaro
View from the Buffalo Hotel in Moshi. bus station, I was pickpocketed and Peter caught a guy trying to pickpocket him (luckily we only lost one wallet that day - with only the equivalent of $8 - but still...); 2) avoid Arusha on a Sunday. As everything is closed and the only people out on the streets are the safari touts. We couldn't walk 2 feet without being hassled by touts and with no shops open to duck into, we were at the mercy of these aggressive fellows.
Monday we were treated to a very different town - busy, vibrant and not as edgy as Sunday. We booked a safari to start on the Tuesday, so we had some time on our hands and ended up sitting in on a session of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. This is the international court set up by the UN to try the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It was very interesting to get a glimpse into the process, but the labourious, often boring, proceedings would quickly become tedious after any length of time.
When a friend of mine learned of our trip to Africa she provided some very sage advice: "when on safari -
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Peak of Kili zoomed in. dress like a vegetable". When I asked why, Nicky explained that it would be a very bad idea to dress like a juicy steak when surrounded by hungry lions and leopards. Wise advice indeed!
On Tuesday morning we met our fellow sarfari-mates: Alex from Hermosa Beach, California and Dominique from Dongen, Holland. Our itinerary was a standard 4 day safari to include Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. Once again we were treated to fabulous vistas, amazing bird and animal life and took waaaaaay too many photos! It seems that no matter how many times we go on safari or see animals, we never get tired of it. Some new animals and birds for us included: Blue Monkey, Silver-Cheeked Hornbill (bird), Grey-Headed Kingfisher (bird), Blue-Capped Cordon-Bleu (bird) and a close encounter with a baby elephant.
On the way to the Serengeti, we drove past the Ngorongoro Crater viewpoint and had our first look at this incredible conservation area that houses an unparalleled concentration of wildlife. We would not be visiting the crater until our last day though, so we pushed on toward the Serengeti.
Serengeti means "Endless Plain" in Maasai, and it truly is a
Lake Manyara
Grey-Headed Kingfisher sitting in an Acacia tree (thorn tree). vast grassland. We witnessed the tens of thousands of wildebeest that have migrated to the Serengeti from the Masai Mara (Kenya) in search of food. We can only imagine the overwhelming sights and sounds of the migration at it's peak when these animals are stampeding across the plains.
On our way to our campsite we spotted a cheetah sitting on a termite mound in a classic National Geographic position. We also saw 3 lions, a slobbering hyena and to Peter's delight - a chameleon!
Some highlights of our full day in the Serengeti: we saw several lions and cubs, a leopard, had a young male elephant charge and trumpet at us, enjoyed an early morning viewing of active hippos (playing and yawning), and saw a myriad of birds. That evening we made our way to the rim of the crater where we camped.
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most visited East African destinations and the behaviour of the animals around vehicles proves this. We had several close encounters with lions on our day in the crater. We had a male lion weaving through the safari vehicles on the road, and a female who felt very
Lake Manyara
Lone male elephant not bothered by us at all. much at home amongst the vehicles, as did her cubs! The crater is where we have seen the most number of hyenas and their dens are just meters from the road. We saw a female with her two cubs which were estimated at less than 3 months old.
One of our favourite bird sightings was the Black-Bellied Bustard which is also called the Champagne Bird. He was sitting right beside the road, so we were able to witness his unique call that ends in a "pop" just like a Champagne bottle.
We were also treated to many animal babies including: elephants, lions, hyenas, Golden Jackals, zebras, a couple of baby Wildebeest (the calving season is only just beginning), and also many chicks.
Toward the end of the day we saw a female lion with a Wildebeest kill (we missed the hunt) but we did get to see her walk back to the ravine where the males were relaxing and her cubs were hiding. She let out a low rumble and her two cubs popped their heads above the ravine and then came running to meet her. She then escorted them back to the kill to eat. It
Lake Manyara
Birds in flight over the hippo pool at Lake Manyara. was a spectacular moment to witness.
Our safari came to an end and we were back in Arusha on Thursday evening with enough time to shower, eat, repack the bags and get a few hours of sleep before jumping on the 6 am bus to Dar es Salaam the next morning. Both Alex and Dominique decided to join us on our bus trip to Dar where we all planned to catch the last ferry of the day to Zanzibar.
Next entry - Zanzibar!
Until then...
Lots of love,
Laini and Peter
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Charlene
non-member comment
That pic of the starling reminds me of a blue robin way too cool wow those lions are up close and personal they look like you could just go in for a big cuddle???!!! Wow great pics all around