Serengeti

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After leaving Nairobi we head across the border into Tanzania and stay in Arusha at a snake park (some of the snakes are massive - they allow me to hold a tree snake, a large turtle and a baby crocodile - not so cute as they can still take your fingers off! We have a great first dinner with the group - a sheep cooked over a spit followed by a few beer, then our first night in the tents.

We have an early rise and set off to the Serengeti National Park for some game viewing zebras, girraffes, elephants, baboons, a leopard etc (we were very pleased with the latter as it is a very shy animal). We stop off at a Masai Mara tribe and are allowed into their village where they greet us with the distinctive dancing (you may recall the BBC showing them jumping in the air) - I got pulled up and joined in with the tribes jumping! Some funny photos will be on their way! Emma and I from our group are then invited into one of the huts where the chief's son talks about their way of life, showing us his kitchen (i.e. a fire) and his windows (i.e. holes in the roof). The huts are made from cow dung by the women of the tribe - you can imagine the combined smell of cow dung, burning fire, butchered goat, urine and feaces! However, the visiti was completely worth it and opened my eyes as to how others lead their life. It was amazing to see how happy the tribe were (and especially their children) in what we might consider to be squalor conditions.

Just before arriving at our camp site (not so much a camp site as some bare land to lay a tent - no fencing and totally open to the wildlife!), we spot a lioness draped in a tree (looking at us with disdain!) and a large pond full of yawning hippos. We set a camp fire and have some dinner prepared by the local people which is very nice ( in fact, all the food so far has been excellent). We chill out with a few beers next to the camp fire - the stars are unbelievable and you can clearly see the milky way and can even spot satellites! We have an interesting night - being kept awake most of the night by laughing hyenas who had encircled the camp (you could see their eyes with our torches!) and was then awoken again by roaring at around 3am by a lion, it felt very close! We have a slow retreat from our tents in the morning (in the dark) and catch the sunrise over the Serengeti - amazing scene and some amazing sights of wildlife in the early morning feed. We set off towards Ngorogoro crater (a former volcano) which will form the basis of my next blog (currently writing this blog at a bar at Chitimba beach next to Lake Malawi - it's a hard life!)

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Comments

[Richo]

your uncle pete says to tell u everything is ok and he's squandered the rent money haha pmsl :)

[Smedley]

Ha, it's not the only thing his squandered!

[Smedley]

Doh, these comments are not in order, oh well!