back from safari
this is a bit of a long post...
JAMBO!
i just made it through the bus ride from hell back to dar es salaam from the serengeti. since it is the african winter (it is a peaceful 75F instead of 110F) the africans seem to think it is too "cold" to open the windows on the bus. well, imagine what a full bus feels and smells like for 8 hrs, especially after a stop at a road stall where all the passengers just picked up lunch of chicken and chips. i thought i was going to die.
the serengeti on the other hand, was STUNNING. i don't think i will ever hit up another zoo. i did a 4 day/3 night camping safari in the serengeti and the ngorongoro (the 'n' in ngorongoro is silent) crater. i was in a group of 4 (girl and guy from holland and girl from hawaii) plus our land cruiser driver and cook. i was lucky to have an awesome group who was prompt and fun during all the super early morning game drives.
brief history lesson on the serengeti and ngorongoro crater:
steward white, an american hunter from nairobi, is credited with discovering the serengeti paradise in the early 1900s (1913 i think) though the land had been inhabited by the maasai villagers for centuries before. the maasai have raised their cattle on those grassylands and called that land 'siringitu' (or endless space of land). since the serengeti plains are now controlled by the government, the maasai have been pushed out of the borders of the serengeti national park, into the outskirts called the ngorongoro conservation area. the serengeti is home to hundreds of animals, mainly various breeds of wildebeest, zebra and birds. may to about october is the dry season and november to march is the wet season in the serengeti plain. so during may - oct, the hundreds of animals migrate from serengeti up north to the masaamara region in kenya where water is a bit more plentiful. the ngorongoro crater is the worlds largest unbroken caldera in the world (about 20km in diameter) and has the most unique red soil that allows the most interesting vegetation for all the wildlife, flora and fauna, that live there.
that said, i went on 4 long game drives through the serengeti and managed to drive through over 60% of the park. our driver, frank, opened the top of the land cruiser and allowed us to stand on the seats as we drove through. i saw so many animals including zebra, wildebeest, impala, gazelle, hyena, cheetah, dik dik, monkeys, giraffe, hippo, topi (antelope varieties), hartebeest as well as the big 5. the big 5 are the 5 biggest predators: leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion. i actually saw a leopard in a tree with the impala prey that it just caught! turns out that leopard viewing is extremely rare because leopards are very selfish and operate alone (no pride like lions or elephants). they live alone and hunt alone, which is why the leopard kept the prey in the tree, because it doesn't want to share with vultures or hyena.
i also saw some honeymooning lions where i saw the male lion trying to court with the female lion but she gave him the paw! during our sunrise game drive, we saw the end of a hunt where 2 lion and a few hyena were feasting on what i think was a zebra carcass. the dirty hyenas were bloody and licking themselves. TRULY EXCITING! big props to my camera and AK for the extra battery because the campsite had no electricity and i managed to get all my 400+ shots in without running out on battery life. when i get back, i will post selected pics of all the exciting stuff.
all in all, a very exciting safari. it is nice to be back in dar because after 5 days of travelling with minimal running water, my clothes and sleeping bag can use a good scrub down--my clothes are in such a state, i doubt even titus and abdul will want to deal with them.
KARIBU!
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