SAFARI

This past weekend Krista and I went on a 4 day, 3 night Safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This trip was AMAZING! We saw so many awesome animals and camped right in the heart of African wildlife.

Day 1 we left Moshi and picked up a few other people in Arusha. We ended up with 5 people in our group. We made friends with a nice couple from Finland, and a young French Canadian guy. We also had our guide and a wonderful cook with us (Frank and Bakari). We started our Safari in Lake Manyara, and ended up with a stroke of bad luck and two flat tires. However, it was a beautiful place with lots of fun wildlife.  We stayed overnight at Safe Haven campsite. There were tents already set up for us and beds instead of sleeping bags. It was a nice set up.

 

Hundreds of monkeys! And we spotted some elephants very close to our vehicle.

Tembo (elephant)

We had the chance to get out of the truck and walk into the field for a closer glimpse of the giraffes.

 

Our campsite at Haven Nature

The group sitting down for dinner. Simon on the left, Ida and Tuomas on the right.

Day 2 we drove through Ngorongoro Conservation Area to get to the Serengeti. It was a very long and bumpy ride, and also rainy! It wasn't a horrible drive though, a lot of interesting things to look at. We had a nice afternoon game drive through Serengeti and saw some more cool animals, including some awesome giraffes that were 5-10 feet away from our vehicle. We stayed overnight in the Serengeti at a public campsite. This time we had to put our tents up and sleep in sleeping bags on the ground. It was also a lot more crowded than Haven Nature and the bathrooms weren't the most fun, but it's all part of the adventure! The camping ground was right in the middle of the national park, kind of eerie knowing that any wild animals could wonder around your tents while you sleep.

Close up with the giraffes.

Twiga (giraffe)

All of the giraffes had these small birds that were perched all over their neck and bodies. The birds eat the bugs and ticks that attach to their skin

Baby zebra. These little ones have more brownish stripes that turn darker when they grow older.

One of the "Big 5". This is the only leopard we saw, and it was hanging out in a tree being lazy. Typical cat behavior.

Another animal of the "big 5" - Buffalo

These lovely buffalo skulls were stacked at our campsite.

Campsite on night #2.

Headlamp is a must at night!

Day 3 we started with a very early game drive through the Serengeti around 6 am. We spent much of our time searching for lions, but they seemed to be hiding because it had been raining for a few days and was still a bit chilly outside. We came back to camp around 11 and packed up our tents and ate brunch. After we packed up, we headed back out of the Serengeti and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to set up camp.The nice thing about these longer drives, there is wildlife everywhere you look, so it's never boring.

Early morning hyena siting. We could often hear hyenas all through the night.

On the bottom right is a "black backed jackal" who was tormenting the baby monkeys in the tree.

A short glimpse of sun, and some of the beautiful scenery.

Some more close up action! This elephant was right on our path to get back to the main road. We had a little standoff with our driver and the elephant, after revving the engine a few times the elephant backed down. I don't think he was too pleased!

Mtoto Tembo (baby elephant)

Being silly on the way out of Serengeti

Trying to follow a Marabou stork, he didn't like me too much.

Simba campsite in the Ngorongoro was the most crowded campsite, because it is the only public campsite in the Ngorongoro. We had a pretty entertaining evening starting with a special guest showing up for drinks! Apparently there are about 3 or 4 elephants that inhabit the area surrounding the campsite and come to drink out of the water supply. This elephant was only about 15-20 feet away at one point! It was incredible!  Night number 3 was VERY cold. I was bundled up in all of my layers and tucked into my sleeping bag tight to keep warm. I know this is just a practice for sleeping on my trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The group at the campsite, drinking some Kili beer.

This elephant was about 15 feet away! It was incredible!

Oh ya know, just having some fun zipped up in a sleeping bag. It was a bit chilly!

Day 4 was spent in the Ngorongoro Crater. This beautiful place is about 21 kilometers from one end to the other and packed with all sorts of animals! We set out to find the lions, and the black rhino, the only two left on our list of the Big 5.  The Big 5 describes a group of animals that were popular animals to hunt a very long time ago due to their distinct features. The elephant for its tusks, the lion for its mane, the leopard for its skin, and the rhino and buffalo for their horns. This was probably my favorite game drive of the whole safari, mostly because of the amount of animals we got to see.

On the rim of the crater. Gorgeous!

Simba.  My favorite animal of the weekend.

Taking a little cat nap.

Baby zebra.

This is a gray crowned crane. I believe it's technically the national bird of Uganda. These beautiful birds were awesome! They displayed a part of their courtship ritual that involves dancing, bowing, and jumping.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is different from a national park, in that people also inhabit the area. This area is home to many Masai villages. It's incredible how they can live in the middle of wildlife, not to mention how beautiful their homes are.

Over 1,000 pictures later and a 6 hour, bumpy drive home I was completely exhausted and sunburnt... but it was well worth it! If you ever are in Africa, a safari is a MUST!


- K