Tanzania is a beautiful country and the drive to Arusha as Mt Kilimanjaro made fleeting appearances from behind its cloudy vale was fantastic. We left early the next day for our three day safari on the Serengeti and in the Ngorogoro Crater.
The first days drive gave us an unexpectedly good haul of animals. We spotted a huge bull elephant within minutes of entering the park and it wasn’t long until we were in the plains and surrounded by zebra, giraffe, antelope, water buffalo and impala. As the day game to a close the predators came out to play, we got a very rare sighting of a cheetah stalking and chasing it’s pray and then it was just down the track that we saw a pair of lionesses silhouetted in the fading dusk light. Camping in the park was interesting to say the least, there are no fences and you are strenusly advised not to leave your tent after dark. That night we heard some very odd noises just outside our tent, I tried to convince Heather that this was just a frog so that I could go back to sleep. She obviously didn’t buy my frog theory as the following morning she described the sound to the guide and it turned out that we had a hyena wandering around outside our tent.
The second day started a stunning sunrise, but the first hour or so of the game drive delivered none of the excitement of the first day, then in the distance we spotted a pride of lions, they were a good distance away but things were starting to pick up. Not long after we spotted the lions we spotted the ever promising sight of several other safari vehicles stopped, we joined the crowd and were rewarded with a leopard lazing in tree. Pretty impressive as this is generally regarded as the hardest of the big 5 to spot. We then returned to camp and packed up and started the long drive to the crater, this wasn’t supposed to be a safari drive but it ended up being one of the highlights of the 3 days, the first surprise was 4 female lions lying right next to the road, quickly followed by a heard of elephants with juveniles, a crocodile, and the icing on the cake was a very close encounter with a cheetah right next to the road.
We started our last day with only one of the big 5 left to see, the black rhino. As we descended into the crater the clouds rolled in from the crater lip and soon there was on other worldly feeling to the place, at this point a pack of velocaraptors wouldn’t have been a huge surprise (well ok they would but I am trying to create a mood). We were soon greeted by the usual array of animals, it took quite a bit of driving to find anything truly exciting, but then we happened upon 3 male lions sunbathing, we were able to get within just a few feet of them, they were absolutely stunning creatures. It was just a short drive then to spot a black rhino family, so our big five was completed and our day drawing to a close. But the crater had one last treat in store for us before we left we caught up with the rest of our group just down the track and as we pulled up there faces gave away that something a bit odd was happening as we looked at the front and side of there truck we saw that a pride of lions had decided that it would make excellent shade for the afternoon nap. So with this last close encounter we headed out of the park. In case you couldn’t tell I really liked the safari.
While in Arusha on our last night, I (Heather) went to visit a locally run orphanage that our tour leader used to work at. I know most of you are thinking why would Heather go? But I had learnt a new skill of making balloon animals and thought this would be a perfect chance to practice. It was great, the kids (all 36 ranging in ages 1 to 10 years) were really sweet and very well behaved. My balloon making didn’t last long as the pump needed to blow up the balloons died, but I was able to distract the kids by unleashing the tickle monster! Dan and I donated some money as a late Christmas gift to each other and we bought the orphanage a much needed bunk bed with mattresses and one of the other girls on the trip donated the bedding. There is a website (though out dated) if anyone wants to check it out at www.lohada.org. They do all sorts of good things for the community!
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