Last game drive in the Serengeti May 20, 2013

They say all good things must come to an end.  Tomorrow, we depart Africa.  For me, it has been 26 days and I feel like I could stay here for another 26 days.  Yes, we love our friends and family, however, we have been treated like royalty ever since we have been here.  Even the elephants serenated us today at lunch.

This is the pool at the Four Seasons.

We were witness to an hour of events at two hippo pools today.  Sex in the water and fighting over a lady.  Both were very entertaining and educational.

We also saw a leopard today as well.  Some said she had a baby in tow but we only saw the momma.  In additon, an African buffalo and a lion asleep on a tree with legs dangling.

Beth has won the prize as best photographer and keenest eye on this safari.  She has already downloaded photos to You Tube and has edited her photos.

Love to you all.

Papa

Two days to go Serengeti

We are on the home stretch with just two days to go before departure from Tanzania.  Four days exploring the Serengeti National Park.  As we described earlier, we are in the midst of the great migration of wildebeast and zebras.  There are over 3 million animals on the move with two thirds being wildebeast and the rest zebras.  We departed the Sopa Lodge this morning and drove through the park and stopped to have lunch and present the driver/guides with coonskin caps making them a part of Tennessee as Davy Crocket was the first driver/guide in exploring Tennessee.  Then after a couple of hours drive, we arrived at the Four Seasons Safari Lodge.  If you aren't familiar with the four seasons, check it out.  We are miles from any civilization and yet this place was our one indulgence.  Just have a look.

We have had some lion sightings this morning.

Here are our guides donning Coonskin caps.

Other views from today.

Serengeti pictures

In the middle of nowhere

We are in the Serengeti, having spent two days in ndutu area.  We saw elephants, giraffes, birds of all kinds, and finally three cheetahs.  We had been exhorting our guides for two days with the expression "wapi duma" (where are the cheetahs) and they rewarded us with three cheetahs and several groups of elephants.  We were trying to observe two elephants mating, however, beleieve they did not like the idea of having their act observed.

We had a superlative day today once we entered the Serengeti National Park.  I cannot begin to estimate the number of wildebeasts as we are at the height of the migration in this area.  Serengeti means "endless plan" and there was an endless parade of these animals.  I would conservatively guess over a million.  I will have a movie and more pictures but they cannot do it justice.

We also observed a family group of elephants at the water hole.

We had our first encounters with tsetse flies but Beth managed a complete kill.

I will refer you to the photos that I sent from Beth for this evenings activities.  The rest are in pictures:

May 14 Ngorongoro Tanzania Africa

May 14, 2013  First, I apologize for being so tardy in updating the blog.  We are up at 6 am, breakfast at 7 am and on the move at either 7:30 or 8 am.  The day ends at about 9 pm after drinks, entertainment, and dinner.  I am worn out as much because our activity as I am about riding on these roads.  With few exceptions, the roads are dirt roads that have been washed out leaving ruts that are a foot deep.  While the rainy season has ended, the washouts and ruts remain.  We have had marvelous weather although it is very chilly here on the NGORONGORO rim which is at 7,500 feet above sea  level.

Over the past five days we have visited an orphanage and school, a Massai village, ate lunch at a wonderful Plantation, toured Tarangire with giraffes, elephants, birds, and tsetse flies. We were treated on our last day with a pride of lions sitting on a termite hill.  We have had a full day in Ngorongoro with its abundance of wildebeasts, zebras, warthogs, kori bustards, crowned cranes, ostriches, water buffalo, hippos, and a pride of lions that insisted on taking a nap in the shade of our safari land rovers.

Last night and tonight we were treated to entertainment at the Serena Lodge.  African drum bands, acrobats, and Massai chorus were very entertaining.  Also, singing happy birthday was a big event (we had two of our party celebrate birthdays) with at least twenty cooks, waiters, servers, etc singing in Swahili.  They put Ruby Tuesday or Cancun birthdays to shame.

Our guides/drivers have been first class.  Grayson, Modie, Sam (who claims I am his cousin), and Shadrack are all under thirty five and very knowledgeable about the animals and birds.  They make the miles (or kilometers) zoom by.  We had lunch in Arusha on the way to Tarangire with the manager of the NAIPENDA Safari Company and he presented us with Tanzanian wine (most of what we drink is South African) which is very sweet.

I am off to bed as we are going further in the bush to Ndutu tomorrow.  The roads are not promised to be paved.  But I am looking for a sun rise like we had this morning.

Kenya May 10

May 10 Hibari ya asubuhi  (good morning in swahili).  Then you say hujambo (how are you).
             Asante sana (thank you very much).  kurabo (you are welcome.
             Thus ends your swahili lesson for today.

We are at the Amboselli Serena Lodge in the Amboselli National Park.  It is located in Kenya just north of  Mount Kilamanjaro.  This morning there were few clouds and the highest mountain in Africa was visible to us.  We are on the plain at about 3,600 feet so the mountain at 19,500 feet towers over everything.

Beth and the rest of the group arrived on Wednesday night and we had a welcome dinner before heading across the border into Kenya yesterday.  It is not but 100 or so miles, however, most of the roads are crowded with cattle, goats, carts full of produce or building materials or in the case of the road into Amboselli, a dirt road.  Also two border crossings.  One to leave Tanzania and one to enter Kenya.  Both involved long lines, however, I was not fingerprinted like Beth was.  Not sure what that means.

We checked in to the Serena Lodge yesterday at lunch.  It is really a neat place surrounded by a forest full of monkeys.  Lots of groups here from all over the world.  Then we went on a game drive.  Saw lots of elephants, water buffalo, kori bustards, giraffes, etc.  Our guide/driver Maina is a Kenyan studying tourism in Kenya.  He knows all of the different versions of the gazelles.  Since I have a small camera, I just take photos of people, landscapes, etc., leaving closeup photos of the birds and mammals to Beth.  A nice buffet dinner (I had fish and Beth had beef) followed by a short sleep as we were up at 6 for coffee and a game drive.  Besides the magnificent views of Mt. Kilamanjaro, we saw lots and lots of elephants, zebra (with a pair fighting ferociously), crowned cranes, warthogs, water buffalo and Thomson gazelles, topi, and impalas by the hundreds.  Then back to the lodge for a great breakfast (omelets, bacon, breads of all kinds, and great coffee).  So a rest period before a 4 PM game drive.

May 7 From Arusha, Tanzania

May 7, 2013

I have arrived in Tanzania and have settled in at the Ameru River Lodge in Arusha.  I have arrived with on-time flights and all of my luggage.

When I last corresponded, I was at Addis Ababa Airport and things did not look like they were going well.  After getting an early start in Cape Town on Monday morning, Jenman met me and took me to the airport for the two hour flight to Johannesburg.  Negotiating the O R Tambo Airport in Jo’burg is a real chore.  The airport is bigger than Atlanta and the signage is not great.  There are three terminals and you have to go through security between each one.  Plus there are shops after shops selling pretty much the same stuff.  Anyway, I found the ticket counter for Ethiopian Airlines (after getting my bag wrapped in saran wrap- I’ll bet the TSA wouldn’t go for that) and since I was flying first class and had a 13 hour layover, they gave me a voucher for a hotel and two meals.  That turned out to be a wise investment.  However, after the five hour flight to Addis Ababa, I wasn’t so sure that going this route was a good move.

In the first place, I had eaten something that upset my GI tract and I didn’t want to be too far from the facilities.  In the second place, even under perfect conditions, arriving in Addis Ababa is not a pleasant experience.  I must add that there was a flight in the middle of the night from Addis Ababa to Kilamanjaro via Mombasa, Kenya.  I didn’t want to arrive at Kilamanjaro at 3:30 am as it is in the middle of no where and you could be stuck.  The airport personnel kept trying to put me on that flight (although my bag did make that journey).  Then they kept sending me to the wrong line (and there were thousands of people arriving from all over). Finally, a young man pointed me in the right direction and I got a no cost immigration stamp and a hotel room at the Hilton.  Then to find the Hilton desk and wait for a limo at 10 PM.  Traveling through Addis Ababa at that time of the night was not my cup of tea but we made it (I was the only passenger) and the lady at the desk gave me key to room 506 and a voucher for dinner-and the restaurant was to close in 15 minutes.  The key didn’t work, so I got another key for 506.  Unfortunately, the key worked but the room was occupied already.  I high tailed it out of there and went back to the front desk again.  This time (it was after the restaurant closed) I got my room and about 6 hours of sleep.

This morning back to the airport and went through security only to find out that I should be at the other terminal a quarter mile away.  Eventually, Joe and his plane got reunited.  I was one of three in first class and it was nice.  Three glasses of wine before noon.

Arriving in Kilamanjaro in a steady rain, my main concern is finding my luggage.  It wasn’t on the conveyor……oh shit he thought…but I checked lost and found and there it was (having taking the earlier flight).  The only problem was that some idiot had just painted the counter at the lost and found.  Guess who had paint all over his arms?

At any rate, Naipenda met me at the airport and whisked me the 45 minutes to Ameru River Lodge.  I was the only customer as they had been closed until today for renovations.  There are plusses and minuses to being the only customer.  The plus is that you get to know the bar tender.  The minus is that you get to know the bar tender really well.

This lodge is spectacular and I met the operators (a German couple) and they showed me to room 2.  Here are some photos of our room.

I am off tomorrow morning to get my blood work done for DR. Cline.  Maybe they will take my blood pressure as I have skimped on the medicine so I wouldn’t fall down the steps at the various airports.  Oh well, I am feeling pretty good tonight and anxiously awaiting my bride who is in the air now.