Africa Part 3

Our final stretch of our Africa adventure was the Northern Serengeti.  We once again hopped on a tiny plane and took the milk run to the northern-most point of Tanzania.  We once again landed in a field where a safari truck picked us up and drove us to our new camp.

The unfortunate part of this journey was the fact that we picked up a bit of food poisoning which made being in the Serengeti a bit less enjoyable.  Shea was far worse off than I was so he missed seeing some of the sights. I was able to push through though and went on safari twice a day every day!

We had been disappointed with the lack of giraffes so far on our journey.  Shea's grandma is a big giraffe fan so our goal was to get some fantastic shots of the animal.  Thankfully, the Serengeti delivered. We saw giraffes everywhere!

One of the many giraffes roaming the plain.

The Serengeti giraffe has not been affected by the skin disease yet. This would explain the large herds we got to witness.

A shallow part of the River Mara where the great migration takes place.

The River Mara is also home to plenty of hippos, and...

HUGE crocodiles! 

They have some awesome lizards too! We called this one Super Lizard because he is blue and red. He also showed off his super strength by doing a few push-ups for us.

This zebra had been killed a few hours before we saw it.  It was right near our camp so I checked on it every day to see the progress of it being eaten.  It NEVER did!  Some animal just killed it and decided it wasn't hungry. Then all the other carnivorous animals didn't eat it either. What a waste!

There were a lot of dead things all over the Serengeti. I guess that is why no one was eating my zebra. 

"I bless brought the rains down in Africa!" Yep, it rained while we were there. A few times.

Some giraffes walking along the horizon. 

We found this pride with their fresh dinner.

Even the little ones were chowing down...

And playing with their food.

The last of the big cats to see: the majestic cheetah.

Surveying her territory.

Look at those skinny legs!

More giraffe!

We also got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets on the Serengeti. 

Mamma with her newborn. This little one is only a few hours old and still had baby goo on her back. 

A giraffe drinking. 

Most people go to the Serengeti to watch the great migration: herd animals flocking from one side of the river to the other in search of grass.  I really did not want to see anything die while in Africa and had been good up to this point.  I had heard stories from others who saw over 200 wildebeests die while crossing in one sighting.  That does not sound like a fun thing to watch.  Reluctantly, I did see a migration take place which was spectacular because not one animal died!

The wildebeests gathering together getting ready to go down a valley into the River Mara.

The beginning of the crossing. They all just jump into the water and start swimming. We did see some crocodile around but they must have been full because everyone made it across safely and no one broke any legs jumping into the river. 

Arriving safe on the other side.

 I was ecstatic that no animals were injured or died while watching this natural phenomenon!

Warthog with babies.  They are so ugly that they are kind of cute especially when they run with their tails up in the air.

It's tough being king.

Another beautiful sunset. Our camp set up a bar by the river so we could have a drink while watching the sun set while listening to the hilarious noises of the majestic hippo.  

 We got a second chance to see rhinos in the Serengeti. This time, the encounter was much closer and a two month old baby was involved!  These are black rhinos because the baby follows mom. The baby will walk in front of mom in the white rhino species.

Look at that horn.  Too bad these animals are expected to be extinct in five years because of it. 

They were a wonderful sight to watch as they strolled by. 

More lions!

Evea makes that same face when she sleeps!

This young lad found a pretty good spot for a nap in the shade while still being able to watch the herds pass by.

Seriously, more giraffe! 

Selfie on the one day Shea actually felt better from the food poisoning.  

I am Africa!

We heard a great story about hippos from our guide.  If you don't know, when a hippo poops, he uses his tail to fling the poop everywhere (and I mean everywhere).  When God created the hippo, He was suspicious that they were eating all the fish from the rivers.  God did not like that and got angry at the hippo. The hippo told God that he wasn't eating any fish and to prove it, every time he yawned, he would have to open his mouth wide to the heavens to show God that there were no fish in his belly. This was not enough to satisfy God so the hippo told God that every time he pooped, he would break up the poop to show God that there were no fish bones. Finally, God agreed and to this day, all hippos yawn to the heavens and flick their poop to show that they do not eat fish, only grass.

And one last shot of a hippo because they are so funny.  

Our safari finally came to an end.  Shea was very sick by the time we arrived back in London.  His food poisoning morphed into a burnt esophagus which allowed him to lose over 15 pounds in just a few days (we called it Tanzinitis).  He is not Africa. In fact, Africa kicked is butt.

Overall, we did have a wonderful time seeing all the animals, ecosystems and people Tanzania has to offer.  It was a trip of a lifetime in that I don't see us going back unless it's to see the gorilla and the meerkat. We saw the Big Five, the little five, the five others and the five more. And most importantly, no animals died!

Africa Part 2

After a wonderful time with the chimpanzees, it was on to the next adventure.  We hopped back on the hour long boat ride, then back onto the little plane and eventually landed in Tarangire. Shea and I had a bet about what the first animal out of the Big 5 would be that we see.  He chose first: buffalo.  I chose elephant. I won!

Tarangire is known for its large elephant population.  It did not disappoint. Elephants were everywhere!  We also saw some other amazing wildlife.

Our first sighting of elephant. Shea was not happy.

More elephants!

The beautiful landscape of Tarangire National Park.

Two facts about dik diks: They are extremely difficult to take a picture of because they are kind of quick and very good at hiding. They also mate for life which means if you see one dik dik, another dik dik is not far. 

I think the ostrich was the surprising animal of Tanzania.  We had not read about seeing them, but they are everywhere.  

I can't remember what kind of bird this is, but it looks like a dinosaur so I shall call it dinosaur bird. These guys were 3-4 feet tall and were strutting everywhere.

Shea didn't get to see buffalo until the next day. They look vicious in a large herd but it's the lone individuals or groups of two you have to watch out for.  They are one of the most deadly animals in Africa. 

After you drive by the herd, they will sort of start to chase the car in a "That's right, you get out of here" sort of way. 

 I am a cat person and so seeing lions for the first time was magical.  We sat and watched a pride for about an hour.  It was fun to see them do similar things like our house cats.

A male lion with a very full belly. The pride had just finished eating something.

Surveying the land.

We got close to so many animals while on safari.

Selfie with the lion!

This pride had a male leader and his brother in charge. Here are the two siblings after giving each other tongue baths.

Look at those fat bellies!

Shea enjoying the view.

Eventually, the males moved to where the lionesses were snoozing in the grass. We did also get to see them mating. 

You can still see blood on her cheek from her breakfast.

They blend so well into the grass.

 After a bunch of time with the lions, we were off again to watch the elephants move downhill into a river stream.

Zebras are exciting the first few times you see them. After awhile, you kind of get sick of them.  

There were termite mounds everywhere.  Most were taller than us.

A deer-type animal. You get sick of seeing these things too.

We were fortunate enough to catch a leopard sleeping in a tree. Looks like she is suffering from a bit of a food coma. This was the only leopard we saw the whole trip.  

More elephant!

These two were blocking the road for a bit which was fine because they were amazing to watch.

Selfie with an elephant.

A herd of elephants enjoying the grass and water.

Another herd of elephants. This group had over 50 members!

An eagle of some sort.

We did manage to see a few giraffes in Tarangire.  Unfortunately, the giraffe population is suffering right now thanks to poaching, land encroachment and a newly discovered skin disease.  Researchers are just finally starting to study the problem but the population in Tarangire are near extinction at this point.

 On the morning we were scheduled to leave Tarangire, we were delayed due to elephant outside our tent.  At this camp, they don't have any fencing around the property so after sunset you must be escorted around the camp.  When we heard this big fellow chomping away and breaking down trees, we radioed to the staff who were already aware of the large guest.  We could hear them trying to encourage the elephant to leave.  He was having none of it so we sat and waited for him to move on his own.

An elephant outside our front door.

As we were leaving camp, I snapped this picture of this guy.  

 After a few days in Tarangire, it was time to move on to the Ngorongoro Crater. Our drive there was mostly uneventful.

This is the lady's bathroom and I can't even imagine how one uses it without getting pee all down her legs.  I opted to hold it and wait for another bathroom with an actual toilet to come along. It is made out of porcelain though so it's classier than a hole in the ground.

On our drive we saw a lot of these types of buildings. 

Our ATV did get a flat tire (we are actually surprised we only had one, with the type of terrain we were driving over). This is me waiting for our driver to fix it.

After we arrived at our resort, we wanted to go for a hike to see some elephant caves.  The resort found us a tour guide who taught us all about the natural healing remedies of the forest.  He also showed us what leaf is used as toilet paper by the locals.

I think the name "elephant caves" was a bit misleading. I was expecting to see elephants using caves.  It is actually an area where elephants have dug up the side of a hill to extract nutrients and minerals from the soil.  It also had baboons who lived in cave that was far too small for any elephant.  It was a lovely walk though and the guide was entertaining.

This is a view from our hike looking onto the fields of Gibb's Farm (where we stayed). They grow most of their own food organically and make their own coffee.  They also have chickens, goats, donkeys and cows.

A waterfall that we hiked to the top of. 

The top of that waterfall we hiked to.

The elephant caves. Can you see any baboons?

Here is a closer shot.  Baboons were everywhere. They were sliding down the hill, hanging from branches, fighting, cleaning each other. The elephant caves are a baboon's paradise!

This was our guide. He is 87 years old and could climb the mountain far quicker than Shea or I could. His power animal is a baboon, specifically, Rafiki from The Lion King. He even walked with a stick and made us do the same.

The next day, it was time to go to Ngorongoro. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Ngorongoro isn't actually a crater as you would imagine (you know, a meteor hitting earth, causing a dent). It originally was a volcano that stood taller than Kilimanjaro (you know that fake mountain that we went to see but does not exist).  Over time, the volcano collapsed on itself to form a perfect basin. All the animals in Ngorongoro are full-time residents. No one migrates from Ngorongoro (which makes sense because it is quite a climb up the side).  The crater is believed to be over 2 million years old and now houses some pretty interesting and distinct ecosystems from dessert to forest.

View from the top of the crater looking in.

It was really cold on top of the crater.

I was very excited to see this place. I had heard many wonderful things about the crater and the animals that live there. Unfortunately, because everyone has heard the same things about the crater, it is really crowded. There are also not a lot of trees to break up the landscape so you can see everyone in their safari vehicles. If you see a bunch of vehicles together, you know that there must be something worthwhile to see over there. It kind of takes the magic away from being in wild Africa.

Instead of spotting wildlife, you spot the groups of vehicles had go there to see wildlife.

A springbok.

 We did see a few animals for the first time at Ngorongoro...

Our first hyena.

We were lucky enough to see hyena pups too.  They start off so cute and then the grow up to be hyenas. 

We also saw our first rhinos. They were very far away though.  Something about them not liking humans because of what happens to their horns...

Some bathing beauties enjoying the sun.

More lions.  There were about 15 vehicles surrounding these guys. 

The crater does have a forest area to one side. The elephants mostly hang out there.  We didn't really stop for them though because of the crowds.  

A crane.

 The crater is great if you just want to look at the terrain.  If you are there for the animals though, it is a big disappointment.  Also, you will come home completely dusty with red ash.

Our cottage at Gibb's Farm was huge.  It was absolutely bigger than our first London flat.  It was a great place to spend a few days relaxing.  There were not a lot of mosquitoes or tsetse flies which was a bonus!

The outside deck.

The bathroom area. The outdoor shower is straight through those doors.

The outdoor shower.  This was spectacular! 

Double sinks!

Indoor sitting area.

Indoor fireplace.

The best thing about Gibb's Farm is the bush babies.  We could hear them in the Mahale Mountains at night (they sound like a baby wailing) but could never see them. Gibb's Farm has had a bush baby feeding station for over 40 years where they cut up one banana each night for the babies.  They eventually show up and are super cute.  They are basically a combination of a cat, monkey and a squirrel.  I spent a lot of time watching these guys!

A young bush baby.

Bush baby with tongue sticking out.