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!