Safari Day Nine-Last Day of Safari:Drive through Serengeti

Today was the best day! We came out this morning with a goal to see a river crossing. After our second spot to watch, we noticed they were starting to gather instead of grazing. At first, only a few came down, but then it was a stampede of wildabeests that were coming down the steep bank. They were splashing and jumping and colliding with one another. The whole Mara River was full of them!There were zebras mixed in with the crowd too. There were so many coming across when we suddenly saw a giant crocodile. It was so long. The jaw itself was so much longer than I ever would have expected. There was much commotion, and the giant jaw with giant teeth clamped down on an unsuspecting passing wildabeest. It snapped down on him so fast that the others could barely notice. They just kept rushing by. They continued coming across and were soaking wet when they got to our side when we saw the crocodile place his dead first kill in a still spot of the river and start going towards them again! There was a little baby one that had gotten caught in the current and was fighting to get back to the group. The crocodile spotted this weakness and clamped right on the back(it may have been the legs) of the baby. Were were all screaming and shouting at this point-Even the guides!! because it is so rare to see a crossing, even more are a crocodile kill and extremely rare to see two killings. We all jumped out of the car to get a closer view. Which in hindsight, probably wasn't very smart in case there had been predators looking for us to be lunch!
The little one did not die for such a long time, and you could hear his cries when his face would surface above the water. It was a horrible noise. There were points when just his little nose would surface. It was such a sad thing to hear. Normally, crocodiles kill their prey by drowning them, but this little guy could fight to barely get his head above water every few seconds. It was a gargling sound when he would surface trying to breathe. The crocodile would not let go of his grip. He held on tight. The wildabeest fought a tough battle for nearly 30minutes and struggled to get free. The wildabeests that had not crossed yet heard the cries of the trapped little one and stopped crossing. There were probably still a thousand that needed to cross. If a mother and baby get separated on different sides of the bank, they will call out in distress trying to find one another.
We saw a big one that looked as if it had broken a back leg jumping off a rock. It would try to get up, but when we left him, he had finally laid down as if to go peacefully. When they begin crossing the river, they started out going one by one in line, but as they continued, more and more lines began to form. They splashed through the river currents and tumbled down the river bank.
We are right on the border of Kenya right now. We went back out this afternoon and saw a momma lion with her three cubs. The cubs were jumping on her back as she walked. They were the most adorable thing I have ever seen. The winds took a turn for the worse. When we were driving back, the flames had come right up to the road! The Serengeti is so dry that everything catches immediately. The staff here all looks so worried. The national park sets the "controlled fire", but then does nothing to contain them. It is up to each camp to protect themselves. But they all band together and help one another if one is in trouble. Our staff is out there with tree brancesh to snuff it out as it gets close and a gun in case of animals! Right outside our window it glows orange. The dry Serengeti is not a place you want to be when a fire is gaining fuel.

Safari Day Eight: Drive Through Serengeti

We have seen the Great Migration! Right across the Mara River from us are thousands of wildabeests walking together in a giant herd. They are in search of green grass and plentiful water. Sayari Camp is ridiculously nice. They bring you coffee in a french press as your wake up call. They say when they were building the infiniti pool the hippos kept coming in it at night so they had to put big logs around that so the hippos with their short legs could not step over. We're waiting to see a river crossing. The wildabeests are very picky about where to cross and rightfully so because if they choose wrong, they will get eaten for lunch by crocodiles! There is so many that they line the entire banks of the Mara River.
New Words!
Tafazzali=please
Nolio=yes
Well, no river crossing today. But we did see where they had crossed while we were at lunch! There were thousands! They were everywhere. It looked just like when Simba had regained control of the land in Lion King. Zebras, giraffes, wildabeests! We had a spectacular sunset. Really red, pink, orange and yellow. Every jeep got back as the sun was setting today because everyone wanted to see the migration! They are doing controlled burns for the dry grass and it has my allergies out of control! My whole head feels like a balloon. We got to hang out by the pool today. It was such a treat because the sun was so hot. Today's weather was just how I imagined Africa would be. The flames from the fire are so close now that we can see them from our tent.

Safari Day Seven: Drive to North Serengeti

We woke up to a magnificient sunrise coming over the moutnain. The colors were so vibrant and were shining through the trees. Dunia camp was incredible. Everyone was so attentive. They brought coffee right to our tent as the sun was rising. They even brought hot water to use for our sink. Breakfast was delicious! They had yummy muffins, and they cooked your eggs just how you wanted them. We are driving to Sayari Camp today. We saw zebras resting their heads on one another. We are having lunch where there is a lot of tsete flies. They bite and itch a lot. We went to a big hippo pond today. There were at least a hundred of them! We just passed and saw six female lions with a zebra carcass. They gorge themselves and lay on their backs with their huge paws in the air. I was surprised by how close the rest of the zebra herd was still hanging around. I guess they know once the lions have one, the rest are safe for the time being. The lions have dragged the carcass to teh one piece of shade under a tree.
We have developed such a routine for the jeep. Dad in front, Ammy front right, Mom middle, Andrew right middle and Fuzz and I hold up the back. In the middle, they're in charge of lunch boxes and opening bottles. Fuzz and I are on cooler duty! But you cannot drink too much because you never know how far until the next restroom. You're only other choice is to "check the tire pressure"!
Sayaria Camp is incredible. Is is the nicest place I have ever stayed. After dinner, we ar escorted back to our tents by warriors from local villages. They carry bows and arrows.
New Words
Sayaria=planet
Dunia=world
Poa=cool
Gina Louca=What's your name?

Safari Day Six: Drive to Serengeti National Park

We are out at the Oldupai Gorge. This is where they believe humanity began. They had so many skulls of animals that they found there that are long extinct. The Leakys are the first people to search this site. The bathrooms here were the most interesting I have ever used. It was a hole with two small platforms to squat on. Serengeti is the Massai word for endless plan, and that is exactly what it is.
We saw our first leopard today. They look so much like cheetahs. It is so dusty here. Whenever we drive by another car, our vision gets swallowed by a giant cloud of tan. Being here has made me very sad what it has done to the Massai people. They push their products onto you and do not accept no for an answer. They paint their faces so you will take a picture with them and give them money.
We just arrived at Dunia Camp. We found out we will be showering with the bucket shower! All of these camps really strive to be eco-friendly.

Safari Day Five: Ngorongoro Crater

First thing when we got to the Crater this morning, we saw a big pack of hyenas stealing a cape buffalo kill from two female lions! What a way to start the day. The lions were so angry. They had the deepest growls, but because the hyenas have such strong jaws, the lions did not dare approach them. The hyenas were making their laughing noise almost as if they were mocking the lions. Their coat was much different than I expected it to be. They are mostly a medium brown shade, but a few of them had black spots and big bushy tails. They look almost like puppies. There were a few little jackels that kept trying to get a piece of the meat, but would get scared by the much bigger animals and run away.
It is extremely foggy in the crater. It is so thick it feels like it is misting on you. Two lions walked so close to the side of the car that if we had rolled down the window we could have touched them. We stopped to watch four cape buffalo and were told that there was a lion stalking them. As soon as she decided to start chasing, two others popped up out of no where. The buffalo ended up getting away, but it was really neat to see how the lions worked together. Ammy said that lions do not attack humans because they know that we would jump back into our vehicles too quickly.
After a lot of binocular searching, we saw our first Rhinos. They were fairly far off the road so it made it difficult to see them which was frustrating.

Safari Day Four: Drive from Tarangiere to Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara National Park is on our way to our lodging for the next two nights, Rhotia Valley Lodge. We passed an Obama hairstyling salon today. Ammy said they are very common to see now. Lake Manyara National Park is so lush and green. It looked just like Hawaii for the twenty minutes before we officially entered the park.
Ammy told us that the Massai people carry on their culture by choice. Their children herd the animals and some look as young as three. But, they are such happy people.
Jia Longu Ni= My name is in Swahili
I am very surprised how well we have all done being so disconnected. The funny thing is something huge could have happened in the news, and we would have no idea. Everyone we meet doesn't have internet access either so they don't know either. We are joking we are going to come back with English accents because everyone we converse with has one.
Rhotia Valley Lodge was built to finance a children's home. The couple who started it are from the Netherlands. They started an NGO there, but wanted a way to finance it in part from Tanzania. It is up at 5700 feet so it is chilly here! We are getting up really early tomorrow to go to the Ngorongoro Crater. It is supposed to have incredible wildlife, but lots of people. The crater walls are so steep that it is a self-sustaining eco-system.

Safari Day Three: Tarangiere Park

I think that I was so excited to hear a lion that I woke myself up last night. Sadly, no hearing of lions, but I think I may have heard a hyena and some animal grazing outside the tent. Getting up at six to go out on safari proved not very good today. I was surprised because I thought animals were more active early in the day. In our rooms at Oliver's there are whistles in case something happens at night! The manager here, Marcus, goes barefoot because he left his shoes out one day and a hyena at them!
We saw our first Cheetah today. They were not as bright as I had expected, and she blended so well into the back round. We woke up from our afternoon naps today, and there was a giant elephant a few feet from our tent! We looked each other right in teh eye and then I took off back into my tent until he left to join his herd.
Afternoon Safari: We saw our first lions! Ammy was able to spot them from so far away! He saw their legs sticking up in the air. We were able to drive up very close to the male and female. They were napping. The male really looks like Mufasa. Ammy told us by the way that they were sleeping they were in breeding, and sure enough, we waited about 30minutes and got to see how nature happens! It all happens in less than ten seconds. Dad kept saying to Andrew who had the camera, "Shoot Shoot Shoot! If you screw this up, I am disowning you!". We now have approximately 100 pictures of lions mating!