THE SERENGETI!

Some of the big animals we saw.... 

• zebras
• elephants
• giraffes 
• lions
• cheetahs 
• leopards 
• hippopotamuses 
• crocodiles 
• impala 
• wildebeest 
• water buffalo  
• baboons 
• monkeys 
• colobus monkeys 
• ostriches 
• impala 
• warthogs
• saber cat
• jackson heartbeast?
• storks 
• vultures 
• eagles 
• small black birds 
• small blue birds 
• guinea fowl 
• black hornbee? 
• mongoose 
• and more... 

words just dont seem adequate to describe this experience. i know my blog still doesnt do my daily life justice but i promise it does a better job than being able to describe the sights and sounds and feelings of being in the serengeti. i took over 1,200 pictures and have lots of video footage. so ill try here to tell you what we did and how much fun we had, but in reality i just dont know if i will be able to paint our experience with words. i’ll throw in as many pictures as the internet will allow and i can show off the video when i make it home. so for now, just know that it was the most perfect serengeti experience that i could have ever asked for. 

now for the recap... 

We went with a company called Masumin car hire and safari, based out of Mwanza. it is one of the oldest companies in the area. we absolutely loved everything about the company. so, they arrived early (extremely rare by tanzanian standards) and picked us up at our front door. they truck was luxurious and incredibly roomy. there were sliding windows along the side of the truck and a pop up roof for viewing once we made it in the park. Jonathon was our driver and Swedi was our cook. We rolled out of Bariadi around 1 and were a spectacle for all to see. 3 mzungus riding through villages, we were constantly stopping people in their tracks. In less than 2 hours, were at the back gate of the Serengeti! Jonathon stopped for us to get out and grab a few pictures before we proceeded to the offices. We went to the bathroom and checked out the souvenir shop and Jonathon did his work in the administrative office. Amber found her valentine in the office - pringles! and Nick found some chocolate and other snacks. Then, we went through the gates and we were officially in the serengeti! I was still in disbelief and that really never faded throughout the whole weekend. It was mere minutes before we were getting our eyes on some animals. Large herds of zebras and wildebeests, and buffalo were doing their business in the fields. We also saw lots of impala and heastbeasts. We drove for a little on the main road until Jonathon turned and took us to a river. here we saw 3 or 4 crocodiles beaching it by the river with many hippos upstream. there were also a few small monkeys in the grass. wow! welcome to the serengeti. in less than probably 30 or 45 minutes we had already been exposed to all of this! We kept driving and driving on our way to our campsite. Along the way, we got to see even more animals - baboons, pumbas, elephants, and giraffes. Around 7 we finally made it to our public camp site - Nyani (P)/C Site. Jonathon and Swedi made our tent magically appear and we got settled before having dinner around 8. We loved out tent. It was unique and quite small and cozy. Good thing we are the rafiki tatu... Dinner was great- and even a three course meal. It was awesome not to have to prepare anything or do the dishes. First, a mushroom soup came out with slice bread. Then, Swedi cooked us some spaghetti with a mincemeat sauce with cheese (!!!) on top. There were also some cooked bananas. The last course was some fruit, delicious pineapple for me. We hung out for a while with our stuffed bellies before settling down for sleep.

Well, sleep for me never really came. I maybe got three hours or so around 2-5 but I was still pumped and ready to go in the morning. Coffee talk was served at 6 with some crackers, peanut butter, and honey! What a treat. Then, we were off for a morning game drive and a beautiful sunrise. We returned for our real breakfast, grabbed our packed lunches, and were off for the rest of the afternoon. And what an afternoon it was! We saw many more awesome animals, got some close encounters, and definitely had luck on our side. We saw 2 leopards in trees. We found a tree with 8 lions chilling in it. Drove by a single elephant right by the road and then into a herd of 50 elephants! They were blocking the road and had 4 or 5 cars stopped in the road. It was amazing. There were baby elephants around, fighting and playing. They came so close to us, almost a little too close. I admittedly got a little scared when the elephant came less than 5 feet away from us. Around 2, we stopped for lunch, which included some great chicken, a hard boiled egg, a little sandwich, juice, and a plantain. We ate with two tanzanians from arusha and talked about the kilimanjaro trek. I also got to talk to my friend from zebra refreshments. It is a really smart business. It is just a truck that drives around to picnics and camp sites, selling drinks and snacks. We got back on the road, and with a full belly, I started getting a little sleepy. The scenery is just amazing. It is also quite varied. It’s definitely gods country. You cant help but just be in awe of everything that he has created. Around 5, we made it back to the camp, relieved to be away from the massive flies that were attacking. We relaxed for a while before dinner. I tried to recharge one of my camera batteries, exhausted after a full day of use, and tried to read a little on my kindle, but it really just enjoyed the downtime. We got to experience the frantic travelers trying to grad some electricity, especially one very unhappy Japanese man. One brave baboon walked right by the camp, surely trying to find something to swipe from an unsuspecting tourist. Dinner came in three courses again. This time potato soup, some chips and chicken, and more fruit. I enjoyed the sunset and moon saturday but sleep was inevitable tonight so around 8:30-9, we settled down and I was out soon enough. 

Sunday morning, we got another nice breakfast and soon enough the tent was down, the truck was packed, and we were off. We were expecting our stunday game drive to just consist of taking the same trek out as we came in on. However, Jonathon upped his game and took us to some cool places. We were able to get out at two hippo pools which was really neat. Then we got to walk across this extremely rickety bridge over a river. There was a max of 4 passengers, the wooden slats were covered in baboon crap, and oh did mention there were crocodiles below us! It was so great! We walked a little bit beyond the end of the bridge until jonathon told us not to go far... oh yeah we are kinda in the wild with crazy animals all around. Around 1, we made it back to the gate. We stopped again, took our lunch, and visited the souvenir shop while jonathon did whatever he needed to do to get us out. We drove out of the gates and felt welcomed right back into tanzanian. We immediately saw goats and tanzanian clothing and were once again stared at. It really was such the perfect safari experience at the ultimate park. 

and some random thoughts... 

• we had a private safari. it was just the 3 of us the whole time. and we are so thankful. we were all in such good moods. so thankful and appreciative. there were many funny sassy jabs at each other but also lots of content silence. 
• it was extremely affordable and worth every penny. for the whole trip, including drinks, souvenirs, and tips, i spent $715.75. i would happily pay double that for my experience!
• i didnt realize how much of an escape within tanzania it was. i was wearing my cargo pants and shorts at the camp. i wasnt getting stared at for being white. i wasnt expected to know swahili and actually surprised people when i could have a conversation in swahili. 
• i just have to say that traveling to these parks does not let you see the ‘true africa’. yes, the game drives are great hallmarks of africa but what you experience there is not africa. everyone is smiling and happy and understanding and they even say ‘hakuna matata’. it is a definite must do but it is not what all of africa is about. 
• jonathon was a champ. his eyes were phenomenal. he was always spotting animals for us. 
• we also saw some really awesome animal carcasses. 
• we saw a hot air balloon saturday morning and two airplanes while watching the lions. 
• man, we were all in such good moods. just so content with life. 
• the landscape of the serengeti was much more varied that i had anticipated. lots of different types of trees. one tree that was really interesting is called a sausage tree. elephants and giraffes like to eat it and you can also make alcohol from it. there were also mountains surrounding many areas. the serengeti is just massive. it goes as far as you can see. i think its over 9,000 square miles. 
• it was hard for me to wrap my head around being there the whole time. it was just too surreal. 
• again, the car was great. it was so roomy. the pop up roof was also so fun. we stood up for a lot of the ride. definitely quite bumpy and got a few bruises to show for it. the pictures are worth it. there was only one minor breakdown/ trouble with the car. when we were watching a leopard one time, our car would not start. no need for AAA though. all jonathon had to do was to tell another car to get behind us, give a good little push from behind, and our lorry cranked right up. 
• souvenirs were extremely reasonable priced. there really was not much in the shop but again TIA. 

i think that will do it for now. just know it was the most perfect day/ weekend and it was spent with some great people. our batteries are recharged and were ready to make it to our next adventure during spring break!