One Year Away

Joseph

After leaving the foster home in Uganda we figured we should get back to being tourists so we got ourselves to Arusha, Tanzania – the base for safaris to the Serengeti.

The touts, or flycatchers as they are known locally, surrounded us as soon as we stepped off the bus. They all want you to get into their taxi, go to their hotel or sign up for their safari.  They are the most persistent touts we’ve had to deal with on our travels so far – even worse than India!  I told the pack of 6 or 7 that was following us down the street exactly that and they seemed shocked that someone would not appreciate their company. 

After a frustrating afternoon of dealing with touts and visiting different safari companies we met up with a friendly Spanish couple, Mikel and Olaia, who were doing the same as us.  Since the safari vehicles carry 4 people it is about 1/2 price if you travel in a group of 4.  We quickly agreed on the company and signed up.

We were picked up by our guide, Moses, and cook, Alex, in a rugged Land Cruiser outfitted with extra gas tanks, heavy duty suspension and a large sunroof for game viewing. After a short drive, we arrived in Arusha National Park where we did a walking safari.  We went on foot through some beautiful African landscapes and got very close to giraffes, buffalo and warthogs.  The buffalo are dangerous and so the ranger who escorted us carried a rifle.  When we passed a herd of buffalo our Spanish friend Mikel got close to them to take a photo and some large males got up and started making huffing noises.  Our ranger loudly cocked his rifle and Mikel retreated a few steps and we were able to continue on our way.

The next day we made the long drive to the Serengeti.  The Serengeti is 15,000 sq km of vast open plains with a few hills and small forests.  As soon as we entered we saw huge numbers of Thompson’s gazelles, wildebeest and other antelopes.  The sheer number of animals shocked us – they stretched out as far as the eye could see in every direction.  It was getting late though so we setup our tents in the public camping grounds and ate a nice meal prepared by our cook, Alex. 

The next morning we left at 6 AM for an early game drive.  We were immediately rewarded.  A lioness and her cubs were playing in the tall grasses about 20 meters from the dirt road we were on.  A wildebeest carcass was leftover from last night’s dinner.  Just a few meters down the road on the other side was another dead wildebeest.  This time a very cautious hyena came slinking toward it, his belly was already bulging, probably from having recently gorged himself.  He sniffed it, took a loud chomp on its hoof and then wandered off.

For the next 4 days we took game drives around the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.  The crater is the remnants of an extinct volcano that has a diameter of about 20 km and is about 600 meters below the level of its rim.  Inside it is packed with wildlife.  We saw elephants, cheetahs, crested cranes, lions, and many others including the very endangered black rhino of which there are only 20 in the park.

The experience was a once in a lifetime thing that has been a highlight of our trip.  We didn’t expect to see so many animals at such a close distance in such as beautiful setting.  There was one of the "big five" that we didn’t see though – the leopard…so maybe it’ll have to be a twice in a lifetime experience.