Welcome to Africa!

We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya after a whirlwind of travel and a colossal mistake that I don’t think I’ll ever live down (ask Sammar and I’m sure she’ll be happy to recount the disaster that is much more entertaining now that we’ve arrived safely). With a full day in Nairobi, we had the chance to meet up with Darcey, one of Sammar’s friends from college who lives in Nairobi, to experience a bit of the local street food and share a few beers which in retrospect we could say was celebrating July 4^th, but at the time you’d be pressed to find any indication that it was our Independence Day other than some brief conversations with our families that were celebrating back home. After a good night’s sleep we said goodbye to the comforts of Nairobi and boarded Ray, our 20 passenger massive tour truck that will guide us through thousands of miles and 5 countries to our final destination in Victoria Falls. After a day of meeting the group, driving, and making lunch on the side of the road, we arrived in Arusha, Tanzania to prepare for our first adventure, the Serengeti!

Serengeti National Park is nothing short of amazing. Serengeti comes from the Masai (local tribe) words meaning endless plains which couldn’t more accurately depict the area. Blades of yellow grass stretch as far as the eye can see complimented by the occasional umbrella tree and a bold orange rising sun painting a canvas that you can only experience in Africa.

Over 14,700 square kilometers of lush land are home to some of the world’s most fascinating animals. During the great migration (which we missed by just a few weeks!) over 2 million wildebeasts and Zebras pass through the park on their way to the greener pastures of the Masai Mara for the dry months of Tanzania’s winter. Don’t worry, we still saw thousands of these animals! Approximately 3000 elephants, 350 lions, 200 cheetahs and 150 leopards as well as giraffes and rhinos roam the park among many other beautiful animals and birds and we spent 2 days driving through the park with our guide Limo trying to find as many as possible. We successfully found and took pictures of 4 of the big 5, only missing out on the black rhino, which is much more elusive in the winter dry months when it stays hidden deep in the bushes. For three days, we had the opportunity to live side by side these incredible creatures (literally, elephants, warthogs, buffalos and lions all made their way through our campsite as we attempted to sleep among their footsteps).

On the third day, we moved from the Serengeti to Ngorogoro Crater, an unusual epicenter of animal life formed when the top of a volcano flew off many years ago forming a deep crater that by some weather phenomenon creates a year-round paradise for its inhabitants that is much greener than the Serengeti despite its close proximity and nearly identical altitude. The bright green grass and steep cliffs surrounding the crater created a great backdrop for our pictures even though it unfortunately had a smaller variety of animals.

My favorite of all the animals was probably the Cheetah. Despite not making the big 5 list, it is one of the most difficult animals to find in the Serengeti and we found two brothers atop a large rock structure on our drive from the Serengeti to Ngorogoro. Even though we didn’t get to see them run at their top speed of over 60 mph, you could sense the strength and agility in their bodies. Sammar managed to get some amazing pictures of the pair stretching out atop the rocks. Sammar’s favorites were the giraffes and any kind of baby animals that we came across. Each time we pulled up to a group with a baby you could hear her say “aww, I just want to take it home!” Each animal had it’s own unique look and character that you could only sense from being so close to them, and we enjoyed all of them.

The tall, slender body of the giraffe’s exuding a calmness and care-free attitude

The strength and resolve of a female lion on the prowl and protecting its new born cubs and the tired, cuddly soft side of the testosterone inducing male lion taking a break from protecting his pride

The streamlined colors and quickness of the Thompson gazelle 

The delicate strength and robust antlers of the Impala

The perfectly etched stripes and quirky yells of the Zebra

 

The silky bodies and strength of the Topi

The brute strength yet laziness of the African Buffalo

The stealthy, relaxed nature of the elusive Leopard, resting in its tropical paradise

The shear power and grace of the African elephant with its long ivory tusks, and the adorable month old baby elephant doing its best to keep up with its mom

The bloodied mouth of the nile crocodile and fearful eyes as it is caught in a standoff with strong female lions over the meal resulting from a shared kill

The cute, loving Dikdiks that only travel in pairs and have the largest, most adorable eyes you’ll ever see (Sammar wanted to take them home too!)

The grungy warthog running with its tail high in the air, singing Akuna Matata (not really), so that its friends can follow its path 

The aloof, confused nature of the wildebeasts making their way through the Serengeti following their more intelligent Zebra friends

The large and somewhat appalling hippos basking in waters filled with their own feces 

The very, very sneaky hyena with a voice like Whoopie Goldberg
 

The athletic body and keen eye of the cheetah standing king atop his boulder overlooking the plains

In addition to the animals, we learned a bit about the Masai people in a visit to one of the local villages. Sammar fell in love with the pre-school children, giving high fives and pounds to every single kid in the room, and I was randomly chosen to take part in the welcoming dance. While we didn’t join the jumping ceremony at the village, we decided to practice it the next day in Ngorogoro Crater. After watching us jump, our tour guide Limo decided that I must be Masai since I was jumping so high compared to everyone else (I still got it!).

All told, it was a great new experience that we were able to share as neither of us had been on a Safari before. Next stop, Zanzibar!