"To bring in--God shield us--a lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing." (MND)

.....Continuing with Joel's 60th Birthday African Safari:

Weather

The weather was much better than it was in Virginia. Most mornings and late evenings, it was cool enough that long sleeves or a jacket was useful. During midday, it would get hot enough that shorts and short sleeves were best, along with sunscreen. However, it wasn’t repressive or very humid; very tolerable, better than our trips to Europe. It did not rain at all while we were there (it was winter there, its dry season), although there was a morning mist in one area when we were at a high elevation. None of the lesser hotel rooms had AC, but it generally was not needed.

Culture

…..Tanzania is a mixed culture – it’s about 2/3 Christian and 1/3 Muslim; mostly blacks, with some Arabs. Zanzibar, however, is 95% Muslim, with a lot of Arab influence. It is generally a peaceful nation – no insurgencies or civil wars that plague most of the rest of Africa. There is a lot of poverty, of course, but very little starvation. There is no good road network, so instead of lots of cars, or bicycles, many people simply walk from place to place. Going to a town, for instance, there are hundreds of people just walking along the side of the road, even very late at night. We felt very safe at all times, even at night and in the towns or cities. Actually, the only time I was nervous about safety was when I went outside at night at one of the tent hotels, to look at the stars on a clear night. Since the place had no fences, and it was on the edge of the Serengeti, there was a very good chance that a predator could be very nearby. Therefore, I stopped looking at the stars.

 Animals.

…..Of course, the animals are the highlight of the trip. The Serengeti plains is a area that is 12,000 square miles (larger than all of Maryland), and where millions of animals live and migrate. We were struck just by the vastness of the area. However, before we went there, we went to other protected animal reserves: Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, and Ngorongoro Crater (I’ve noted these places on most of the photos). Our general day consisted of waking up before dawn, having breakfast, boarding one of four Land-Rover-like vehicles, and heading to the “bush.” Sometimes, the parks were 10-15 mins. away, but sometimes we had to travel for over an hour. There are no roads, only “trails.” And these trails were just dirt, often less than the width of two vehicles, loaded with deep potholes, and extremely dusty. By the end of the day, after being tossed around and covered in dirt and dust, we were more than ready to get back to our rooms and showers.

…..Seeing the animals was spectacular. Yes, we’ve all been to zoos, and we’ve even been on “Wild African Safari Adventureland” parks that mimic the real thing. This was different, because it was the real thing. You could see lions chomping on a recent kill or stalking its next meal; there was a real danger of an elephant attacking your vehicle, or perhaps a lion deciding to jump in via the open roof. The smells were very real, from the odor of dead animals, to the animals’ natural fertilization process. Believe me, you would not want to drink from any of the watering holes, even if you were dying of thirst.

…..The range of animals was incredible. Even their most “common” birds – the ones that hang around the picnic areas like pigeons do – were exquisitely brilliant sparking birds. Seeing over a hundred elephants in one area at a time is something that cannot be seen anywhere else on Earth. Herds of giraffes were magnificent, especially close up. Even zebra, hippos, antelopes, ostriches, etc. – just when you think you’ve seen it all, some other animal pops up. I don’t know if we can ever appreciate a zoo ever again.

Conclusion

…..It was a great trip, probably our best ever. We hope that it won’t ruin future trips that just won’t measure up. We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to go, and it was a gift like no other can ever be.