Kisii to Arusha, Tanzania

Hello everyone,

This blog might be a bit smaller than the others. At the end of my trip when I get home, I will post my photos. It's just easier and safer to not carry my camera around town. So, for now, words...

Here's where I've been since last time:

Day 8: drive from Kisii, Kenya across the border to Lamadi, Tanzania on Lake Victoria.
Day 9: enter the Serengeti on the west side and drive through to Seronera campsite in park.
Day 10: game drive through Serengeti, visit Olduvai Gorge Museum, camp just outside Ngorongoro Crater
Day 11: game drive through Ngorongoro Crater, then drive through to Maserani Snake Park.
Day 12: drive from Maserani to Arusha and then on to Kilimanjaro tonight!

Animal Totals:

1 leopard
no more cheetahs or rhinos...
36 lions (3 cubs in the Crater)
15 elephants or so
and hundreds/thousands of all the rest!!!

Okay, any minute now the truck is leaving, so what can I tell you but fabulous things!

The Serengeti kept our animal tracking eyes busy. We finally saw a leopard (along with 6 other trucks) and watched it cross the plains, under a truck, and up a tree. I can't tell you how many pictures I took, but not as many as the lions. The landscape of the Serengeti appealed to me--long rolling hills of green-gold grass.

The number of lions we've seen has become quite ridiculous, really! 36. The Ngorongoro Crater proved the most fruitful, as we saw three cubs. It was a bit of an entertaining circus. There were about 14 jeep/land rovers watching about 8 adult lions, then the 3 cubs get up and decide to go explore, so they park themselves under one of the trucks. Then the dad and mom get up and decide to eye all the trucks and get closer to their cubs, parking themselve right next to the tires. When they finally decided to move, they came over to our truck and laid down right on our wheels. Just looking down at them was inspiring and intimidating. The cubs soften your heart, but the adults make you take cover.

When we slept in the Serengeti, there were no fences. Just us and nature. Actually, there were lots of people in the campground, maybe 60-100, and quite a few trucks. Yet, we were told to go to the bathroom in groups at all times, as lions do come to the campsite. Needless to say, we didn't get out of our tents in the middle of the night. When I woke up at 5am, I could hear the lions roaring and tracing the camp, and the hyenas crying. What a cool feeling, if not a bit scary. No worries, it was all safe!

Now we are in Arusha, heading towards Kilimanjaro. The truck just pulled up, so I am off. Sorry so short this time. Just now that the pics are fabulous!

See you all soon!

Love,

Moe/Msungu!