Kilimanjaro was going to be tough act to follow, but a nice easy few days of checking out animals was just what the doctor ordered as my feet were a mess after running down Kili yesterday.
I met my new Safari guide (Sippy) and two new travel companions (Xander and Saskia from Holland) and we were ready for the next stage of this trip. To be honest, I wasn't real excited about this part of my trip, but later this day I would have my eyes wide open to the sites and sounds of the animals in their natural habitat.
First stop was Arusha and the International Conference Center. This building (which I was not allowed to photograph) is where they are holding the Rwanda tribunals for war crimes and is also where the safari (Shidolya Tours) has its main office. After paying the man, and making more friends in the process, we were on our way to our first destination, Lake Manyara.
Stretching for 50 meters along the base of the rusty-gold 600-meter high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. This destination was the perfect beginning to our 4 day excursion as we soon would be in the midst of all kinds of wildlife including a close encounter with an elephant and her baby.
Some background first: I had no idea what to expect out of a safari as all I have seen on TV were Jeeps running through the desert looking for animals. No, most national parks keep everyone on specified trails and you are not allowed to veer off those paths. Mostly for safety purposes but also for preservation of the lands. You would think that this would limit your viewing experience but I would soon find out we would have so much to see (up close) over the next few days. I shot close to a 1000 images (and video) and like Kili, there were too many cool frames to capture. Sippy, our guide, had this sixth sense about where to take us in each park to find the coolest animals. Check out some of the pictures and enjoy.
Of this day, I think the elephant encounter we had was the coolest. Right next to us was this HUGE elephant and her baby and the little one was about to go to town on this tree. I don't know if we got this all on video or not, but the sound of this beast eating branches was amazing. And as it was eating, the branches would brush up against our truck. It was like she was watching us like television as she ate. The baby was just staying close to Mama. The giraffe encounter we had was also pretty cool. The male and female giraffe were just staring at us for the longest time. Not sure if we were more interested in them or they were more interested in us…
During our travels that day, we saw locals herding animals and mostly just walking. The natives don't have cars and many don't even have bicycles. I will get into this later, but I would soon see the signs of a very poor nation. That night, we camped in a local campground and after bathing in mosquito repellent, we ate a nice dinner with some Kili beer we bought at the local market. A good first day. :-)
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