We left our hotel yet again to venture out on our Safari. We started our day in the Ngorongoro Crater. We will be spending more time in the Crater our last day here at our hotel and for our last Safari day. However our morning was spent on top of the Crater looking down. We went to two different viewing points of the Crater which were amazing. We also got a shot lecture about pre-historic foot prints found in the Crater which leads them to believe that prehistoric “people” lived here. Of course we don’t believe this since we believe in creation, but still interesting to hear. The lecturer said that every summer (June, July, & August) they still have geological digs here led by professors from all other the world. I had my first non-toilet experience here. The women’s toilet was a hole in the ground with two brick looking things next to it with no toilet paper. I hope not to remember that experience again. We saw lots of animals on the way to the Serengeti living along the road. We saw a lot of zebras, giraffes (one which we scared out of the road), and gazelles. We also saw some baboons playing in the road at one point and that only moved when our vehicle got really close to it.
We had lunch at the border of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Our guide told us we could sit anywhere but we later realized (after we had finished lunch in the parking lot) that there were picnic benches with tables. The Serengeti is huge. We drove around looking mainly for cats today but we also saw elephants, zebras, gazelles, antelope, and hippos. We saw a few lions, cheetahs, and leopard (the leopard was hard to see because it was up in a tree with its cubs).
Our tent, well I would camp a lot more often if Justin could promise me a tent like this. It has two queen beds in it, living room chairs, a desk, and a bathroom (including sink, toilet, and shower). The tent is more secure in regards to the canvas it is made from. It has screens to let in air and hopefully not bugs. There is no lock so we are a little worried about our belongings while we are gone but we were assured it would be okay. One of the rules here is that you are not allowed out of your tent after dark (about 6:30 or 7:00) without an escort because the wild life is so close to us. This means you have to call for an armed escort, with an AK47, to go to and from dinner. I realized why about ten minutes into our stay here. Justin and I were getting settled into our tent and I walked towards the door to look outside. I could not believe what I saw: four elephants eating from trees about 50 feet in front of our tent. Justin and I quickly went outside to watch it. Justin also noticed a hill next to our tent with 30 baboons sitting on top. On our way to dinner we saw two baby sized gazelles and one large looking rodent (it was large bunny size but looks more like a hamster) which they have a name for but we have never seen it before.
Tomorrow we spend more time in the Serengeti and spend another night in our tent.
Sounds awesome! I bet those canvas walls would be quite the fortress against a charging elephant :D
ReplyDelete