Safari, yo!

We just finished our seven-day safari, which explains the dearth of posts for the last week or so. During the safari, we stayed at four different lodges in and around the Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti, in North Tanzania. The nicest place we stayed was definitely the Mbalageti Serengeti Safari Lodge, which is in the western Serengeti. The Serengeti is a national park of both Tanzania and Kenya encompassing well over 60,000 square kilometres and is considered, along with the Ngorongoro Crater, to be one of the best locations in the world to see wildlife. Our safari spent time in both these national parks, as well as Lake Manyara, another Tanzanian national park.

It is somewhat of a cliche to say that neither words nor pictures can capture the sheer vastness and beauty of the Serengeti, so I'll do my best. Although it is a strange comparison, the broad expanses and picturesquely untouched landscaped have the same calming effect on me as do bodies of water of which I cannot see the other side. Everything feels so calm,so stable, in such perfect synchronicity, like a perfect system. Still, there is the overwhelming sense that nothing is under control. for lack of a better descriptor, it is wild. And there are animals everywhere. We've become desensitized to wildebeest, zebra, and all sorts of antelope-like creatures, of which we have seen literally thousands; now only a new antic by the animals we see everywhere or the spotting of a rare find such as a lion or leopard will make the five of us jump from our seats.

The highlight of the trip, in my opinion, was when we were watching a group of seven lions in the Serengeti. Five of them came all the way across the field right in front of us, and climbed into a tree. Our truck was about forty feet away. We got to watch the big cats climb through the branches and choose spots to lounge.

A typical day on safari starts early, at seven or so, depending on that day's specific plan. After driving around for a few hours, we typically stop for a picnic meal that invariably includes fruit, nuts, chocolate, and some sort of sandwich. After the picnic, we drive around for a few more hours. After lunch, I spend the first thirty minutes or so taking a cat nap while Peter, our guide, bumps along the dusty dirt roads. After the quick nap, though, I stand straight up. This is possible because our vehicle, a refurbished Toyota Land Cruiser, has been outfitted with a top that raises up on stilts to accommodate my height (plus a few inches). Standing up gives quite a rush; from there there are 360-degree virtually unobstructed views, more sun, and 60-kilometer per-hour wind in your face. I usually stand like this for 45 minutes or so, until the end of the drive. This last segment of the day is, by far, my favorite. Standing up, holding on to support bars, the car bounds along over the bumpy ridged dirt road, and the air softens just so much that it feels like an embrace. The sun beats down on my face, neck, and arms, but it's afternoon angle mitigates its harmful rays and starts to cast some longer shadows and softer hues. It's quiet, as my companions sit and take in the afternoon. Meanwhile, dust hits my face, my cheap aviators acting to shield my eyes from most of it, and the Serengeti, truly living up to the name "endless plains," stretches out before us.

All this is accompanied by the intermittent chatter of Peter, our patient, humorous, and attentive guide. Traveling with him feels like touring an obscenely large private ranch with the owner, as he points out all the nooks, crannies, and secret spots. We feel lucky that we blindly drew him from the guide pool, as he is fun to hang out with and has a seemingly unrivalled knowledge of the areas we are exploring, the country, the native people, the plants, and oh, the animals.

For a more in-depth description of some of the animals, take a gander at Koushik's post on Alex's blog. It is very informative.