Zebras gather under the shade of a yellow fever acacia.
Assorted wildlife gather near Lake Manyara.
Two adult Masai giraffes get into a shoving match.
Another elephant.
Impala.
Red and yellow barbet.
Kingfisher.
I am standing next to the skull of an elephant at the entrance to Tarangire National Park.
Male waterbuck (above).
Vervet monkey chewing on the branch of an acacia tree.
The Bobblehead baboon - named in honor of Bonnie - for its ability to sleep in an upright position.
White pelicans, spoonbills, hammerkops and Egyptian Geese gather around the lake.
We had a lunch buffet from 1-2 PM after we returned from our game drive, then we were on the road to Tarangire National Park. As we hit the road, we see baboons galore on both sides of the road tempting fate and the cars and trucks whizzing inches away from them.
We entered Tarangire National Park about 4 PM. All vehicles were sprayed for the tsetse fly, since the flies are apparently attracted to the light color of the 4 x 4. The man with the sprayer wore a mask and wasn't even paying attention where he was spraying - we had a back window and the top open. We joked that Bonnie and Terry were found several hours later in deep slumber. We couldn't even revive them in time to visit the gift shop!
On the way to the lodge, Iris was bitten on the inside of her upper arm by a tsetse fly. She was freaking out, but Mao assured her it was nothing to worry about. In case she died from the sleeping sickness and did not awake the next morning, Terry asked if she could have Iris' camera, and I asked for her bag of Jolly Ranchers.
Later, while we were sharing a bottle of red wine in the lodge lounge - joined later by Terry and Bonnie with their drinks, we spotted Teresa and Tsan on their way to dinner. Iris got up from our table on the outside deck to let them know where we were and she ran smack dab into one of the plate glass panels of the lounge. I didn't see her do it - but I did hear the loud thump of forehead meeting glass. All the wait staff came running to see if she was all right and if she needed some ice for her noggin. After we decided she was OK, we just couldn't stop laughing. No more red wine for her!
We really enjoyed watching the staff sing and dance at dinner. During one final song, they started waving the white linen napkins. Soon every tourist was waving their napkin in the air as well while the staff wove between the tables in an undulating conga line. It was great!
To bed around 10:30 PM. Mosquito netting pulled around the beds again. My room is huge - could be an apartment with a luxury bath!
Up at 5:20 AM to get a hot shower, since the generator is only running from 5-8 AM and 5-8 PM. Out the door after grabbing some coffee at 6:30 AM for our last game drive and last opportunity to spot the last of the big 5 - the leopard (we'd even settle for a cheetah at this point).
Lou takes a photo of me taking a photo of him and Carol. We are wearing our hats and jackets this chilly morning.
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse.
Cape buffalo.
Around and around we went in Tarangire National Park, searching high and low for Otis and Brutus. Took a few more photos of the male and female ostriches; some good ones of the Cape buffalo, and just as we were running out of time, we spotted Deogracias (yes, that was his name) and his van with Teresa, Tsan, Carol and Lou, as well as another green jeep. They were already off track and knew we were coming to join them (apparently, if there are just a few drivers at one spot and they agree to go off track they will do it - minimizing the impact to the environment).
Boy, what a scene on that spot - a male lion devouring a Cape buffalo! We were so close we could hear the crunching of the buffalo's bones as the male lion devoured the prime parts. Meanwhile, the female lion waited patiently alongside for her turn. When the male was finished, he walked a short distance with the female; peed; nuzzled the female (although I think he was just licking the blood off her face); walked a little further; squatted and took a major dump - all recorded by the 8 of us for posterity. What an amazing end to our safari adventure! We were still on a high when we returned to the lodge for breakfast before our departure.
But wait...that wasn't the end of our adventure. As we left the lodge for the airport, we were confronted by a very large, protective, female elephant who refused to budge from the road ahead of us and allow us to proceed. She very deliberately used her trunk to spray the red dust from the road all over her body. It was a stare down and looked to be a stalemate, and when Iris told Mau to use his instincts, he threw the gearshift into reverse and we immediately backed up a few yards. At about the same moment, another vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction. Only then did the female elephant back up and move sideways - giving us the hairy eyeball the entire time. Later we noticed that she seemed to be protecting a little one, who was waiting for her in the savannah grass.
But wait...there was another fantastic moment several minutes later, as about 100 baboons flooded into the roadway ahead of us, as if they were personally escorting us from the park. We told Mau that all the animals - the zebras, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalo, lions, elephants, giraffes, and all the birds were saying goodbye in their own special way. (We would have prefered to stay in the park than be on our way to the Tanzanite Museum, which really only the 5 unpleasant ones wanted to see in the first place. We were all forced to go to the museum because our guides/drivers made a reservation for 13 people. About 4-5 workers had to stay past closing hours just to accommodate these 5 idiots. And then, to top it all off, they didn't even buy anything! Talk about ugly Americans! Don't get me started on them again...)
At the Kilimanjaro Airport, we were able to check our luggage all the way through to JFK in NYC (alleluia) and obtain 3 boarding passes for: Kilimanjaro to Nairobi (1 hour); Nairobi to London Heathrow (about 8 hours) and Heathrow to JFK (another 7.5 hours). I loved the little puddle jumper from Kilimanjaro to Nairobi. Only 18 rows of 4 people each - easy to board and just less than one hour between stops. Beer was even free, so I enjoyed one last Kilimanjaro beer.
The Nairobi Airport was very interesting. After we landed, we had to walk a very long way on the outside tarmac before entering the terminal. There is absolutely nothing past the gate to the plane, so we waited until the last minute to enter that area. We spoke to a number of young adults who traveled to Kenya for missionary work - I was quite impressed with this 18 year old young lady from England who traveled on her own to an orphanage in Uganda. Kind of makes me feel like I've done nothing with my life...
Eventually, we arrive in JFK, where there are major delays and gate changes - welcome home! (When can I leave for Africa again)????
***Author's note: No animals were harmed in the making of this blog. The ones being devoured were already dead by the time the author photographed them, so they didn't realize that they were contributing to this blog.
Dedication: This blog, the stories and the incredible adventure that followed would not have been possible without the other 4 fantastic members of Team Post Menopausal - Iris, Bonnie, Terry and Judy, and our intrepid trackers, Njoka and Mau. You have all made me laugh more than I have in a very long time, and my life is richer because of our time together. I hope we may meet again in the near future. Asante sana and kwaheri!
THE END.
Barb, what a wonderful blog. I read it every day and day dream that I am in Africa again! I want to go back so bad! This was dream vacation that came true and meeting you, Judy, Bonnie and Terry was the icing on the cake for sure! Thank you all for making my dream vacation become a reality. I will never forget my African experiences and the valuable friendships I made! I love you Post Menaupausal Team Safari! Thank you Njoka and Mau for the fabulous safaris! Africa will always be in my heart!
ReplyDeleteAs a defense for me, I wanted to add that the lodge's outside deck area had glass doors that were closed and open and they were crystal clear. It was very hard to determine if the glass door was open. And, yes Barb, probably too much red wine too! (ha ha!)
ReplyDeleteOn another note with regard to my tsetse fly bite, my body wasn't even cold and my scavenger teammates were already after my possessions!