Many tourists that go on safari use a prearranged company that an agent has found for them; usually a package deal from a company that the agent knows well, since they often use the same company. If you wing it yourself then you may end up searching on the streets of Arusha, Tanzania like me, or in another urban center. I quickly tired of being pestered by sales people as I walked the streets of Arusha; locals were trying to sell either safari deals or the Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. Several times I sat in an office while some guy tried to dream up a price and scheduled time for a safari. One guy made me wait about 15 minutes and then told me the cost was $1, 050 US. I searched around like all the other backpackers (there were some stories of no shows and cheating) and finally struck a deal at days end with the Victoria Expeditions Company ( $675.00 US, for 5 days and 4 nights); they had a cancellation at the last moment....I would accompany 2 Japanese guys the next day. I was so pumped when I walked back to the 7-11 hotel, I had walked and walked searching out truthful agents and an appropriate deal for this safari, I was so excited that a good nights sleep would not be easy.
In the morning I was picked up at the hotel and we (Prom, Sushi, Supra the driver and I ) headed the 130 kms to the Lake Manyara Park.
The scenery on the drive to the park was nice as far as the landscape and panoramic views; I felt a bit guilty when I saw so many of the mud and straw huts of the people who were somehow managing to exist.
Once we entered the Manyara Park the roof of the jeep was taken off and the 3 of us stood with camera's in hand ready to capture wildlife scenes. As Supra was driving we heard some crashing through the bush, all of a sudden this rather large bull elephant appeared.
We give him his space and let him cross the road before proceeding only to stop the jeep about 10 minutes later so we could watch:lions laying in a tree, hippo's swimming in the lake; flamingo's and giraffe's standing by the jeep.
There were warthogs, zebra, many elephants, impala's, wildebeest, baboons, mongoose and so many different types of birds.
Actually the birds were awesome: there were so many beautiful small birds and there were some very large ugly birds with strange looking beaks.
We could not have asked for a nicer day with clear blue skies and so many wild animals up close to the vehicle. That night we stayed in the Manyara Lake Lodge which was a very nice establishment that had beautiful rooms and incredible food and a very friendly staff.
In the morning we ate a hearty breakfast and then headed out into the misty air for the 270 kms drive to the Serengeti National Park. We past several small villages where locals lived in mud huts; I wasn't sure how they survived since the land around the villages was barren.
The first wildlife I saw were 3 dick-dick's which look like miniature deer, then there were many baboons with babies. While crossing the plains towards arguably the best safari place on the continent (Serengeti), the skies cleared quickly and the best wildlife viewing day of my life was about to begin.
There were a bunch of camels standing by the road so we stopped to take a photo; when I got my camera out 3 boys came out from behind some brush and wanted money for a photo. I gave them 1,000 shillings each (about $3.00).
Most Maasai children do not go to school but rather they shepherd animals like goats, sheep, cattle, or camels. These boys can make money from tourists for photo's so they try to stay close to the road. I have a lot to say about the politics of the Maasai in Africa but this post is about a safari.
There were two herds of elephants, both had babies that were approx. 3 weeks old; we sat there to watch them roam across the land.
The bull elephants were watching us closely so Supra had to keep at the ready to reverse, we were very close, it was amazing. We stopped about 3 metres from a family of lions that were relaxing in the grass...another amazing experience.
We saw many: ostrich, gazelles, hyena's, topi, eland, oryx before finding a herd of African Buffalo.
There were several types of monkeys peeping out here and there and 3 fox, not sure what kind. Supra spotted a herd of zebra (same family as horses) and wildebeest (in the antelope family) across the plain. We found a good spot to stop and watch the thousands of animals as they migrated in their usual fashion. Zebra's have excellent sight and wildebeest have poor eyesight so it is said that they roam together for safety.
Near the end of our journey to the fancy Seronera Lodge we stopped for about 20 minutes and watched a leopard drag a red back deer up into a tree. The sight was too distant for a photo but to the bare eye I could clearly watch the lion settle in for it's lunch. There was a pool of water with a lot of hippo's and a couple of crocodile's on the bank. This one was crossing the land to enter another pool of water.
Once we got to the lodge I could see the view was tremendous; the workers were extremely pleasant, and the food was delicious.
I think that when I look back on these safari days I can rank them high on my list of most memorable. As an animal lover it is beyond awesome to see so many types of animals in the wild; words cannot really describe it. I will leave this post while still at the famous Serengeti, there are more incredible sightings to be had.
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