Monday, July 29, 2013

Safari

After Nungwi we took a dala dala back to Stone Town, and then a flight to Arusha. We didn't get in until around 8 at night. We met with the guide to our safari and went over the itinerary, grabbed dinner and went to sleep. 

We were picked up at 7am to start the safari! Here is our car, it had padded ceilings which was more then necessary on the roads were drove on. 


We started heading to Ngorongoro Crater. It was about a six hour drive. 


There were three men from Hungry on the safari with us. Let's just say they wouldn't be our first choice of people to spend three days with. Jake and I came up with nicknames we used to describe them.

Ansel Adams: he needed hundreds of pictures of everything, from hundreds of angles. "Could you move up an inch so I can get a picture of this tree. Now move back two inches so I can get it from a slightly different angle. Now can you move up two feet and to the right slightly". Fifteen minutes later, we can move away from the tree. 

HIM (high Internet maintenance): this guy had more electronics than Best Buy. He would switch off charging two devices at a time(only two outlets available in the car, very disappointing he can't charge more at one time). Our favorite moment is when he had out his wireless router and was attempting to get Internet while we are on a safari in the middle of the Serengeti. 

DustBuster: let me start this one by saying that everything in the car was filthy the entire time. So much dirt and dust was always in the car. We were inhaling it, and completely coated in it. When a car would drive past the opposite way there was a cloud within the car of dirt. Well, DustBuster was obsessed with constantly dusting himself off, along with all of his bags. Every time we stopped for any reason he would take off his shirt to shake off the dust. He would take his bags out and dust them off, and would never sit in the car without dusting off his seat first. 


These guys also had just arrived in Africa, and obviously did zero research ahead of time. They bought a bag of apples and were eating them in the car. They never washed a single one. They also thought it was fine to drink the water. Let's just say that they got very sick. Jake and I told them why, and they disagreed. They blamed our chef, Vincent. Vincent was an awesome guy and cook. We were not sick, so it obviously wasn't his cooking. They told Vincent that he made them sick and that he needed to get them bagels to make them feel better since It is his fault. Considering all of the grocery stores in the Serengeti, this was obviously a simple request. They were completely rude. 

Heading into the crater we had to check in, and these baboons were just hanging out in the parking lot. We had to shut the car doors quickly because the baboons would try to jump into your car! It was awesome.


Then, we headed down into the crater. 


The zebras were so cool, they looked painted. 


Wildebeest:  

The hyenas were just like they are portrayed in Lion King, scraggly and gross.  


Pumba! It was like real life Lion King out here. 



See the lions laying? Did you know Simba actually means lion? 



This was the craziest moment of the safari. We were eating breakfast at camp the second morning in the crater. Arron, our guide, came to get us because an elephant was walking into camp! Jake ran to get a camera, and I stayed and watched the elephant. 


This is a picture Jake got, I was standing directly where the elephant is running. He ran straight at me! I ran into the bathroom right there ( the stone building next to the elephant). 


In this picture I am in the bathroom looking at the elephant through a crack in the door. It was insane. 

Turns out, he didn't want to kill me. He was just thirsty. Wile he was getting a drink I snuck away. Jake had seen the entire thing. What an awesome story :)



After the elephant experience, we headed to the Serengeti. 


On the way, the step fell off the car. They couldn't fix it, so eh followed Jake's brilliant advice and just broke it completely off. 


This was our campsite:



Lions! 




Buffalo, sweet hairstyle huh? 

Some thirsty lions we waited for before crossing the stream:

It is hard to tell,but those are a ton of hippos in the water:


Look closely, it's a cheetah! 


On the way out of the Serengeti we got a flat tire:

It was incredible to be so close to so many amazing creatures in their natural habitat. I am so glad we got to experience it! 























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