Nairobi - our last stop!

THURSDAY 25/1

Scroll down for posts about Arusha and the Serengeti :)

Hello all,

After two awesome days in the Serengeti (check out that post - the photos are amazing!) we arrived back in Arusha and Rob and I went to the Meserani Snake Park, part of the campsite complex. This park was set up in 1993 and is used to create anti venom for a clinic nearby that people come from miles away to use. Africa has so many deadly snakes and we got to see all creepy ones in the park. Highlights included a python that could eat a person (we saw a photo!) and the black mamba, which is the fastest snake in the world moving at 20km/h while half its body is still up off the ground. I'm very glad this was the only place we saw them because if they bite you, you've only got 20 minutes left to live! A man took us around giving us information and also showing us birds that had been rescued (owls, eagles and a vulture) and then crocodiles, monitors, a harmless snake (which I held - yuck!) and some tortoises. We held them too and they were heavy!

Last night we had some drinks at the bar as a group. The campsite we stayed at had a really cool bar with hats, graffitied t shirts and more hanging from the roof from 20 years of tourists. We made our own one to hang, and I also saw a Collingwood jumper and a cap from the cricket club my dad has played for. What are the chances!




Today we left at 7am and crossed into Kenya. Last year they brought in a rule that no plastic bags are allowed to be taken into or out of Kenya, so we had to spend half an hour going through our bag unwrapping everything. I've now got ripped clothes I was going to throw out protecting souvenirs. It is what it is, but seems like a really stupid rule to me. I'm all for limiting plastic bags, but imposing $40,000 fines or four year jail sentences on people found with bags seems ridiculous to me in a place where various diseases are rife, there's currently a political crisis and god knows what else. The funniest part was as we drove to Nairobi we saw people burning tyres on the side of the road - not very environmentally friendly!!




We also noticed how developed Kenya was compared to every other country we've been to. They've all been so different, but if I had to pick, I think Zimbabwe was my favourite!




But anyway - time to wrap it up. Tonight is our last night after a month over here. I've never been on a trip where I've simultaneously been so excited and had such an awesome time, whilst also counting down the days to come home. We've been to six countries, travelled nearly 8000km and seen and done so much. 




It's been hard - boiling hot days, hardly any sleep in the tent, endless mozzie bites, packing up tents in the pouring rain, and I think I'm probably more tired than I am during the school term. The other thing is this is the first trip since we bought our house, and for the first time I have had to think about money and whether I will have enough left in my account to withdraw. This is new to me and I don't like it, but considering we have been in Africa for more time than we've been living in our new house, I'm sure it'll settle down a bit money wise in a few months. 




But at the same time we have had some amazing experiences I'll never forget. The animals we saw, Devil's Pool, the rhino walking safari, ballooning, Vic Falls, playing with the beautiful kids... I could go on. I would love to come back to more of Africa one day (Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, Morocco and Egypt to name a few!), but I don't think I will be camping!

We are currently relaxing in the hotel while it pours with rain and thunders outside. We leave "Nairobbery" as our guide Elton called it tomorrow morning at 10am and arrive home on Saturday night. I'm really looking forward to my bed and to everything being clean!




Thanks for reading and I'll catch you all on my next adventure - New Zealand in April!




Love to all

Claire

Xoxox

Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater

MONDAY 22/1 - WEDNESDAY 24/1

Hi everyone,

The last few days have been awesome! We haven't had any internet though so I've got lots to post. Scroll down one blog post to read about Arusha. 

On Monday morning, our safari trucks picked us up and we headed off towards the Serengeti National Park. 'Serengeti' is the Swahili word for 'endless plains'. At 14673 square kilometres, it's the second largest national park in Tanzania. It opened in 1952 and is famous for huge herds of animals, particularly the migration of approximately 1.5 million wildebeest all together each year. 

On the way, we passed through a lookout over the Ngorongoro Crater (which we returned to the next day) which was an absolutely stunning view. Using Dad's binoculars I could see two rhinos running way in the distance!

On the way to the Serengeti gate, we saw giraffes, wildebeest (heaps because they had already migrated south a month ago!), zebras and lots of Masai people walking along the road. They're not allowed to live in the Serengeti but can in the crater conservation area. 

Next we saw some vultures sitting near a wildebeest carcass that they had been feasting on, and then a spotted hyena! It was very cool. The way hyenas walk is so weird, they have a really long neck. It approached our vehicle and started walking towards us though which was a bit scary!

For the rest of the afternoon, we drove through the Serengeti. We saw two female lions in the very far distance, a pride of seven lions lying in grass, ostriches (first spotting of those for us!), an elephant, warthogs and a very sleepy male lion lying under a tree. 

Then we drove to our unfenced bush camp. Like the camp in Zambia, this meant that any animal nearby can roam free. We had a delicious dinner provided by the game drive company and then went to bed. It was an even more eventful evening than South Luangwa, because during the night, hyenas were fighting literally outside our tents. I could hear them walking past and see shadows out the front. I didn't dare sit up though in fear of being ripped to pieces. And once again I had to hold on for the toilet for a few hours!!

At 4.30am, myself and five of the others got up and were picked up for our hot air balloon ride. On the way we saw some striped hyenas. We didn't see too many animals up in the air (mainly hippos, an elephant family and lots of antelope) but the experience of ballooning itself was absolutely incredible. I debated whether I should be going because it cost $700 Australian and we recently bought a house, but I decided it was one of those things I just had to go for. I don't think one day when I'm old I'll think "gee I wish I hadn't done that!" 

After a one hour flight of stunning sunrise views and a new appreciation of just how vast the Serengeti was, we enjoyed champagne (a tradition started after the first hot air balloon expedition in France in 1783) and then a full English breakfast in the middle of the bush. 

At about 10.30 we rejoined our group to find out one car had broken down, so apart from another pack of hyenas they hadn't seen too much. We had a great afternoon, we spotted a leopard in a tree and sat there for ages watching it yawn and laze about. We all had a good laugh at an American truck next to us who kept asking their guide "what's for lunch" and seemed much more concerned with that than the leopard!

On the way back, another of our trucks broke down, then the replacement vehicle's tyre went flat. You can't make this stuff up!!

At night we drove up to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and camped on the rim. Throughout the night we heard a zebra grazing near our tent, and Rob went to the toilet in the morning and saw elephants 10m away from him!

Today (Wednesday) we descended into the Ngorongoro Crater, which is named so due to the sound the bells around the Masai peoples' cattle's necks make. At 260 square kilometres and 19.5km across, the crater is the largest caldera in the world and was created by volcanic eruptions 2 million years ago. The bottom of the crater is 610m below the rim, and there are no giraffes in this area due to the fact that their legs don't allow them to walk down, as well as no leopards because there are very few trees. 

Today in the Crater was a "remember forever" day - it was an unexpectedly incredible game drive involving the right place and the right time!

We started off seeing a family of golden jackals including a mum, a dad and three extremely cute week old babies. Then we saw two lions in the distance, one had its leg out which our guide said is a real show of "I'm top of the food chain and no one can touch me". We saw hippos out of water and zebras rolling around in the dirt. 

Then the show began. Driving along our guide shouted "IT'S GIVING BIRTH!" and for the next 30-40 minutes we watched a female springbok give birth and eat the amneotic sack. After just 15 minutes in this world, "Charlie" as we affectionately named him or her, started to walk. We were all very concerned until he did because there were two hyenas about 100m away! We think our vehicle partly blocked them from seeing though.  The experience was really beautiful and one I'll never forget. 

Next we saw a rhino in the distance with its two horns still in tact, and after this we saw a female lion, a male lion and then a pair of lions meandering their way through trucks. We think this is because there are no trees for shade so they seek our vehicles as a result. The first male walked right past us, and the pair were 1m from our car, glowering at us with their bright green eyes and making us feel like they were looking into our soul. 

We saw a rhino and a baby in the distance, and then we *almost* saw a kill. The seven of us were cooing about how cute another baby springbok was as it was running, when a jackal pounced and tried to kill it! We all screamed, but no fear - the springbok's Mum leapt into action. Then baby hid in the grass while she chased the jackal for a few minutes, before some other springboks arrived and helped. It eventually gave up and left - go Mummy!

That was the end of our game drive and then we started to ascend the crater rim again. On the way, we came across a safari vehicle that had tipped onto its side. Another vehicle from our group had seen the incident, which was caused by someone speeding the other way and causing them to veer. Luckily the one tourist and driver on board were both ok. 

Read the next post up for Wednesday night and Thursday. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox