If you don't blog about it, did it really happen? July 14, 2024 to July 27, 2024

 ADVENTURES IN AFRICA, THE DARK CONTINENT 

 

Our adventure began on July 14, 2024. Sam gave us a ride to the airport where we checked in and went straight to the Delta Sky Lounge. We were early so we hung out and had some lunch until it was time to board and take our place in Delta One Pods. (Thanks, Nona). We took off and settled in. The Purser came by to offer us some warm nuts. How nice of him!  We were offered more food which we took. It was a nine- hour 22 -minute flight to Amsterdam and I dozed off and on. Before I knew it, there was one hour left in the flight. They brought me a breakfast of French Toast, lemon ricotta, mango confit, toasted coconut and a croissant with maple butter. Who lives like this? This was more food than I could eat in a day. 

Welcome to Amsterdam! Wow, what a busy airport. We had a 2 and a half hour layover so we spent some time in the KLM Lounge. More food, of course. When it was time to board, we walked to our gate and waited to be called. First Class was called and we went to our pods in row 5. We settled in and slept again and got to Nairobi about 10:15 PM.  We went through passport control, then customs with our bags and looked for our driver. The AK rep took us on a 25 minute drive to the Serena Hotel where we checked in and went right to bed. Our documents from AK said we were to meet at 9:15 AM but we got a call at 8:20 saying we were late. It was a miscommunication and the tour director, Duncan said our driver was there and ready to go. I asked about jackets (it was winter in Nairobi even though we were near the equator). I also asked about bug spray and Duncan said we would need neither. It turns out we needed both.  We were driven to the elephant sanctuary were orphaned elephants were cared for and raised until they could be re-introduced into the wild. There was also an orphaned baby rhino that had been attacked by hyenas who was being nursed back to health. Diane was able to buy a sweatshirt to take the chill off. I opted for a fleece.  Next, we were driven to the Oloolua Forest that was once a hiding place for the Mau Mau Freedom Fighters during the war for independence. We were treated to folk lore stories that were handed down from generation to generation. We were even taught a primitive dance. I have video of Diane doing the dance! We decided to skip the Karen Blixen museum as we were really tired and wanted to rest up for the next day. 

Wednesday July17:  We left Nairobi. In our land cruiser would be other adventurers who would soon become friends. Joe and Melissa were from Houston and Mary was from Dallas and Ann was from OKC. We would meet the people in the other LC (land cruiser) later but they were not nearly as much fun as our group. It was a pretty long ride to the Serena Safari Lodge. We pulled in about 2 PM and had lunch and then took off for an afternoon game drive. The LC had a roof that elevated that gave us clear views without fear of being eaten. We saw lots of animals, elephants (dozens), lions (21), water buffaloes (dozens), and wildebeests (hundreds). We then headed back to the lodge for dinner and turned in for the night.

Thursday, July 18: Our game drive began at 6:15 AM. It was still dark. As daylight came we began to see the animals. Diane and I were in the same vehicle with the same people which we were happy about. We sat with most of the other group last night at dinner and did not hit it off. The other members of the group were Tom and Laura from Long Island, David and Ruth from near Philadelphia and Barry and Betty from Kirkland Washington. Today Mary and Ann sat in the rear of the LC, Diane and I were in the middle, and Joe and Melissa were in the front. Everyone seemed to be pleased with their stations and that would be the way it was for most of the rest of the trip. We started off seeing lots of wildebeests, some elephants up close and a few lions near the wildebeests. It looked like there might be an encounter but it did not happen. We saw antelope. One male was attempting to be amorous with a female. We saw a pride of lions marching in a row. Just when we thought we were done, we saw 4 giraffes and enjoyed watching them for a while. We headed back to the lodge for breakfast and would be free until the afternoon game drive. I took lots of pictures. I had 3 cameras, my point and shoot Olympus, my Canon Rebel EOS with the 55-250 mm lens, and my iPhone. 

Friday July 19. Into Tanzania: After breakfast we drove across the border into Tanzania. We cleared customs and got a new tour director, Richard. We also got a new driver. We said good bye to our Kenya driver, George and left him a tip. We would not see George again but we would meet up with Duncan when we entered back into Kenya later in the trip. We drove to our lodge, The Arusha Serena Hotel and then on to a canine training center where we met Will Powell, a most interesting Brit who ran the center.  He gave a fascinating presentation on how his dogs were trained and how they performed to help stop poaching and smuggling. He gave us a demonstration with two of his dogs. We really enjoyed. Later we met up at the hotel for a Sundown Reception before dinner and then it was off to bed.

Saturday July 20: This day we left Arusha and drove to Lake Manyara National Park for our morning game drive. We saw baboons, buffalo herds, wildebeest and zebras on the grassy plains. We went to a local village and rode in Tuk Tuks to visit a banana plantation and local rice fields to learn how the locals grow rice. We had a picnic lunch on the road and drove to the Ngorongoro Crater. The volcanic crater is the largest in the world measuring over 10 miles long. It has a high density of wild animals, many of which we will see the next day. After another long drive we checked into the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge.

Sunday July 21: It was another early start, at the jeep at 6 AM to drive down into the caldera. Right away we saw a male lion marking the beginning of a great animal viewing day. We saw black rhinos, baboons, monkeys, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, hyenas, and others. Lunch was set up in the bush with tables, chairs and even tablecloths. After lunch we went to a Maasai Village for some entertainment and a tour or the village and the primitive living quarters. We drove back to the lodge for dinner and to rest up for our next day drive to the Serengeti.

Monday July 22. Guess what? Another early start. We had a long drive to get to the Serengeti. But first we stopped at the Olduvai Gorge, the cradle of humanity where fossils of early man were uncovered. Louis and Mary Leakey did their famous work here. In the museum we saw a replica of homo erectus, the immediate ancestor of humans. We had an interesting talk about the site by a curator of the museum. We then set out on a four hour game drive on a very bumpy road. Actually, all the roads were bumpy. We saw giraffes, warthogs, some lions at a distance and then two lions right on the side the road under a tree. Driving on, we saw Topi, the very large African antelope, then more giraffes, many gazelles, goats and more antelope. We finally arrived at the Melia Serengeti Lodge after the jarring ride. This was the nicest lodge so far. It was interesting because we had to drive so far to get to it. We had a late lunch and had the afternoon free. They had a nice pool so I took a swim. Our dinners were always at 7:30 PM, a little later than I would have liked but it was bed time by the time we were finished with dinner.  

Tuesday July 23: I woke up this morning and took a picture of a nearly full moon with an acacia tree in the foreground. We got ready and got to breakfast at 6:45. We ate and loaded into the jeep and left by 7:30. This was going to be a long game drive. We encountered many antelope right away. Next we came upon a hyena eating a fresh kill-an antelope. Richard told us that most likely a cheetah had taken it down and started feeding on it and then abandoned it when the hyena came along. Eagles and vultures were close by, watching, hoping for leftovers. The hyena decided to leave with the remains of the kill in its mouth. We followed him as he left the road and then re-entered the road without the kill. He no doubt cached it for later. We continued past some guinea fowl to a group of elephants, some with very small babies. We crossed a river with a strong sulfur smell and came across dozens of hippos lounging in a pool of the river. We saw a fleet of jeeps ahead and went to investigate. There were 10 lions slowly making their way in the direction of zebras. We followed along until they all, except for one, crossed the road and left. The lone lion began stalking the zebras. We watched for more than 30 minutes but the lion never launched an attack, so we left. We drove around some more and then headed back to the lodge. We arrived about 2 pm for lunch. There was an afternoon game drive but most of us decided to rest having been bounced around for hours. 

Wednesday July 24.  Pioneer Day. Not here, however. It was a busy day. We left Melia and shuttled to the air strip and loaded onto a plane to Tarime in Tanzania. We transferred to shuttles and cleared customs and drove to the Migori Airstrip and boarded a flight to Mara Game Reserve, Kenya. We were picked up by the Mara Intrepid Camp for the short drive to the lodge. Our lodging was in luxury tents. Diane was not feeling well and did not go to lunch or go on the game ride. On the drive I saw Topi, Wildebeest, and a stalking lion. At dinner we were entertained by Maasai dancers. We went to bed early to prepare for the early departure for the hot air balloon ride. It actually got cold that night and I had to find an extra blanket. 

Thursday July 25: Hot Air Ballon Day: The wake up knock on the door came at 4:30 but I was already up taking care of business. Diane, still not feeling well, skipped the ride. We drove to the launch site where several ballons were being prepared. They started by inflating the ballon with air from a large fan. Next the burner was ignited and finished the inflating. The baskets were large, they held 16 people plus the pilot. The pilot had us climb into the basket, some more gracefully than others. We received instructions for launching and landing positions to take when given directives. Next the pilot engaged the burner and we were airborne. We had great views saw lots of animals, and were treated to a glorious sunrise. We flew about an hour and then braced for landing which was harder than I expected but turned out ok. We actually landed on the side of the basket and it took a couple bumps settling down. We were driven back to an area that was set up for a full breakfast. The rest of the group who did not go on the ballon arrived and soon we were off for our game drive. We had a long drive to the river but we stopped when we saw a cheetah walk by with a bloody mouth and I got some good pics of him/her(I did not know what pronouns to use). We drove and saw other animals before we got to the Mara River where we hope to see the migration across the river. We picked a spot and watched the Wildebeest gather in the thousands. We ate our box lunches in the jeep while watching to see if the Wildebeest would cross. They went right up to the river but may have been scared away by a giant hippo who opened his mouth fully and roared; not to mention the many crocodiles laying about. After watching for a while longer we began our long drive back to the lodge arriving back at 3:30. We attended a lecture about birds before dinner and were back in our tents by 9 pm. 

Friday July 26.  Today we got to sleep in to a reasonable hour.  The coffee arrived at 6:45 and we were out of the tent by 7:30 for breakfast. The game ride started at 8 am. It was a cool and crisp morning. Right away we saw a male ostrich sitting on eggs. The males sit at night and the females sit during the day.  Several females lay their eggs in a nest but the dominant female has hers in the middle, the safest spot.  Next we saw a lion feasting on a wildebeest.  I guess he was done because he just walked away leaving what was left to a hyena, vultures, and jackals. After leaving this site we got real close to3  lions lounging in the shade by a bush. They may have just eaten as they looked very tired. We saw another lion. He too was sleeping. We drove to the river where we saw lots of hippos and crocs. We started to leave but saw a herd of zebras looking like they were going to cross the river but they ended up not going. We saw giraffes, Topi, Elands, and more. On the way back our driver, Silas went down a steep embankment across the river and did not make it up the other side. It took him six tries. I would hate to be stuck out there in the Maasai Mara. We made it back to the lodge and rested in the afternoon. We had a farewell dinner that night.

Saturday July 27.  Well, this is it—the journey’s end. (Safari means journey). Once again, we were up early, bags packed and on the porch by 6:30 am. We left the tent and walked the 200 yards to breakfast. We sat next to Barry and Betty and Joe. Joe gave me his business card and we agreed to stay in touch. We took the short ride to the airstrip and watched our plane land. It was a twin prop with 28 seats. We made one stop at another airstrip to pick up more passengers and then left for Nairobi’s Wilson airport, not the main airport. Shuttle vans picked us up and took us shopping and then back to where all started, The Nairobi Serena Hotel. We were given a room to stay in for the day until it was time to go to the airport for our flight home. Joe and Melissa were with us in the van and when we got to the airport we said our good byes and bon voyages. The first leg of the trip was to Paris and there we boarded the Delta plane for the eleven hour flight home.