Ngorongoro Crater, part 4

We leave Tarangire and are behind George’s planned schedule due to the credit card snafu. Before long we turn on to a black top road and George has the Toyota zipping right along. I snap several photos of the fascinating local sights as we make our way towards the crater.

The land devoid of grass once we are outside the park

Notice the chef’s hat on the woman at this roadside cafe

George pulls into a gas station along the way to fill the trucks two fuel tanks. A young woman pumps the fuel while George goes into the station. The woman is singing and dancing while she fills the truck with gas. Once the nozzle has clicked off the woman goes to the back of the truck and begins rocking the Toyota. Then the station attendant walks to the front of the truck, grabs the grill and rocks the truck again. The woman glances at the pump, laughs and dances. The pretty lady does this several times. What the heck? Someone in our crew figures out that every time she rocks the vehicle the gas pump comes back on and runs a little bit more fuel into the trucks tank. Crazy. When George returns we ask about this trick the woman pulled. He laughs, shakes his head and says they are not supposed to do that but obviously he isn’t surprised that it took place. You learn something new every day.

Transporting wood via a bicycle!

Selling bananas and whatever that pink stuff is along the road.

We are climbing steadily as George navigates the winding road that takes us to the edge of Ngorongoro Crater. Stopping at a view-point we join other tourists to get our first look into the famous crater. Some of us have wandered back towards the truck when Jesse comes to tell us that George has spotted a black rhino from the viewing platform. We follow Jesse back to the deck where he patiently describes to us where the rhino is. Sure enough, though even through binoculars the rhino appears very small, there is no doubt that it is a rhino. The rhino is laying on bare ground and as I watch, the rare animal moves his head enough that I can see the outline of its horn. Wow, a nice way to start our visit to the crater. Thanks George!

Looking into the Ngorongoro crater from the view-point.

The umbrella acacias

Leaving the viewpoint, we travel along an extremely rough, curvy road to the entrance on the west side of the crater. Here we eat the boxed lunches that the Ang’ata camp sent with us while George goes to check us in and to arrange for a ranger to accompany us on our walk tomorrow. We are going to walk down into the Empakai crater tomorrow. When we have finished our lunch, we bounce down the road to the bottom of the Ngorongoro crater. We admire the exquisite umbrella acacias along the way. It isn’t long before we begin seeing herds of zebra, cape buffalo, and wildebeest. There are a few Hartebeest scattered here and there. We join another group of tourists in watching some recumbent lions. The lions are also being checked out by a cape buffalo. One lioness rises to her feet briefly then plops back down on the ground so we move on. Many of the wildebeest prefer laying in the road and seem to grumble at us when they are forced to get up and allow our Toyota to pass. I actually see one wildebeest immediately come back to the road and lay back down. George tells us the animals are so tame down here because they are never threatened by humans.

Wildebeest laying in the road

Cape Buffalo staring at one of the lionesses

As in Tarangire, we see hippo laying out of the water. It is afternoon and even though it is mostly cloudy this seems unusual to me. Connie and Carl commented that of all the hippos they encountered on their last safari they hardly saw any out of the water and those that did see on land were making their way back to the water. Hmm.

Are these hippos smiling?

Zebra in the crater

We find another large pride of lions as we go deeper into the park. I’m not sure who saw them but they are far from the road. The lions are piled together in a heap and they are keeping a wary eye on a few cape buffalo. We watch them for a while than move on to find a couple of scraggly hyenas taking a nap. There are two Grey crowned cranes standing near the road, such dignified birds. Perky little Thompson Gazelles can be seen everywhere.

The pride of lions, they were a long ways from us.

Raggedy looking Hyena

Now you know why they are called lesser and greater flamingos

As we near the lake, pink flamingos dot the shore, they are mostly the lesser flamingos but there are a few greater flamingos too. George stops the car so we can watch a yellow billed stork as it feeds. The large stork keeps its oversized yellow bill open and immersed in the water. The bird then uses its feet to herd frogs or fish into the trap that is its beak. In awe, I watch the show the stork is putting on but seeing the delight on George’s face gives me just as much joy. Here is a man who is taking tourists on safari day after day and yet he still shows an almost childlike pleasure in observing something he has probably seen hundreds of times.  George is obviously passionate about nature which makes him such a wonderful guide.

Catching lunch

The huge crowds of tourists in Ngorongoro crater that Paul and I have warned our safari mates about turns out to be false. Fourteen years ago, whenever you stopped to look at something there would be dozens of other vehicles parked along the road with everyone jockeying for a better position. It was not a fond memory for us. Today there were no other vehicles when we watched the pride of lions and only a couple of vehicles when we saw the trio of lioness. A nice surprise and we can’t really figure out why this would be. Perhaps it is because we didn’t come into the crater until early afternoon and the big crowds were here early this morning and have already departed.

Hartebeest

Everyone must be out of the crater before dark so it is time for us to go. One of the last things we witness is a golden jackal chasing a scrub hare. The hare makes a move worthy of a football running back and totally fakes the coyote-look-alike out. The last thing we see is the hare barreling in our direction as the jackal keeps running straight. We laugh out loud as the jackal skids to a stop and with a puzzled look on its face tries to figure out how his dinner just vanished into thin air.

A golden Jackal but not the one that got out foxed by the hare

Maasai women and donkeys laden with wood on the crater rim road

We are staying at Sopa Lodge which is built within yards of the craters’ edge. The Lodge is impressive and big. Once we have checked in we follow the porters to our rooms. The rooms are quite spacious although a bit worn. We have a glassed-in patio that looks over a grassy area and there is a small opening in the trees where we can catch a glimpse of the crater. Very nice.

The front of Sopa Lodge and the pool that animals use as a watering hole. Connie and Carl’s photo

All of us meet in the lobby before seven as we intend to be at the front of the line for the buffet dinner. When the doors are opened we are shown to a table and instructed that this will be our table for all of our other meals. A very efficient way to run the restaurant. The sumptuous array of food is amazing. Soups, salads, various meats, many kinds of bread and of course desserts are offered to Sopas’ patrons. It is hard to contain oneself from heaping your plate with food, as the urge to try everything is hard to suppress. Yes, I think we all ate too much but boy was it delicious. The wait staff later sang and danced to everyone’s delight. Wow, do they have beautiful voices.

The South Millers and the Gehrts rooms-24 &25, at Sopa Lodge. Connie and Carl were one tier below

Jesse and Jennifers’ room, ours was the same. Jesse’s photo

When going to and from your rooms after dark you must be escorted as animals from the crater often migrate onto Sopa’s grounds. Jennifer, Paul and me are told by our jolly escort that they have had leopard, elephant, cape buffalo and other animals drink out of the swimming pool at night. Since our chaperone is only armed with a flashlight I ask him if he will just throw the flashlight at an animal if it is threatening us. This makes him laugh loudly and then he proclaims that he will make gun noises which will make the animal run away. It is our turn to laugh out loud now.

This cloud flowing over the crater rim was the sight that greeted us this morning. Gorgeous

I had a good night’s sleep despite a really weird dream and I am ready for another adventurous day. After we have eaten breakfast we find George waiting for us in the lobby and we leave the lodge by 7:30. We pick up our ranger escort, a very young man, whose name is Zachari. Instead of a gun our protector is carrying a spear!

Maasai taking cattle out for the day

Maasai children by cattle corral

As we rock and sway through the vast landscape, Paul and I remember this area called the Embulbul depression with much fondness. Fourteen years ago, we were able to get out and walk among the Maasai who were scattered over these wide-open plains with their herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. In my memory I can still hear the Maasai singing to their cattle and the melodious sound of cow bells ringing as we strolled through the grassland. Today the Maasai are just beginning to move the cattle from the wooden corrals out into the plains where they will graze all day under the protection of herders. The grass is plentiful here and the colorful cattle are much fleshier than the cattle we saw around Tarangire. There is a scattering of wild life such as zebra, ostrich, golden jackals, a few solo wildebeest and Kori bustards. George informs us that the zebra will often join the cattle herds to graze knowing that they will be safe.

Zebra on the horizon of the Embulbul depression

We arrived at the trail head before ten and make use of the cement long drop that is not far from the road but still hidden from sight. As we prepare to begin our descent into the crater, we hear George tell Zachari to go “pole pole”, (polee, polee), which means to go very slow. Zachari looks over at George and replies “I will see you tomorrow”. This makes us bust out laughing. I don’t think it will take us quite that long. I suppose that five of us do look pretty ancient to this young buck.

Looking down on Emapakai Crater

Boy, Zachari took this pole pole order from George to heart. We are mincing along so slow that even I with my short stride feel like I am barely moving at times. There are spots along the trail, which is very steep in places, where the soil is loose and slick. I think all of us, except probably Jesse, slip and slide in places. We try to keep a fair distance between us and the person in front of us but at times we end up nearly treading on the persons heels in front of us. I have this vision of a domino affect where one person falls, taking down the person in front of them who repeats the action with the person in front of them. Fortunately, this scenario does not come to pass and we make it safely to the bottom of the crater. I am so glad that I have my hiking poles which helped steady me several times.

Paul resting once we reach the bottom of the crater

Zachari, his spear and the crew

It is stunning down here, with the deep green of the thick forest covering the sides of the crater complimenting the green tinged water of the large lake at the base of the crater. There are flamingos feeding in the alkaline water but no other wildlife shows itself. We have the crater to ourselves for most of the time we spend down here and we just enjoy the peaceful, wild place. Jesse and Zachari are in deep conversation as Jesse shows the ranger photos from Kansas on his phone. Since they both have a similar line of work the game warden and ranger have a lot to discuss. It is pretty darn cool to watch the young men converse and laugh as though they are steadfast friends. At some point during their visit, Jesse has taken possession of Zachari’s spear, a weapon I’m sure he has never handled before. The rest of us keep our distance and let the two handsome fellows enjoy their new-found camaraderie. This is a memory both men will remember for a long time I bet.

Studying photos on Jesse’s phone

Jesse and Zachari look like old friends

We share this special place briefly with a fit young couple before we turn to climb back to the top. Jennifer again falls in behind Zachari as he goes pole pole up the trail. Jennifer and I have a quick consultation and then Jennifer asks our protector if he can walk a bit faster. He looks surprised but does pick up the pace a bit. The altitude of Empakai is about 8,000 feet and the North Millers have a little trouble with the altitude as we ascend the trail. We go back to our pole pole pace stopping several times to rest and catch our breath. A group from Australia passes us on their way down the trail, the two couples are probably about the same age as us. A Maasai has a firm grip on one of the women’s arm and our eyebrows raise when we see that she is wearing moccasins. This looks like a disaster waiting to happen as I can’t imagine that her shoes have much tread. I hope they make it without any problems.

Leaving the crater floor. Jesse’s’ photo

Getting ready for lunch

George smiles broadly when he sees us emerge from the craters rim. George had hoped to trek to the bottom with us but since no one was around that could watch the truck he had to stay behind. We felt badly about that. George begins preparing a place for lunch as he puts down one of the Maasai blankets on the ground. We have box lunches from Sopa Lodge. Unlike the small camps we were able to order from a list of five entre which was really nice. Even so the lunch boxes have way too much food in them. There are three Maasai women plus I assume their husband who have set up a temporary duka offering beadwork in various kinds of jewelry. We ask George if it is okay to give them our extra food and he said it is. The man, taking nothing, gestures towards the women who gladly take the food. Jesse ends up buying some beaded bracelets from the trio to take home to his daughter. Sweet.

Time to head back to the Lodge. We are all feeling quite contented with the days adventure. Little do we know that the adventure isn’t over. We are enjoying the large flocks of sheep and goats spread over the open range as we drive through the Embulbul depression. BAM! I look behind me and ask Paul if that was a rock that hit the vehicle. No, it wasn’t, it seems the Massai boys that had run to the edge of the road begging us to stop took exception to the fact that we didn’t. We had all waved at them as we passed by and one little stinker threw his staff at us. He had good aim as it hit hard against Paul’s window. Thankfully the window was closed and thankfully the window didn’t break.

I have hardly had time to digest what has happened when the Toyota screeches to a halt. George and Zachari jump out leaving the doors wide open and begin running back to where the boys were standing. They aren’t standing there anymore, they are running as if their lives depend on it. Zachari, who is wearing rubber mud boots manages to corral one of the kids who immediately points at his fleeing cohorts, obviously putting the blame on them. He is telling the truth as he is still carrying his wooden staff. The ranger turns him loose and takes off after the four or five others who have a pretty good lead on the pursuers. George in the meantime is running down the road trying to head off a couple of the trouble makers at the pass. Two more of the boys have already crossed the road and are disappearing from sight.

Zachari closing in. Remember he is running in rubber boots. Jesse’s photo

George losing the race.  Remember this chase is at least 1/4 mile away. Jesse’s photo

Eventually, George and Zachari have to admit they are beaten as the boys that were still within reach find an extra spurt of speed and leave the two men doubled over trying to catch their breath. Paul and I estimate that the guys pursued the troublemakers for a good quarter of a mile before crying uncle. As the men return to the Toyota they are laughing. Upon reaching us they declare that this will be a lesson the boys will not soon forget. I got so caught up in watching the drama unfolding that I never snapped a single photo until after the fact. Then I took a few photos of the flock of goats that had been abandoned by all but two of the shepherd boys. Jesse has the presence of mind to get a couple of photos of the chase.

The scene where the incident took place. All quiet again

Down the road there is a truck which has a bunch of men in the front seat and more riding on a bench in the bed. George stops so Zachari can tell the elders what has taken place. Most of them nod solemnly but someone in our crew notices an old man in the back smiling and giving a thumbs up. Does that mean he is proud of what the little punk did or is he glad that the two men scared the heck out of them for doing it? George also informs us that if the boy had done damage to the vehicle, the family would have to pay for that damage. That is unless it is a very poor family and then they won’t take anything from them. Obviously, this kind of thing has happened before.

We continue through the depression and two different times some kids run up to beg but they happen to be on the side where our ranger is sitting and as soon as they see his hat, they turn tail and run. Whoa. We arrive back at Sopa Lodge without any more adventures!

Since it is mid afternoon we have some leisurely time to ourselves. After getting as much as possible packed in prep for our departure tomorrow, I sit and relax in our little patio. I am just gazing out over the grass and weeds when a movement catches my eye. Well now we know why they escort us to our rooms because there is a cape buffalo grazing in a tall patch of weeds. I knock on the Gehrt’s door, they are right next door and tell them of our visitor outside. When I return to our room, Paul is sitting in the patio and says there is a reedbuck out there too. It is a doe and when Paul first saw her a tiny baby was visible too.

The Maasai that danced for our entertainment. Jesse’s photo

Maasai men took turns seeing how high they could jump. Jesses’ photo

The Wabaunsee crew meets in front of the Lodge and we go to watch the Maasai dance program that is being performed on the lawn. There are both young men and young girls who sing and dance. The men also jump high into the air which is amazing in itself. When the dancers have finished we move into the lobby where we are given an encore as the troupe files into the lobby behind us. We enjoy the second performance just as much as the first one. We are some of the first into the restaurant again and a whole different array of food is laid out for the guests to enjoy. One of the best things I ate was a corn and pineapple salad. An odd combination but boy was it tasty.

The Wabaunsee county safari group at dusk at Sopa Lodge. Carl, Connie, Jesse, Jennifer, Nancy, Paul

We are escorted back to our room by the same jolly fellow as last night. This time his flashlight beam lights up a Cape buffalo calmly grazing at the edge of the lawn, not twenty yards from where we are walking. The old buffalo pays us no attention at all.

Next stop, Sanctuary Kusini camp. Later, Nancy

A Walk in Tarangire National Park, Part 3

After our late lunch we had a couple of hours to kill before our scheduled walk with a Ranger in the park. I took a short but much-needed nap which helped revive me. Four hours of sleep just isn’t enough!

Our group met at the main tent before 4p.m. eager to begin our bush walk. We stand around for half an hour but the camp manager is nowhere in sight. Suddenly George drives up and talks to some of the staff. George has nothing to do with arranging this walk but he says he will go to the ranger station and find out what is going on. George returns within minutes and asks if we have our signed forms. Signed forms, what signed forms? We tell him we have signed nothing but we all remember that the camp manager talked about us needing to sign release forms.

George, Allen the ranger, the guy from camp and Connie. This is Jesse G’s photo

George loads us up and drives us to the Ranger station. There is another man who goes along who must be affiliated with the camp. When we get to the Ranger station, George and the other fellow talk to the ranger on duty. The camp guy stays at the station while the ranger gets in the truck with us. George drives us to the airstrip which is just a few minutes away from the Rangers headquarters. George and the Ranger go to the small building and retrieve the liability forms which we dutifully fill out. Some of us question if we should even go on the walk, (and I am one of them), since we are starting an hour late and the sun will set in an hour and a half. George informs us that we will walk with the ranger, Allen, from here because the grass is too tall around the camp. Umm, the grass is pretty darn tall here.

Signing our release forms in order to be able to walk in the Park

Once we turn over our “it’s not our fault if you are attacked, injured, or killed” forms, Alan instructs us to walk in single file behind him, (like wart hogs do), and stay close. No one steps forward to be behind the man with the gun so I gladly fall in behind our stoic escort. Our lineup is Allen, me, Jennifer, Connie, Carl, Paul and Jesse. The little ranger strides out across the bush and soon we are traipsing through even taller grass. There are a family of wart hogs 200 yards in front of us that beat a hasty retreat when they see humans on foot.  Allen leads us down into a gully where the broad-leafed grass is waist-high so I hold my arms above my head to keep my hands from being scratched by the tough blades. As we emerge from the gully I see manure that is obviously from a Cape buffalo, it looks like cow poop. I nudge the pile with my toe and to my chagrin I find that the poo is still soft. I only see one pile of manure which indicates this is a lone cape, whom are considered the most dangerous to encounter because they don’t have the security of a herd. I’m not liking this at all.

The treking lineup minus Jesse who took the photo

Looking down on two of the elephants. Jesse G’s photo

We arrive at a road and I feel a surge of hope that now we will just walk down the road. No such luck as Allen crosses the road and returns to the bush. I reach out and touch our guardian, pointing to an elephant to our left which is only a couple of hundred yards away. My confidence falters when I realize that our protector hasn’t seen the behemoth. Allen stops to assess the situation, then moves forward, pointing out more elephants below us, feeding in a little swale. We are downwind of the elephant group and Allen confidently walks on by the dozen or so elephants. As we maneuver around the elephants they become more visible to us and we find that two of the big girls have very small babies. Elephants are very protective of their vulnerable babies and will form a circle around the youngsters to keep them safe. Amazingly the elephants have no reaction to we humans even though we have to be in their line of sight because we can see them clearly. I truly think they have no idea our group is near them.

Two adults and barely visible is one of the tiny babies of the group

We stumble on through more hip-high grass and I look back to see that Jennifer is also raising her arms above her head but she rests her hands on her head. It occurs to me that if anyone sees us it would appear as if we are under arrest. In fact at the end of our trek, Paul and Jesse laughingly tell us that we appeared to be in Allen’s custody as our arms reached for the sky. The only thing out-of-place is that the guy with the gun is walking ahead of us instead of behind us. Having passed by the elephants safely we continue to weave around in an uneven path through the bush. I see Allen peek at the phone in his pocket now and then and I am guessing he is checking the time. He must have orders to keep us out for a certain amount of time on our bush walk.

I do look like I have surrendered. Jesse G’s photo

The sun is getting lower in the sky and I ask Allen how much farther we have to walk before we meet up with George. He confidently answers ten or fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes later I am really getting concerned as we have reached that part of the day where it is getting dusky. I again ask our impassive escort how much longer before we arrive at our end point. Without blinking an eye Allen replies ten or fifteen minutes. Shortly after this exchange we find ourselves just below a road where several vehicles are parked. I ask Allen if we can walk down the road now. “No”. I ask Allen if he can call George to come to this place and pick us up. “No”. Why not? “Because I don’t have his number”. I have to remind myself of the phrase “That’s Africa Baby” and soldier on.

Stoic Allen checking on us

As we parade below the line of vehicles someone calls out in Swahili and has a conversation with Allen. The ranger nonchalantly informs us that the tourists are watching a lion over by the tree across the river. We all scan “the” tree but we don’t see a lion, we instead spot a big male leopard resting in the crotch of the tree. Wow, that is amazing but I’m darned glad that there is a large gully between us and that big cat. When we tell Allen that it is a leopard not a lion, he informs us that there is a lion by the “other” tree. All of us use our binoculars to scan the area around the “other” tree and the dead grass around its base. Near an old dead stump, Jesse and I see a lion’s tail flip into the air and then disappear back into the thick cover. I don’t think anyone else in our group saw the twitching tail but Jesse and I saw it several times. Hey, Jesse and I have a cat trick. Cheetah, leopard and lion in the same day! Just as we prepare to resume our walk, the leopard climbs out of the tree and saunters in the direction of the lion. This could be quite interesting as lions and leopards despise each other. We can’t stay to find out what might happen as the sun is sinking lower by the minute.

We now have George and the truck within our sight; he is parked by a bridge that traverses the river. We still have some ground to cover, 10 or 15 minutes yet, but at least we will make it to the safety of the Toyota before dark. I don’t mind admitting that from the time I saw the fresh Cape buffalo patty, I was not comfortable with this walk. I think our youngest member of the group, Jesse, loved it. I know others in our group were disappointed that there was no information relayed to us by Allen about the animals or plants we encountered during this foray. We just meandered through the bush behind him. I really don’t think Allen wanted to take us on this hike as his expression never changed the whole time we were with him. Paul and I have been on bush walks before which I absolutely loved but we were never in this kind of terrain. It was scary.

When we were all loaded in the van, I noticed that Jennifer had grass stains on her pants and I asked her what happened. Jennifer told us that at the beginning of the walk she had stepped on some flattened grass and ended up thigh deep in a hole with one of her legs. Only Connie and Carl saw it happen but stalwart Jennifer never said a word to the rest of us. Jennifer had broken her little toe a few days before we left for Tanzania and her toe was still very sore, this fall made it worse. So, the woman had to walk through rough terrain with a gimpy toe and sore leg for an hour! Jennifer actually apologized for slowing us down after she related the story of her fall. Are you kidding me? We all felt terrible about her having to walk while in pain but as usual Jennifer shrugged it off, saying what choice did I have. Hats off to our tough, matter-of-fact friend, she is something else.

Upon arriving at camp, we have dinner and the only part I remember was the sumptuous pumpkin soup. Shortly after eating we left for the only night drive we will have on this safari. The camp provided the vehicle and driver plus Ally who did the spot lighting. Our friend Allen was riding shotgun with his rifle, I assume he was along to make sure no rules were broken by us, like driving off-road. Ally was a very nice, personable fellow and you could tell he loved this wild place.

One of our first encounters was a huge herd of zebra walking across the road into an open field, where Ally said they would spend the night. We also saw a white-tailed mongoose, impalas, and two bat-eared fox early in the drive. The quiet night was suddenly filled with the roaring of lions. Ally had our driver turn the lights and engine off and told us we should experience that awesome sound in complete darkness. The powerful roars reverberating through the night seem to penetrate to your bones. A very humbling experience.

We continue down the road as Ally sweeps his light back and forth. I am sure it is Jesse that sees the first male lion. Get used to me saying, Jesse saw it first. The big guy is laying by a clump of grass that is the same color as he is so the lion is very hard to see. When the magnificent cat raises his head we all are able to spot him but as soon as he lowers that massive head he is almost invisible. We move on when Connie thinks she sees something next to a large clump of dried grass. Yes, there is something there but we debate whether it is a living creature or a log. After some time, I believe it is Jesse who manages to figure out that indeed it is a prone male lion. Once Jesse describes how the lion is lying down, with his head to our left, it becomes apparent that indeed this is a second male lion. Well done Connie!

We leave the lazy lion behind and drive by a small herd of elephants that have a tiny baby in their midst. Ally keeps the spotlight off to the side because he says that elephants have been known to charge when you spotlight them directly. Yikes. As we drive away they look like grey ghosts in the black night. We also see ostrich bedded down so all that is visible are there skinny necks topped with their small heads sticking up out of the grass. It is quite a silly sight and it makes us laugh.

Male Lion walking toward our truck

We are headed back to camp when out of the gloom a male lion appears, walking down the road towards us. All of us go a little crazy at the sight of the approaching lion. The lion blinks a little at the bright headlights but he has no fear of the vehicle. Mr. Magnificent walks within inches of our front bumper, veers sharply and walks alongside the vehicle. Once he is past the truck he promptly goes back to walking in the road. The handsome male stops a few yards behind us so our driver backs up to get us closer in order to see what the cat is up to. The lion has stopped to sniff at something by the side of the road. The big male wrinkles his nose and opens his mouth in a gesture that is known as the Flehmen reaction, then as mysteriously as he had appeared he disappears into the darkness of the night. This was so cool.

The Flehmen face.

We were told that we should tip Allen for taking us on the trek and accompanying us on our night drive. I shake his hand and leave the crisp five-dollar bill in his hand at the same time. Hey, the guy can smile!

We had a very long day but boy was it a wow day! I’m afraid we have been very spoiled in the first two days of this safari and now will expect every day to be this exceptional.

LEAVING TARANGIRE

We were serenaded by lions in the night again and this time they sounded very close. I have no idea how far or in what direction from the camp the two male lions we saw last night were, but I assume the roars were from the duo we encountered on our night drive.

Hamerkop with more material in its beak to build the nest

We have our luggage and ourselves loaded into the Toyota by seven. We have given our card containing the tip money to the staff and said our goodbyes and we drive away from Ang’ata camp at a quarter after seven. We see the usual fare of grazers, (doesn’t that sound jaded already?), that we have encountered the past couple of days. George comes to a stop when he finds a pair of Hamerkops busy building their huge nests. The prehistoric looking birds carry small sticks, clumps of dried grass, and an occasional beak full of dirt to create this oversized nest. George says they build two entrances, one that they will use and a false entrance that will hopefully fool predators, like snakes, to use the fake opening. How in the world do birds figure this stuff out? And while I’m on the how part, I’m always in awe of the incredible nests most birds build. No one teaches them how to do this task, how can they just know? I find it mind-boggling.

The prehistoric looking hamerkop

When we reach the Park gate, George tells us that we might as well get out and walk around as checking out and paying for our stay in the park can take some time. This turns out to be the understatement of our trip. We all pay a visit to the nice rest rooms, wander around the outdoor exhibits of maps and animal skulls, look into the gift shop and return to the truck. George comes over and informs us that he is having trouble with the credit card being accepted so he has to contact the company and it will be a bit longer.

The only photo of a Von der Decken’s hornbill that I took even tho we saw lots of them.

Connie, Jennifer, and I climb the stairs that lead us up to a deck built in a baobab tree. The views are spectacular up here. As I am descending the steps I see two Von der Decken’s Hornbills reaching into a small crevice in one of the baobabs limbs. They will probe the crevice and then fly to the railing. At one point as the hornbills are perching, I see a lovebird poke its head out of the hole. Later I ask George if the hornbills were trying to catch and eat the beautiful little bird. His answer was absolutely they were.

These beauties are lovebirds.

We gather at the truck again to find out not only has the company card been rejected but George’s card has also been rejected. It is Park policy not to take cash or this wouldn’t be a problem. We can’t leave until our bill is paid and although it pains George to ask, he wonders if one of us will use our card. Paul and I agree to using ours somewhat reluctantly but what choice is there. Our card goes through without any problem and we are set free! George wants to pay us back with cash on the spot but Paul tells him to keep the cash until we are ready to leave Africa. Neither of us want to be responsible for carrying all that money around.

We now leave Tarangire and our next stop will be the Ngorongoro Crater. Nancy

Tarangire National Park, Part 2

Baby impalas

Our drive into the park has barely begun when we catch sight of a small herd of impalas, some vervet monkeys, and one huge bull elephant. As George drives slowly along we comment on how one side of the road is devoid of grass and the other side has abundant grass, albeit very dry grass. When we quiz George on this oddity he informs us that the grubbed side is not part of the Park and the Maasai have grazed their cattle here. Wow, none of us can figure out how the grassland can recover after being this overused.

Zebra at the beginning of our game drive

We see a few zebra and Connie and Carl comment that they have now seen more zebra than they did on their safari last spring which was in Botswana and Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The North Millers, (C&C live north of I70, we live south of I70), also saw one lone wildebeest on that safari which they dubbed Willie. That record is soon to be broken too.

I am sure I see a giraffe in the distance as we are driving through the park but it looks odd so I’m not positive. I ask George to back up and am subject to some “sure you saw it” ribbing when I can’t locate anything. Finally, I find the long-necked creature but no wonder the giraffe was hard to find. The Maasai giraffe is standing with its front legs splayed, head down, browsing on a low bush or grass an uncommon stance for a giraffe that is eating. George says “good spot” which is always satisfying when your guide gives you a verbal pat on the back.

A small portion of the wildebeest that were surrounding this water hole

Another view of the water hole

A bit further on we come upon a myriad of wildebeest and zebra which are scattered around a waterhole. There are also a few olive baboons foraging in the brownish grass.  Many of the wildebeest are just lounging about, some are grazing and a couple are drinking from the small pond. I think our traveling companions are a bit astonished with the number of critters in such a small area. Paul and I have seen this before and we are still in awe of all the life that this small body of water is sustaining. George finds a monitor lizard near the water’s edge half hidden under a bush.

One of many baboons we saw.

A lot of photos are taken, particularly by Jesse and me, in fact Paul doesn’t even take his small camera out and Jennifer has only brought her phone to take photos with. Why not, phone cameras take really good photos and they are much more convenient than the big cameras. George continues down the dusty road and we see many small waterholes that are nearly dry or completely dry. Now we know why the animals were so congregated around the two ponds we passed earlier.

An African Jacana that is foraging on a small pond that is choked with water plants

Giraffe, zebra and a wildebeest

Soon we see several graceful giraffes, browsing in trees or bushes. A few of them are on the move and I love watching the elegant animals as they seemingly glide over the land. We drive along a dry river bed and there is a lone elephant sipping water from a hole he has dug. The colorful bluffs behind him make for an image that I won’t soon forget. The elephant will leave the small hole of water open where other animals/birds will benefit from the tusker’s excavation. I am so happy to be back in Africa!

This landscape can even make an elephant look small

Elephants dining on leaves and a couple of impalas

The calm Cape buffalo herd

As we drive deeper into the park we come across lots of elephants, such regal creatures. An enormous herd of Cape buffalo are standing near the roads edge, the sunrays making the buffalo’s backs glow. As we watch the sedate herd, they peer back at us with no snorty animosity like many cape buffalo we have encountered on other safaris. Jesse opens the door on the far side from the buffalo herd, and says he is going to “check the tires”. There is a collective gasp from the rest of us and mom informs her son he must always ask permission before getting out of the vehicle. In the “youngster’s” defense he is a game warden so knows how to read an animal’s body language. The Capes were so uninterested in us and calm that I am sure Jesse thought if he was on the side away from the beasts it would be okay. Yikes. George finds another area he deems safe for the bathroom break, where Jesse has a group of banded mongooses cross the road as he “checks the rear tires”. No danger from those cute little guys.

No animosity towards us from this old grandma

Banded Mongooses or Mongeese if you prefer. Both are correct.

As we are touring through more open country, George stops the vehicle and looks through his binoculars. We all raise our binoculars scanning the area that he is looking at. Soon he puts lowers his binoculars and declares “a bush faked me out” which sent us all into peals of laughter. We are all going to get “faked out” numerous times before this safari is over but it is better to take a look rather than ignore an “an animal like thing” simply for your peace of mind.

We encountered a lot of shy giraffe on this safari but these two were willing to have their photo taken

Male ostrich and baboons at a pool that is close to drying up

A bold wart hog

As our journey continues we spy several ostriches, these half-feathered birds are so huge and quite odd-looking, not that they give a hoot what we humans think of their appearance. We see numerous wart hogs and the unusual thing about these wild hogs is that they don’t run as soon as we stop the vehicle. Usually wart hogs turn and run in single file, with their skinny tails lifted straight up. Of course, there are so many different kinds of birds around it is simply astonishing. The interesting and numerous birds is another reason I love Africa. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the grand baobab trees that dot this park. These massive trees top my list of favorite African trees with the acacia tree a close second.

Zebra and a giant baobab tree

George drives really fast the last few miles to camp and we have a preview of what is to come in the following days. We hang on for dear life as we bounce and jounce down the rutted, washboard, road. As we pull into Ang’ata camp there is a welcoming committee waiting for us with hot wash cloths to wipe our dusty faces and a cold drink of juice to refresh us. After a briefing of camp policy and the details of our walk tomorrow, plus a night drive, we are shown to our tents. The tents are very basic fare but the one feature that puzzles us is the slatted wooden floor. You best not drop anything small on the floor or it will likely disappear down one of the cracks. Paul is using the toilet when he lets me know he is having a staring contest with a mouse. When he emerges from the lavatory he cautions me to carefully look around the room and check the floors when I get up at night. His reasoning is that if a mouse can get in the tent so can a snake. I will take that advice to heart.

Our tent at Ang’ata Tarangire camp

All of us order our hot water for our showers. With the bucket shower set up you must get wet, turn the water off, lather up and then rinse off. You get one bucket of hot water each so you don’t want to run out. Feeling refreshed after our showers, we get our stuff somewhat organized in what will be our home for the next two nights and then walk up to the dining tent.

Supper is at 7:30, too late for me, but I might as well get used to it. There is cream soup, not leek, and as usual it is delicious. Africa has the best soup I have ever tasted and if I was smart I would stop eating after the soup and the roll. I don’t though and we all enjoy the beef, potatoes, and the carrots/beans we are served. How they turn out such terrific food from these small camps I will never know.

Oh dear, Paul and I were assigned tent one which is just a stone throw from the dining area. Some of the other guests are having a good time, laughing and talking until after 11 p.m. Unfortunately, we are privy to every bit of the party. Paul manages to fall asleep but not me. I write in my journal and sigh with relief when the guards lead the revelers to their tents. Someone says lala salama to one of the guests who then calls the phrase out as he walks down the path by our tent. I hear him saying good night in Swahili until his voice finally dwindles away in the distance. We discover another problem with our tent when the wind comes up during the night. The canvas flaps and the tent shudders when it is hit with gusts of wind. Paul and I also hear something digging near our tent and what sounds like little creatures scurrying over the canvas roof. The good news is that I also hear lions roaring, hyenas whooping and some unidentified animal running down the path, twittering nonstop as if it is chastising itself for being behind schedule.  I finally give up and take half an Ambien, managing to get four hours of sleep with the drugs help.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if this is a sunrise or sunset at Ang’ata but regardless it is spectacular

Up this morning at 5:20 and our arrival at the dining tent coincides with a spectacular sunrise. We were supposed to eat at 6 a.m. but we didn’t get our breakfast until 6:30. George had hoped to be on our game drive by then if not sooner. There was a lone elephant eating leaves from a tree as we left camp. We stopped to take a photo of the enormous fellow stripping and munching on the leaves but he promptly stops eating, and turns to give us a view of his better side. On the North Millers last safari this was referred to as the African salute. It was amazing how often this happened on our safari. As soon as we had driven off, we looked back to see the elephant happily munching on the tree again. I guess the animals are sick of having their photos taken.

An elephant giving us the African salute

We drive through herds of zebra, impalas, and wildebeest. There are numerous ostriches, and Paul and I comment how we have hardly seen any ostrich on our last two or three safaris. It is good to see so many of the half-naked birds as they prance around on feet that resemble high heels. How can you take them seriously?

I think this is the mother cheetah. It was pretty hard to tell them apart.

One of the young cheetah is waiting to ambush his sibling. Can you find it?

The Siblings as Mom has already went up the bank and is lying in the grass

As we are approaching a river, George calls out that he sees cheetah. Are you kidding me. Jesse immediately finds the sleek cats and the rest of us soon have them in our sight. The North Millers had ordered cheetah on this safari since they were didn’t see any of the speedy cats on their last safari. Well, they are being given the gift of three of the beautiful felines, a mother and two nearly grown cubs. The sinuous cats seem to have no problem with us watching them as they continue along the river bed, coming in our direction. The two cubs occasionally chase each other before flopping down to rest after the expended energy. Mom even joins in the play briefly. Eventually, they climb up the bank on the opposite side and disappear into the tall, yellow, grass. We catch a glimpse of a head now and then as they continue walking which soon puts them on our left side instead of the right side. Soon the trio are fully visible and saunter to a grassless area above the river bank and plop down. How cool is this to have three gorgeous spotted cats allowing us to enjoy them with no qualms about our presence. Granted there is a fair distance between our car and the cats but still.  We have had the pleasure of watching the cheetah family for a good half hour and we have had them all to ourselves. Unreal. Just as we are pulling away two vehicles are making their way towards us. Enjoy the cheetah folks.

Where did mom go?

The cheetahs once they had come back into full view. Beautiful

What is that look?

One last shot of the cheetahs.

George was taking us to the Silale swamp when we were side tracked by the cheetah. His plan was to get there early in order to find the predators that hang around this oasis due to the many grazers that come here to drink. Well, we don’t get to the swamp until mid-morning and the heat has ramped up so more than likely the lions and leopards are settled down for the day. Hey, seeing the cheetah was well worth the delay.

A tiny bit of the endless line of Cape buffalo walking along the swamp edge

As George motors along the road parallel to the swamp we can see lines of Cape buffalo coming towards us. George says they are looking for a good water hole to drink from. This herd is not placid like the first buffalo we encountered and in fact are downright unwelcoming to us. Many shake their ponderous heads at us and snort their displeasure at our presence. George says this is because the buffalo herd has so many small calves among them. At one point a group breaks off the endless line of the main herd and runs across the road in front of us. Great, now we are basically surrounded by cantankerous bovines. I can’t remember what George does, (rev his engine?) to keep the buffalo at bay but when he gets past the bunch that split off, he drives off-road for a bit putting more distance between our vehicle and the parade of Capes that are walking near the road. Thank you, George, Cape buffalo scare the bejesus out of me. We estimated that there were around one thousand buffalo making the trek to water. Seriously.

Are you talking to me?

We continue down the dirt lane where we encounter some other safari vehicles. George stops to talk to many of them and all of us enjoy listening to Swahili being spoken at lightning speed, with a drawn out ahhh or ehhh to punctuate the conversation. Sort of like our “hmm” or “really” in our own conversations I suppose. Unlike a lot of guides we have had, George informs us that there is a leopard in a tree up ahead. Are you kidding me, cheetah and now possibly a leopard.

A candelabra tree with the always photogenic zebra

Advancing down the road we see several vehicles tightly grouped under a large tree. There is no doubt where the leopard is. George expertly maneuvers our Toyota into the scrum of safari trucks, getting us into a good position to see the small leopard that is sleeping on a large limb. How the feline can sleep with all the excited chatter that is permeating the air I don’t know but sleep she does. George has informed us that it is a young female. After taking numerous photos from this angle of the leopardess, George moves into a different position so we can see  both the young cat and the hapless impala that the huntress has stashed in the fork of the tree. We spend ten minutes or so with the stunning cat and move on to make room for other onlookers.

The sleeping leopard.

She opened her eyes briefly

The leopardess and the half eaten impala. I’m always in awe with a leopards ability to pull their kill into a tree.

We head back in the direction we came from enjoying the abundance of wildlife along the way. There are hippos laying on the shore sound asleep and I can’t figure out why they aren’t in the water since they are prone to sunburn. Weird. There is a delicate reed buck grazing in the swamp and a variety of water birds. Herons, ibis, openbills, ducks and geese everywhere you look. We stop at a picturesque area for tea and to stretch our legs. I forgo the offered beverage but enjoy all the life that is around us. When we drove up a common waterbuck and her small baby ran into the trees but stopped long enough for us to get some photos. How cute is that!

Pretty Reedbuck

What a sweet baby waterbuck

George drives around the edge of the swamp so we are driving on the opposite side of where we had been. He has reports from fellow guides that there were lions over here but we have no luck finding them. If they are lying down in the tall grass only the flick of a tail or a raised head would ever give them away.

View of the oasis surrounded by dead grass

We do stop and watch a lilac-breasted roller decimate a large grass hopper he has caught. The roller wallops the insect against the limb of the dead shrub he is perched on trying to remove the wings. When the colorful bird has accomplished the wing removal the next task is to position the hopper so it can be swallowed whole. What a lot of energy it takes just to eat your lunch. The whole process was highly entertaining.

Lilac-breasted Roller and lunch

Flipping the grasshopper in the air to reposition it

George puts the pedal to the metal as we head back to camp. It seems we are late for lunch. What a half day this was and those of us who have been to Africa tell the newbies they have no idea how fortunate they have been this morning. Later, Nancy

A zebra with an old scar. How did it survive?

One of the larger groups of Ostrich we saw. Often it was two or three together.

Tarangire had a restroom and as you can see it was taken advantage of.

Destination Tanzania, part one

It all started with a request from Connie and Carl after their return from an African adventure, that they would like to see the plains of Africa. The North Millers wondered if we would be interested in traveling to Africa with them. That question was like waving a piece of cheese in front of a hungry mouse! We were more than willing to visit the African continent with good friends, (no relation despite the same last name).

Paul grabbed the reins and volunteered to do the research and lay out a plan for an adventure in Tanzania. Paul spent hours researching companies, guides, what parks to visit and came up with a safari that would retrace a lot of the places that we had been on our first safari to Tanzania nearly 14 years ago. During the initial planning we added two more friends to the group, Jennifer and Jesse Gehrt, mother and son.

A year later on August 17th the four Millers and Jesse are on the way to the Kansas City airport. We are leaving behind one of the worst droughts in Wabaunsee county since the early 80’s, (but that is another story). One of the last things I said to our partner Randall is that I hoped he would have to put water gaps in while we were gone. Yes, only five of us are leaving this morning for the airport. Jennifer had meetings in Omaha this week and will be arriving in Washington D.C. on a later flight.

Our flight out of KC was uneventful except the precheck ticket we were so delighted with getting turned out to be useless for Paul and Carl. Paul’s artificial knee made the metal detector buzz and he got to enjoy a close encounter with a TSA agent.  Carl also tripped the alarm and underwent the same scrutiny by a TSA worker as Paul did.

We spent the night in D.C. and were up early to eat breakfast and then we were delivered to the airport four hours before our flight. Jennifer arrived in D.C. late last night so we didn’t see her until this morning.  We are flying Ethiopian Airlines to Africa due to the fact that it was 900 dollars cheaper than the flight that went to Amsterdam on KLM. Also, because the Ethiopian flight arrives in Tanzania by early afternoon while the KLM flight arrived at ten p.m.

On the Ethiopian website it cautioned passengers flying out of Dulles to arrive four hours before departure. It doesn’t take us long to figure out why this was requested of passengers. We get in line behind people who have huge piles of large suitcases stacked haphazardly on carts to be checked through. We watch two men who have their bulky suitcases numbered, one through ten. In addition, they have two big screen TVs, 65-inch screens, that is part of the loot they are taking back to Ethiopia. Yow, I wonder what that cost them as you are allowed two check through bags that can’t weigh over fifty pounds. It takes forever for those two men to get all their luggage checked in and there are many more Ethiopians behind us that have a similar amount of baggage. I wonder if the airline ever has to turn people’s luggage away due to excess weight for the plane. (Later when we board Paul happens to hear the captain say they will have to use a longer runway to take off due to the weight of the plane. Jeez.)

We reach the check-in counter where we check one duffel bag. Normally, we don’t check a bag but we wanted our walking sticks and they can’t be carried on. The North Millers have no check through luggage but the Gehrts check one bag each. We look behind us and realize that coming as early as we did was very wise because the line has lengthened considerably. It takes so long for the people who have the mountains of luggage to check, that even though we were not that far back in line, it took close to an hour to get through. Once we are in our assigned seats it becomes quite entertaining to watch people trying to fit bags in the overhead that are in no way going to fit!

Mt. Kilimanjaro-truthfully this was on our bush plane flight at the end of the safari

Thirteen hours later with little sleep we land in Addis Ababa where we have to change planes for our final leg of the journey. We walk into the dreariest terminal I have ever been in. We have a three-hour layover and there are no kiosks here to buy any water or snacks. There is a dirty looking water dispenser where the water is supposedly filtered but I and nobody else in our group are going to take the chance of drinking it.  Our plane arrives 15 minutes before takeoff but they load the jet quickly and we arrive in Kilimanjaro early. We did see the snow-capped top of Kilimanjaro as we winged our way to the airport which was pretty cool.

There was a woman near us on the plane which implored us to get to the declaration desk, fill out our forms quickly and try to be some of the first in line for a visa. She warned us that if we didn’t do this we could easily stand in line for our visa over two hours. I am proud to say our group managed to do exactly as she suggested and we were within the first twenty or so to get our visas. Looking back at the throng of people in the queue for entry visas it was obvious these weary travelers’ were in for a long wait.

Approaching Kilimanjaro, again this was at the end of our safari

We found our checked through luggage waiting for us and after sending it through an x-ray machine on the way out(why?), we walked through the door to find our Wild Source driver, Marium, waiting for us. We loaded our luggage and ourselves in the vehicle and sat back to enjoy the sights on our hour drive to the Rivertrees Country Inn. We had many questions for Marium on the way about the various things we were seeing. Jesses’ camera, and he has a really nice camera, was clicking steadily as we drove the African roads documenting the culture of Tanzania along the way. My camera is packed away in luggage or I would have joined Jesse in snapping away with my camera. Ah it is good to be back in Tanzania.

The Rivertrees Country Inn grounds are gorgeous and the rooms are very nice. There is a small river behind our room whose gurgling water adds to the soothing atmosphere of this lodge. After we showered, it’s been a long time since our last shower, we meet our travel mates to explore the grounds and get some much-needed exercise. Oh yes, Paul and I took cold showers since no one showed us where to turn the water heater on Oh well, it still felt good to have a shower. Connie and Carl also showered with cold water but the lucky Gehrts water heater was on.

This duplex was assigned to the North and South Millers

We walk the paths of Rivertrees enjoying the various trees and flowers that grow profusely on the grounds. Some of us enjoy a beer and Jesse skypes with his family in Kansas. Isn’t that just amazing? Later we meet for supper where Paul and I enjoy a bowl of leek soup plus French fries, an odd combination but it hit the spot. Paul and I sleep well except the soup lives up to its name so to speak 🙂 and we have to visit the restroom two or three times during the night. We recall that this soup had the same effect on us one other time while we visited Africa, so no more leek soup for us.

Paul checking out Rivertrees gardens

We all meet for breakfast and then Paul and I stroll around the grounds a bit. A worker sees our binoculars and flaps his arms and uses his hands to show the size of the bird. He motions for us to follow him and leads us to a small tree behind the restaurant where an immature African wood owl, (I think), is perched behind some branches. We thank the mute worker for taking time to show us the owl. He nods his head in acknowledgment and then goes back to work.

An African Wood Owl, at least that is what Paul and I decided it was using the bird book

Our guide, George Mbwambo, arrives by nine and we introduce ourselves. Paul requested George as our driver/guide after seeing that so many people on safari talk had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. After paying for our drinks and checking out, we load up in the 7 passenger seat Toyota truck and are ready to begin our Tanzanian adventure with George.

Our superb guide George. A special man.

Paul checking out our ride

When we reach Arusha, George takes us to a supermarket so we can buy beer. Paul and Jesse peruse the beer offerings while we three women walk around this impressive modern store. We are in awe of how neat everything is and the variety of offerings, including lots of American brand items. There are women with brooms and dustpans that are ready to sweep up any bit of dirt they see. When we wander back to the cashier area we see that the guys had to pay for the beer with a credit card as they won’t take American dollars. This is very unusual as we were told most everyone in Tanzania will gladly take U.S. money. George was very surprised at this news. Oh yes, the beer cost just a bit more than a dollar per bottle!

Onward through the chaotic traffic of Arusha and then we break free of the city into the country. There are Masai seemingly everywhere with cattle, goats and sheep. We have no idea how the animals are surviving in this dry, dusty landscape because the grass is nonexistent for the most part, literally grazed down to the dirt. There are young men dressed all in black with bright white designs painted on their faces. George tells us that this is the year for the circumcision ritual called emorata that happens every seven years.

We saw many of these young men in this area

Paul requested that we attend a cattle market and luckily for us there is one taking place today even though it is Sunday. The main market is right by the road where Masai are selling produce, grain, jewelry, shoes and about any other thing you can think of. We walk through the market taking in the color and atmosphere of the gathering. Unfortunately, George tells us to only sneak photos with a phone as the people don’t like to be photographed. Jesse manages to be very discreet and snaps photos as we move through the open-air market. It is very hard to leave my camera in the bag as we walk through this colorful gathering.

Photos taken by Jesse on the sly with his phone. Good job Jesse

Turning tire tread into sandals. Notice the brand new pieces of tire?

Leaving the main area behind we walk a quarter of a mile to where the livestock is being sold. Unlike livestock markets in the U.S. where we have an auction, the Masai bargain privately with potential buyers. George approaches one young cattle owner who seems receptive to visitors and asks the Masai questions for us. George tells us that the best cattle will bring 250 dollars. Paul has brought a few of our cattle photos along and he shows them to the friendly Masai. Pretty soon a few more Masai are gathered around looking at our cattle. Paul tells George to ask them if they think our cattle are too fat and we find out the Masai do think our black cows are overweight! They are mesmerized by the photos we have of our cattle in snow. I’m not sure some of them ever figured what the heck that white stuff was. The cattlemen drift away, going back to the business at hand which is trying to find buyers for their cattle.

Now you can see why they think our cattle are too fat.

Cattle market. This ground is a good example of what we saw in Masai land. What do these animals eat?

They sell goats and sheep here too. Again all market photos were taken by Jesse

We walk back to the Toyota, making our way through several people trying to sell us souvenirs, and continue towards Tarangire National Park. Once inside the gates of the park, George hands out our lunch boxes that Rivertrees staff made for us and we eat at a small picnic ground near the park entrance. There is a White crowned shrike, a Von der Decken’s Hornbill, and many superb starlings, (boy are they aptly named), hanging around hoping for a dropped crumb of food. After we have finished eating we are ready to enter the park and officially start our safari. Later, Nancy