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Laurie: Your trip report is sensational, and especially so with your marvelous photos incorporated as part of it. On my iMac desktop they are very large and that makes your report really superb. Thanks for all the trouble to take sensational photos and then to write in such great detail about it all. It is a must read!
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Ahhh Bless your heart laurieco.
Thanks you for more reporting and those lovely pictures. |
Glad you had a good weekend Laurieco. Thanks for more photos. Oh that beautiful E. Africa landscape!
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The following morning I was sad to say goodbye to the Kitela Lodge, but we were on our way to the main event: the Serengeti. The drive took about 5½ hours to get to our next lodge, the Kiota Camp, in the central Serengeti. It was difficult as we were thrown around quite a bit, but much of it was a game drive. Just before the entrance to the Serengeti, there were Masai children gathered. The Masai are not permitted in the Serengeti as no farming or cultivation of the land is allowed. The children wanted to have their pictures taken with the people entering the Serengeti, for a fee of course. I complied. After going through the gate and into the Serengeti, we drove for a few kilometers until we came to a small complex where Silas registered us and the vehicle and paid for the passes. We had time to use the rest rooms, look in the gift shop and then walk around a bit. I bought a t-shirt as a souvenir from the place that inspired the trip. We then climbed a hill that afforded a view of the Serengeti and its vastness. Of course we could only see a small portion of the park as the Serengeti is about 12,000 square miles.
The Serengeti is known for the largest mass movement of land animals on Earth, the Great Migration, which occurs from about June through October, when 1.5 million wildebeest, 500,000 zebras, and hundreds of thousands of other animals make their way north through the Serengeti and into Kenya to the Masai Mara. The animals must cross the crocodile infested Mara River in order to get there. Seeing the Great Migration and the Mara River crossing is the highlight of many peoples' trips to Tanzania. The migration also occurs from about January to March, in the opposite direction. The animals make a sort of loop from the Ngorongoro Region as they follow the rains, and the resulting food (grazing). Of course, as the wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and other animals migrate, the predators are not far behind. Within a few kilometers of leaving the area where we registered, we saw a female lion who appeared to be stalking zebra. She was no more than 15 feet from the road. We stopped to watch for a bit. We do not know if she was successful in her hunt. I did not particularly want to see a kill. I would not mind seeing a hunt, nor would I mind seeing the lions feasting on their kill immediately after, but I really do not want to see the actual kill because I don't think I could stand to see an animal suffer like that. I understand that the predators must kill in order to survive, I just wish it didn't have to be that way. On more than one occasion, I've wished aloud to DH that all animals, including humans, were vegetarians. The amount and diversity of animals in the Serengeti is enormous. There were herds of animals everywhere. Herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, gazelle, impala, giraffe, buffalo, and prides of lions. I cannot even count how many lions we saw, some extremely close. We got to our camp in time for lunch, and were able to freshen up and rest a bit before going on a late afternoon drive. The Kiota Camp is a fairly new permanent camp in the central Serengeti, with large ensuite tents, and bucket showers. It was my first experience taking a bucket shower and I'm happy to report that I got through it unscathed. It really was fine. Staff heat water and stand outside, on the other side of the wall to the shower room and pour the hot water in a tub. In the shower room is a shower head with two pull chains, one to have the water flow, and one to stop the flow. As soon as you are wet, you stop the water in order to conserve it, soap up, start the water again to rinse off. I never made it through a shower with just one bucket of water. When the water runs out, you just call out "more water please" and the staff pours another bucket in. The Kiota does not include alcoholic beverages, but prior to leaving Karatu, we stopped at a store and picked up a bottle of wine to enjoy on our veranda and in the room. Our late afternoon/evening game drive was fabulous, with the Serengeti delivering on my lofty expectations. That will come in the next segment. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ce2ae743bf.jpg Entrance to Serengeti https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc86590682.jpg Giraffe in the Serengeti https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2bc1f4db1f.jpg Stalking lioness https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...94f29adba9.jpg Our tent at Kiota Camp https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3da36dcbc4.jpg Giraffe grazing on the iconic Acacia tree of the Serengeti https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ca86045911.jpg Elephant in the Serengeti (can never have too many photos of these endearing creatures) https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b9776c7586.jpg Serengeti water buffalo |
Out of africa
loving your detail as usual
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Out of africa
loving your detail as usual
sounds like you had a really great and smooth trip for once, once all the airline snafus were ,out of the way |
Loving your photos - waiting to have time to actually read your report!
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Thank You
I am following this along laurieco that picture posting above of "Entrance to the Serengeti". does this not begin a long dusty, bumpy gravel road, or has to road improved somewhat ? |
No Percy, the road is still dirt and gravel. I think there was some controversy over paving roads within the Serengeti, but happily those plans have been shelved. This is a nature preserve, not an amusement park.
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laurieco That is what I was told when I was there , that there was controversy over the paving of the road.
So I guess the Tanzania Government must had shelved the idea of paving the road. I recall When I was on this road, there was not much traffic, but he road is spotted with dust clouds in the distance, signifying a vehicle at each cloud of dust. Thank You |
great start Laurie.... anxious to read more
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Aww, thanks! Glad you are enjoying it! High praise coming from you Bob! I'm getting ready to write more, I need to do this before my memory starts to fade. I really wish I would have kept a diary. I think about doing that on trips, but never have.
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After lunch and a bit of a rest, we set out for a game drive. Within a few minutes, Silas got word of a leopard sighting. Of course he headed right over. There were already quite a few vehicles there, but after a bit, we were able to get a good viewing spot. This was one of the few times where we had to contend with a lot of other vehicles. The leopard was in a tree, seemingly oblivious to all the people oohing and aahing over it. It was a stunning animal. We stayed there for quite a while, along with most everyone else. No one wanted to leave.
After we finally bid farewell to the leopard, we drove for a little while and came upon lions lying in the grass. There looked to be maybe two or three lions. All of a sudden, about 9 heads popped up in unison! I don't know what they heard that got all of their attention but it was quite a sight. It was like a bunch of jack-in-the-boxes all opened at once, but with lion heads. They were all females. There were very few vehicles there so we were able to get quite close. The Serengeti was fast becoming my favorite place, and we hadn't even gotten to the northern Serengeti to witness the Great Migration yet. We drove around for awhile, watching gazelles and other animals. Silas taught us how to tell the difference between gazelles and impalas. Only male impalas have horns, and they are bent in the middle. Female impala do not have horns. Both male and female gazelles have horns, and the horns are straighter. Also, gazelles have a dark stripe on their sides, as well as on their behinds. Both are beautiful, graceful animals. We drove back to the Kiota during sunset, which was gorgeous, and took showers, then sat on the veranda with a glass of wine. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling all that great during dinner, feeling a bit bloated, so we didn't stay for desert. I felt a bit better later on, so we had some more wine, but were told not to sit outside on the veranda after dark because it could be dangerous with the animals roaming. We went to bed early since we had a big day the following day. We had another 5+ hour drive to the northern Serengeti, and it was not going to be any easier. Silas warned us that it would be another difficult drive, but we were anticipating it nonetheless as the entire drive was within the Serengeti, thus a game drive. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5ebe4e9557.jpg Leopard https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02a1018369.jpg Lions https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d6e04c1260.jpg Lioness https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...193b7b6ff0.jpg Lioness https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e0f1dd794b.jpg Gazelle https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c98a47c7cd.jpg Serengeti sunset https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b4bca01053.jpg Serengeti sunset https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...28b05c52d2.jpg Serengeti sunset https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a252e8e369.jpg Serengeti sunset https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aa264f59af.jpg Serengeti sunset |
Eric's leopard photos are better than mine
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aac8d68553.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a97959a33d.jpg |
Enjoying this report!
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Serengeti sunset...wow!
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Beautiful photos!
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You certainly saw the animals. Waiting for more.
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Loving your photos and trip report. Your landscape photos especially are making me want to go back!
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Thanks everyone! I want to go back too! I promise I will be posting more of the report, and photos, I've just been busy the last few days, and too tired when I get home from work. But here are a few photos to make up for my laziness.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...49817ff867.jpg Water buffalo https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ad96b8fde.jpg Hippopotamus https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...20b645c6a3.jpg Simba, king of the Serengeti |
Following along also...still ;)
Yep there is nothing like those Safari sunsets |
Very nice, laurieco! It's great to be on someone else's trip with them. :) I always plan to make notes to do a trip report but I think I've managed it only 3x.
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Great report!!!
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I'm back for the next installment.
The following morning we set out early to begin the long drive to the northern Serengeti to our camp, Mara Under Canvass. It is the closest of any camp to the Mara River. We did not take a boxed lunch as we were aiming to be at the camp for a hot lunch. The drive was difficult, much like the drive the day before, but I took my Dramamine before setting out so I felt fine. At least my stomach did. I can't say the same for my back. Neither DH nor I have the best backs, and we have both injured our respective backs in the past. Luckily, the drive, while uncomfortable, did not add injury or do any lasting damage. The drive, since it was totally within the Serengeti, was a game drive. We saw the usual, giraffes, elephants, gazelle, impala, jackals, hyenas, vultures, etc., and of course lions. It never gets old. The farther north we went, the herds of wildebeest and zebra became thicker. Oddly however, at least to me, there were less and less of the acacia trees, until there were virtually none. I have always associated the Serengeti with the acacia tree and it was strange to see that they did not grow in the northern Serengeti. For some reason, this disappointed me. I guess I like the way they look, all alone in the vastness of the plain. We got to camp a little after noon and got settled into our tent before having lunch. Mara Under Canvass is a mobile camp, unlike the Kiota Camp, which is permanent. What this means, for those of you who have not researched or been on safari, is that the camp, including all of the tents, are temporary and are not there year round, but rather they are picked up and moved to a different location to follow the migration. There are 10 tents for guests, plus the "mess" tent where meals are taken, and a tent that has sofas, chair, tables, a small library, a few souvenirs for sale, and is a nice place to sit with a drink. There are also the tents for the staff. During their summer (which is winter in the northern hemisphere), the camp is set up farther south in the Serengeti as that is where the migration is occurring at that time. Our tent was very large and well appointed, especially considering that it isn't permanent. The tents are all en suite, with bucket showers, and a huge bed. We had a veranda, but again, were told not to sit on it after sunset as it could be dangerous. We had to be escorted back to our tent after dinner, just like every place other than Kitela. We went on a game drive after lunch and a rest and enjoyed the scenery and once again getting up close to lions, still all females. After returning to camp in time for sundown, we took showers and then sat in the main tent for a bit, having a drink. We also sat outside around a fire pit with the other guests at the camp. Everyone was tired, having gone on drives that day or like us, arriving from another camp, but everyone was in good spirits and talking about their day. The food was good, but nothing special. They served soup, both rice and potatoes, meat, salad, vegetables, and dessert. Alcohol was included. None of it was buffet, which I was happy about. The staff were all very friendly, something we found at all of the camps and lodges. They really go out of their way to please. We brought big glasses of wine back to our tent and relaxed after laying out our clothes for the following day, not wanting to waste any time in the morning. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...51dbaaa8f3.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5e6da4928d.jpg Our tent at Mara https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...17f883a2aa.jpg View from tent https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a6de0dfc9.jpg Our tent at Mara. Take the first left at the termite mound. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4569a8c407.jpg Jackals https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8a57f0d6e2.jpg Hippopotamus https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8e5ff0e958.jpg Wildebeest https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f1ef8b9650.jpg Lions |
Oops, I mislabeled a photo. Those are not jackals, they are hyenas! Also, I have no idea why I added an extra “s” to Mara Under Canvas. It’s been a long week.
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Thanks for more pictures laurieco.
That is a pretty cool Tent. !! |
I'm back.
The following morning after breakfast, we set out for the Mara River as Silas heard that the wildebeest were gathering at the banks. We got there and parked among some other vehicles that had gotten there a bit earlier and watched as herds of wildebeest moved closer and closer. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why the wildebeest will decide to cross, and they sure do take their time deciding on what to do. They would gather, stay put for a while, and then decide to retreat a bit. Or, they would all move to the left, and then the right and back again. Every time the wildebeest would move, all the vehicles, and there were quite a few by now, would also have to reposition. The vehicles cannot be in the way when the animals cross, so if the wildebeest started to move across from where we were parked, we would have to move so that we would not interfere with them. But the drivers also wanted to make sure we were in a good spot to see the crossing, if it ever took place that is. We were beginning to wonder if we were wasting an entire day waiting for the animals to make up their minds, and at the expense of seeing anything else, other than some zebras and elephants that decided to come and see what was going on. This went on for over 6 hours. While the mornings were cold, as the sun got higher in the sky and the day went on, it became very hot, especially since we were not moving much, other than repositioning. At some point we ate our boxed lunch. It was the most exciting event up to that point. Finally, after about 6 and a half hours, the wildebeest began to walk down some rocks closer to the river. All the vehicles started their engines at once, rushed over to where we would not interfere, and were told we could actually get out of the Land Cruiser and go to the bank of the river as long as we kept our distance from where the wildebeest would be coming up from. Not only do you not want to interfere, but it could be very dangerous getting in the way of hundreds of running wildebeest. Eric and I grabbed our cameras and ran down to the bank, and no sooner had we gotten there when one wildebeest took the initiative and jumped into the Mara. That was all it took. The entire herd followed, jumping in and making their way across the crocodile infested river. This is a perilous crossing and it is not unusual for wildebeest, and zebras if they are crossing with them, to be taken down by hungry crocs. I'm happy to report that not one animal was taken by a crocodile. All made it safely to the other side. It was quite an exciting spectacle and well worth the wait. The wildebeest were surprisingly graceful when jumping into the river. The entire crossing took between 5 and 10 minutes. I was sorry that I did not think to take some video of the crossing, but luckily, DH did capture a little of it on video. Watching the crossing is one of the most sought after experiences on a Tanzanian safari and I can understand why. Talking about it and reading about it does not convey the excitement of actually seeing it. It will always be one of my favorite travel memories ever. Seeing the Great Migration and the crossing was a major reason why I wanted to go to Tanzania this time of year. After the wildebeest were safely back on land, we left the river bank and drove around for a couple of hours, spotting animals and taking in the scenery. We got back to camp at sundown, took showers and sat around the fire pit with other camp guests having drinks and talking about the crossing. Everyone was excited about having seen it. It really was a great day. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a1ce68a36.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc611d4ecc.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3b99aa7de.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4e9e7c1292.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...83befb3751.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...173463f820.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...539c4ccd6e.jpg |
So glad you got to see what you came for. It would have been so disappointing for you not to see that. .still following
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I’m loving your report. It’s so well written and such great photos! I’ve always wanted to take a similar trip. You’ve answered many of my questions.
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Thanks jerseysusan! If you have any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them. I highly highly highly recommend going on safari. I am thinking about the next one, possibly Botswana. It will have to wait a couple of years though because it really is expensive, and we have a few vacations already booked. It really gets under your skin.
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Fantastic Laurieco that you saw a river crossing. Agree — one of the best travel exieriences ever. Unpredictable from day to day, even during the “official” season, so that seeing it brings elation.
We too were happy when that all animals made it safely across the river, and there was a group “hurrah!”” from people in the assembled jeeps when a baby miraculously escaped from a waiting croc’s jaws. |
Laurie: This is the most stellar trip report ever!! Thanks so much for all of it!
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I'm so glad that some of you are still enjoying this. I'm enjoying writing it as it allows me to relive the trip and remember more of it than I might otherwise would.
The following day turned out to be a great day for viewing lions. After passing herds of migrating wildebeest, zebras, hippos and giraffes, we came upon our first cat, a lioness, sitting in the middle of a shallow river (not the Mara, cannot remember the name) on some exposed dirt, alone and apparently sunning herself. A little while later, we had our first close encounter with a male lion. He was lying in the grass, still and looking almost dead, but he did eventually get up and was clearly not close to being dead. He was beautiful. He came within about 5 or 6 feet of our vehicle and sat down and just looked at us with what appeared to be very curious eyes. His mane was dark and full, and I just wanted to lean out of the window and run my hand through his mane and fluff it up. He looked so tame, but I quickly came to my senses and realized that would be a very bad idea. We stayed watching him for a long time, and he watched us as well. I think out of all the animals we saw on this trip, he was my favorite. There was something about the look on his face that just endeared me to him. I emailed a photo of him to my mother and she wrote back saying that he looked sad, and she felt sorry for him. I don't think he was sad, at least I hope not. Here are some photos of my boy https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c9610e9f32.jpg My favorite boy https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cccd67b5b4.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f8dde310b0.jpg Such a fluff-able mane! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38247c028d.jpg Such a beauty https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9ce1ae7508.jpg After a while, he got up and walked away, much to my disappointment, but about 30 feet away, another male was lazing in the shade so we drove over to him and watched him for awhile. Another male was not too far away, so we drove to within maybe 15 feet of him. He got up and started to walk straight over to our vehicle. I had my window wide open and was looking at him, and when he got within about 3 feet and did not look like he was going to stop, I confess that I did get a bit nervous and was going to close the window, but Silas said I needn't worry. Turns out Silas was right as his lioness was about 15 feet away. The lion looked at me, looked at his lioness, and decided that his lioness was way more appealing than I was. While being shunned for a more attractive female could lead one to be insulted, in this case, I was not. The lion walked over to his lioness and mated with her, until she growled letting him know that she had had enough. After a long time of lion watching, we drove to the Mara River and saw elephants lined up at the bank. After a few minutes, the elephants went into the river and crossed to the other side. I was unaware that elephants made their way across the Mara as well. We also saw a lot of crocodiles. I lost count of how many. I saw way more crocodiles on this trip than I have in 6 trips to Australia. Even when seeing them in Australia, in Kakadu, you are lucky to see their eyes sticking out of the water. Not so here. Crocs were sunning themselves on rocks, on the banks and floating in the water with much of their bodies visible. There were also a lot of hippos sunning themselves. It all looked very peaceful. After a full day, we were heading back and got a flat tire. It's hard to believe that it was the only flat we got. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...357bc21fb8.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2b87739fbd.jpg The more attractive lioness https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b0777f3d64.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...426a164fd0.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...80c7ced4a6.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c3d1462a38.jpg Elephant crossing and hippopotamus https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1731d98363.jpg Crocodiles https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6db6efe412.jpg Herd of wildebeest https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c98f248c65.jpg Our flat tire |
I have a few better photos of my favorite boy, with his eyes open
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c9fb88b6a8.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...db023edfe6.jpg |
Wonderful, Laurico!
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I can see why you love the lions.
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Thanks for all the pictures laurieco.
I agree the Migration is a highlight but many people go and wait about for the migration and they miss it. You have to have an element of luck on your side. I was lucky....and your right , when one Wildebeest goes down the embankment.......... the rest follow in a cloud of dust Thanks for the enjoyable reporting. |
After a long break, I am determined to finish this report. Hope there are at least a few of you there who are still interested!
The following day turned out to be a very bad and very good day for animals. We set out in the morning for our last full day of game drives as we were flying to Zanzibar the following morning. We came upon a pride of lions and watched them for a bit, then Silas started heading somewhere, he did not tell us however what we were on our way to see. He was going too fast and DH had mentioned to me the evening before that he thought Silas sometimes seemed to be in a bit of a rush, and I had even said to Silas on a couple of occasions that I hope he doesn't hit an animal. Animals would be crossing the road and would run to get out of the way of the vehicle. Silas would sometimes slow down but on this morning, a herd of gazelles were crossing, and Silas was going too fast and I said, slow down, but he slowed down too late and hit a gazelle. I looked back and saw the poor animal lying at the side of the road, trying to get up but it couldn't. It appeared that its leg was injured. I cried out that he hit the animal and we couldn't leave it there to suffer, but since there was no rifle or other weapon in the vehicle, Silas kept going. I started to cry as seeing the poor gazelle, and knowing it was suffering, was too much for me to take. I was also incensed that he was going so fast that he hit an animal. What I did not know was that Silas got word of a rhinoceros sighting and was rushing to get us there. While I appreciate that he wanted us to see the rhino, I did not want it to be at the expense of an injured or dead animal. I really wish there was a rifle in the vehicle as I would have insisted Silas (or DH, who has hunted in the past but always ate anything he killed) shoot the gazelle and put it out of its misery. In retrospect, I should have insisted that Silas contact a ranger over the CB and have them go there and shoot it. The rangers do carry rifles, probably for safety reasons, and I assume, if they come upon poachers. In any case, I was left with DH consoling me that the gazelle probably did not live long as prey would have gotten it quickly. I hoped (and still do) that maybe it was just stunned, and eventually was able to get up and join its herd. In any case, I was distraught. As I mentioned above, the thought of an animal suffering is too much for me, and knowing that we caused it is unbearable. We did get to the area where the rhinoceros were (there were two of them, mother and child) and there was only one other vehicle there. They were walking, slowly, through the plain toward the dense jungle vegetation and walked right in front of our vehicle. It was very exciting to see this very elusive animal as there are estimated to be only 30 or 40 rhinoceros in the entire Serengeti. The experience was marred however by the earlier incident with the gazelle. I couldn't enjoy the moment the way I normally would have. After the rhinos walked into the jungle and out of view, I ripped into Silas. I was so angry and told him that this is the animals' territory not ours, they own it, not us, and if the animals want to cross the freaking road, you stop and let them cross the freaking road! I was practically screaming at him. We should be honored that the animals allow us to come into their home and view them and we should not be doing anything to disrupt their lives, and we certainly should not be the cause of their death. The rest of the day is kind of a blur, but that evening, during a drive, we did come upon another leopard. It was relaxing on a rock and did not want to get up for us, so I only have photographs of it lying on its side. Silas spent the rest of the day apologizing profusely to us for hitting the gazelle, and I do believe he knows he was wrong and cannot drive that fast in the reserves, and, that he absolutely must slow down and/or stop for the animals. I was so upset though that I emailed Pearl in NY about the experience. I did tell her that I thought that Cheli & Peacock should be aware of this, but that I did not want Silas to get fired over it as I did think he learned his lesson, and, other than that, he was an excellent guide. But I could not let this go unnoticed. It was too important to not report. At dinner that night, Silas apologized again and I told him that his apology was accepted but he needs to slow down and let the animals do what they want to do, and if they slow us down, so be it. He suggested as a way to make it up to us that he take us on an early morning game drive before bringing us to the airstrip for our flight to Zanzibar. Our flight was going to be leaving an hour late (we originally had a 9:00 AM flight, and it was pushed back to about 10:15) and we gladly accepted his offer. After dinner, DH and I packed and then drank some wine that we brought back from dinner. It was sad knowing this was our last night in the Serengeti. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...226947fc08.jpg Rhinoceros https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...879b659cef.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7425c2daf3.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8fd3d104be.jpg Wildebeest migration https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0ee6fa9bb9.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eed5cb3440.jpg Leopard https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6d6d548dc9.jpg |
Still here. ;)
Looking for a few pictures from Zanzibar. When I flew to Zanzibar our pilot said he was going to circle over Mount Kilimanjaro so we could take pictures. How very nice of him. |
I'm still following you. So sorry to hear about the gazelle being hit - I would have been upset, too.
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