Lions, Tigers, and Bears... Oh My!

I’m the luckiest girl alive. I really am. Last week we went on an African Safari. We started out with our guides from Arusha on Tuesday morning. The people on the journey were Jackie Skinner, Ashley, Corbin, Amber, Heidi, Trent, Jeff, Stephanie, and me. We also had two guides named Babba and Estephano, and two cooks named Daniel and Fostien. The first day we drove to the Serengeti. When we got into the park we immediately started to see animals of all kinds. We looked for animals all afternoon. On our way through the Serengeti we stopped at a Messai village. The group of Messai people in the Serengeti are one of the few groups of truly nomadic people left in the world. It was seriously amazing and straight National Geographic style. When we entered the small village the people did a welcome dance for us and then let us join in. The boys did this jumping thing in the middle of a circle. The girls got to wear the cool circle bead necklaces and bounce them on our necks. I was holding hands with a Messai woman while everyone danced and sang. The Messai people took each one of us into their little huts and talked to us. Trent and I went into a hut together and sat on their little cow hide beds. Their huts are really hot and dark inside. The Messai man who’s home it was talked to us about how they hunt, cook, eat, and live. It was interesting and intriguing to me how they live. I bought a couple of bracelets from the village and then talked with the people. We left the village in the afternoon then went to the campsite to set up camp. We set up tents and they made us dinner. It is funny because they don’t eat the way we do when were camping. No tin foil dinners for Africans. We had the most delicious meals that weren’t necessarily easy to make while camping. The group of people ended up sitting in a tent and telling each other ghost stories. On Wednesday we got up and went all over the Serengeti all morning. We came back and had lunch and an afternoon break then we took off to finish off the day finding animals. That night we had a camp fire and chatted with our guides and each other. On Thursday, we packed up camp and traveled back through the Serengeti to the Ngoragora Crater. The Ngoragora Crater used to be a volcano that would erupt from the sides instead of the top. Over time, all the pressure from the lava coming out the sides caused it to collapse. It is now a huge crater that has plenty of grasslands and water. That means it is a perfect place for all kinds of animals. When we got to the crater on Thursday we set up camp and tried to get warm because it was FREEZING. On Friday morning we got up really early while it was still dark and so foggy you couldn’t see what was directly in front of you. We drove down into the crater. You drive around until you get to this lake at the bottom of the crater. When you get close to the lake, there are literally thousands of animals, all in on locations. The lake is covered with thousands of flamingos and from afar it looks like the lake is pink. There are then zebras, gazelle, water buffalo, hyena, birds, foxes, and more. It was pretty incredible and felt like we were in the Lion King when they sing the Circle of Life. It was great! Not only is the crater full of animals but it has beautiful scenery. As we drove out of the crater I was able to look out over the entire land and it was indescribable. When we got back to camp we ate lunch, packed up, and headed back to Arusha where we spent the night before flying back to Uganda. The nine people that went couldn’t have been more perfect. They are all hilarious and entertaining people and we had a blast together. We laughed a lot, sang Lion King songs continuously, and enjoyed each others company all week. Our guides Babba and Estephano were also really fun and full of information. They made the trip much more enjoyable. What an amazing week!