Author: Lindsay and Igor

August 21st, 2016

Day 143: The Serengeti – Day 3

Around midnight, Igor shook Lindsay awake. She pulled out her earplugs and started to ask WTF, when Igor quickly “SHHHH!”-ed her. Quietly, he pointed out both windows. We were completely surrounded by a huge herd of grazing wildebeest! The animals clearly had no idea there were humans inside the large, soft rock, that was ur tent and were therefore completely unafraid to walk an arm’s length away from us. As Lindsay was gazing out the window, she *literally* saw a wildebeest bump his nose against our tent pole as he was biting the grass.

Since we had a 5:30AM wake-up call, Lindsay fell back asleep after 15min, but Igor was so enamored with the wildebeests, he stayed up for another hour until one of the camp staff chased the herd away. When we were escorted from our tent early that morning, Igor was delighted to see fresh poops all around our camp. We met up with Joseph – who carried a HUGE cooler bag with both a packed breakfast and a packed lunch for us – hopped in the car and drove off in the dark.

Getting an early start on our game drive really paid off, as the animals (especially predators) as most active just after sunrise. We had time to scout out two locations along the Mara River, searching for a crossing herd of wildebeest, earning us a prime location for witnessing one of nature’s most spectacular events. It was a fantastic day, even though we didn’t get to see a kill.

 

The moon is still high in the sky as we start our game drive in the pre-dawn hours. A male Dik-dik keeps a watch for his lady as the sun starts to rise

 

Sunrise game drive in the northern Serengeti

 

Mufasa! Getting up early has it’s rewards as we spot a huge male lion on the prowl

 

While lions are always a thrill, we were on the serch for wildebeest today! As we made our way to the river, we passed a large herd that had already successfully completed the crossing – keeping our fingers crossed for more!

 

Since we left camp so early, the staff packed our breakfast to go – per usual we had a huge spread that we couldn’t finish (despite it being so tasty). Since we decided to park out next to the river to keep an eye out for animals (both wildebeest, and this pretty Lilac-Breasted Roller bird!), we didn’t have a picnic table to spread out our meal, which made it a bit tricky to balance all the breakable dishware and courses.

 

We found a lookout over the river, where we spotted a huge family of hippos. No wildebeest though, as there were plenty of active crocs on the riverbank

 

We see a herd of wildebeest on the other side of the river looking for a safe spot to cross, but when they see a huge crocodile sunning himself on an island, they wisely keeping walking upstream

 

We decided to check out our crossing spot from the day before to see if we would have better luck. On our way, we passed by the airstrip to use the restrooms. All the planes were tiny single-engine propeller planes. We watched as the pilot of a private-charter plane was rearranging the passenger seats in the back – customizing the size of you plane: how the other half goes on safari!

 

As we drive upriver, Igor spots a HUGE herd of wildebeest on the opposite side – seriously, it looked like a wildebeest army! We followed them for several kilometers until they found a path they seemed to like. Then the waiting game began.

Wildebeest are the most indesisive creatures we have viewed in our travels. We *literally* waited for 4 HOURS, watching them go back and forth between two access points, even several false starts where a dozen wildebeest would descend to the river only to change their minds and climb back up the bank. Like the day before, we parked out under a tree a good 500m away from the river (Joseph confirmed that if we parked at the river’s edge, it would spook the wildebeest and they wouldn’t cross).

We were not the only safari car waiting – about a dozen others showed up throughout the early afternoon and parked next to us, trying to share our shade. We got sandwiched between a pair of cars with a large Indian group for a good hour and a half. (Smart parents got a separate car for their bratty teenage boys, who were constantly complaining how bored / hot / hungry they were. That, or talking *loudly* about which Ivy League Colleges they were applying to.) We were deserately willing the wildebeest to JUST CROSS ALREADY before we lost our cool and snapped at the kids, when two things happened: first the Indian group decided to give up and started driving back to their camp for a late lunch, and second the wildebeest started to cross.

Igor started yelling, “They’re crossing, they’re crossing!” and Joseph immediately kicked the car into gear and started racing all the other safari operators to the river in order to find the best view. We got an amazing spot, and watched in awe as THOUSANDS of wildebeest ran down the banks, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. As much as we said we wanted to see a kill, our hearts went out to the poor creatures as they pitifully cried in fear as they swam across the river in a panic – we started rooting for them to make it across safely and were relived when they did.

 

Waiting for wildebeest – an exercise which started in solitude and ended in a stake-out parking lot

 

After 4 hours of deliberating, the herd finally takes the plung and crosses the Mara River

 

The herd was massive – a couple thousand wildebeests!

 

When they reached the other side of the river, the herd had to navigate around several dozen safari vehicles full of photo-snapping tourists

 

Even a handful of zebra decided to take advantage of the “safety in numers” and joined the crossing

 

As the seemingly endless stream of wildebeests started to thin out, the animals at the back started to get nervous – should we go? Is it safe? Or did the crowd attract crocs? What’s worse – to jump in the river last, or get left behind?!? The hippos and the humans watched as every wildebeest got through safely, although the dead body from the day before was still an ominous presence in the water.

 

Thousands of wildebeest reach the safety of the southern riverbank, in search of better grazing grounds

Feeling very satisfied with our game drive, we decided to call it an early day, and headed back to the camp around 4PM, where we had a nice hot shower (Lindsay finished hers in 46sec – Igor took 1min15sec), before chilling out in the common area with a beer and a rousing games of Jenga.

 

Clean and kicking back in our tent after a great game drive

 

Getting some writing done in my African “office,” before taking a Jenga break

 

A beautiful afternoon & a lovely sunset at the Serengeti Wilderness Camp near the Mara River

August 20th, 2016

Day 142: The Serengeti – Day 2

Our second day in the Serengeti was the quietest day of the week – which just goes to show that we have been so spoiled by so many amazing animal sightings in the past month, that we are getting hard to impress! We did see some small migration activity today, but we have high expectations for tomorrow.

 

Sunrise wake-up in the Serengeti from our wilderness tent

 

Before breakfast, Igor runs behind the tent to check out the eco-friendly electrical & plumbing set-up. Each tent has a small 12v solar panel for lighting (there is a separate charging station in the common area for cameras & phones). The water for the sink and shower are both provided by a hanging bucket! The sink is always full of cold water, but if you want to take a shower, you must request a fresh bucket of hot water when you are ready to go.

 

Gray water from the sink and shower dump out into a small ditch behind the tent. And that’s how you do low-impact luxury in the African wilderness!

Heading out for our second game drive in the Serengeti – driving north towards the Mara River

 

It was a bit of a slow day for us in the Serengeti, as this was our only game drive where we didn’t spot any lions – which shows you how spoiled we are getting! – we pass by a small troop of Olive Baboons, a grizzly old Cape Buffalo, and an adorable male Dik-dik and barely take the time to lift our camera

 

Big birds in the Seregeti – a male ostrich and a vulture

 

An underground spring bubbles to the surface in the middle of the grassland, creating an oasis for zebra and warthogs

 

We start to see evidence of kills in the northern grasslands, where the wildebeest herds are grazing in large numbers. We see several pairs of legs dangling from a tree – sure sign that a leopard dragged a kill up there to eat, safe from the harassment of scavenging lions and hyenas. We spot another half dozen wildebeest carcasses around the plains – many of the adults injure themselves during the river crossing, making themselves easy targets for predators

The northern plains of the Serengeti

 

Picnic lunch under a tree before continuing our journey to the river

 

Once we reach the southern bank of the Mara River around 3PM, we keep an eye out for large herds of wildebeest near the river to see if we can witness a crossing

 

The river crossing is extremely dangerous for the wildebeest as the water is teeming with crocodiles. We counted about seven carcasses rotting in the river – we learned that crocs are not content to kill and eat one wildebeest at a time – they will take out 10-12 during a crossing and leave them in the water so they can come back and have plenty of food for later (in fact, this small croc seems to be enjoying a snack of dead wildebeest butt)

 

After waiting about an hour in the shade of a tree a good 500m away from the river, we get lucky and witness a “mini”-crossing of a group of about 50 wildebeest. Not too shabby, but we all agree that we can do better, and resolve to return the day to see if we can find a bigger herd

 

On our way to our next camp, we see a group of about a dozen vehicles surrounding a bush – must be a cat! Sure enough, when we join the fray, we see a sleepy cheetah

 

Whoa – look at the size of that lens! It’s over half the size of the photographer! As her safari vehicle drives around we check out the company – National Geographic Expeditions – that makes sense. Joseph tells us that NG is one of the few companies that pays for an additional “Off Road” permit which allows them track the animals when they leave the road (although, they are still not supposed to go off road if there are other cars present as other companies may mistakenly follow them)

 

We check-in to our second Serengeti Wilderness Camp (Mara River location) and enjoy another fantastic dinner while we plan the next day’s itinerary with Joseph. Afterwards, we return to our tent with the last glass of wine, and make sure the windows and doors are fully unzipped before going to sleep with a view of the stars

August 19th, 2016

Day 141: The Serengeti – Day 1

We were super excited for today’s game drive – our first day in the Serengeti National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the largest animal migration in the world, the Great Migration of 1.7million wildebeest. Since we entered the park from the south, we would not be on the lookout for the wildebeest until tomorrow, when we planned to reach the Mara River on the northern border of the park. Today, we just drove around and admired the amazing animal diversity and density, as well as the breathtaking landscapes of the immense grassland “ocean”.

 

Multi-jam toast and a strong cup of coffee to start the day

 

Stopping for fuel on our way into the Serengeti, Igor is surprised to see an old-fashioned analog gas pump! It takes a while for the pump to fill up both gas tanks, but once we are full we are set for the next four days of game drives

 

On our way to the Serengeti, we pass through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area – while we won’t be going down into the crater for another three days, Joseph still had to pay the entry fee for us to pass through. The crater is known for an incredible density of wildlife, but even driving along the rim we spotted a huge Cape Buffalo

View into the Ngorongoro Crater – one of the most perfect volcanic calderas in the world. Because the crater is almost 6,000ft above sea level it is surprisingly chilly at the rim, with huge fog clouds pouring over the sides of the wall. We had to pull on our winter coats in order to take pictures!

 

After about an hour drive through Maasai farmland, where we spotted a pair of giraffes passing through in the distance, we made it to the Serengeti entrance just in time for lunch. (We started requesting vegetarian in an attempt to reduce the size of our lunch boxes by cutting out the chicken drumsticks – the reduction was barely noticeable) Afterwards, Joseph sent us off to go play – I mean, climb the hill behind the main park office, while he dealt with the ridiculously confusing park fees. (THANK YOU, Joseph!)


View from the Naabi Hill – an “island” in the grassland “ocean” that makes up the Serengeti

 

The vast plains of the Serengeti – home to many Thompson’s Gazelle

 

More antelope of the Serengeti: a Hartebeest, a herd of Topi, and a Grant’s Gazelle

 

Large birds of the Serengeti – a Secretary Bird, hunting for snakes & lizards, and a Kori Bustard, the largest flying bird in Africa

 

The picnic area was teeming with opportunistic Suberb Starlings, trying to scavenge crumbs and scraps from our lunches. Once again, fellow tourists ignored the “don’t feed the animals” sign, and Joseph told them off!

 

A huge pink & purple Agama Lizard, chillin’ on the rocks

 

Hungry lions, searching for prey in the Serengeti

Elephants crossing the vast grassland on their way to the waterhole

 

Where there’s water, there are hippos!

 

Mama hippo jumps into the water and baby follows with a big SPLASH

 

Naptime for baby hippo and a protective mama

 

At long last, we finally spot the final animal of our African Big 5 – the elusive leopard! This guy is so well camouflaged on the tree branch, a giraffe walked right past him without noticing the large predator! Once he started munching on the leaves, he noticed the danger and quickly moved on. Luckily for him, the leopard didn’t seem interested in taking down a full-grown male giraffe.

 

Our beautiful (if somewhat lazy) Tanzanian Leopard!

 

Late in the afternoon in the Serengeti, we head north towards camp – stunning landscape the whole drive

 

Final animal encounters of the day – a (wild!) Spotted Hyena crossing the road, and a family of Egyptian Geese

Our game drive lasted all day. We reached our tented campsite just after sunset, where we were blown away by the hospitality we received in the middle of the wilderness! While Kadizora, the luxury camp in the Okavango Delta, was insanely impressive, it was a permanent camp with its own solar panel farm. The Serengeti Wilderness Camp, on the other hand, is a seasonal lodge that is broken down every 3-6 months in order to allow the environment time to recuperate. Not only was it incredibly low-impact and eco-friendly, the food, wine and service was top-notch!

After dinner, we were escorted to our tent by a bow & arrow wielding camp guard, as wild animals could be lurking in the tall grasses. Our escort assured us that once we were in the closed tent, however, the animals would no longer consider us prey and we would be completely safe. Igor made sure to leave the door and window panels of our tent completely open so that the only thing separating us from the lions & hyenas was a zipped-up screen. As we went to bed, Lindsay could hear hyenas calling in the distance, so she popped in some earplugs to calm her nerves.

 

We make it to camp just after sunset, with only 15min before dinnertime! Since we were covered in dust, we raced to our tent to take a quick shower (no really, it had to be quick because it was a *bucket* shower and there was only enough hot water for 2½min each!)

 

Raising a glass to a wonderful day and lovely evening in the Serengeti

August 18th, 2016

Day 140: Lake Manyara

We left the Tarangire Sopa Lodge early in the morning, and drove to the Sangaiwe Gate at the opposite end of the park. From there, it was a 35KM drive to Lake Manyara National Park, via a dirt road that passed through many rural villages. As we passed through the villages, many of the children would start running after the car shouting in Swahili. When we asked Joseph to translate, he said they were asking for money or presents.

Well. We had actually been preparing for this. Plenty of fellow travelers had recommended bringing candy to hand out to children in various countries, but do we want to contribute to the rotting of their teeth (not to mention rewarding poor manners)? No! Instead, we’ve been saving all of the travel toothbrushes and hotel soaps throughout our travels in southern Africa, and we gleefully started pulling them out of our bags. When we explained what we had to Joseph, he started laughing, and agreed to help us warn the kiddies NOT to eat the soaps. We felt like the lame parents giving out “healthy” Halloween snacks – not sure if the kids in these villages will keep running after cars anymore…

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Leaving Tarangire early in the morning – despite the beautiful sunrise, Lindsay was very sleepy and took a little nap on our way to Lake Manyara. We didn’t see many animals on the way out, unfortunately, expect for a very red warthog (who looks like he’s been raiding the nerby termite mound!)

 

Passing through Lake Manyara National Park as a day-trip on our way to the Serengeti. While we wait for Joseph to pay the park fees, we get our first introduction to the wildlife – a teeny tree frog that tried to join our safari!

Lake Manyara is only 50KM long, so it is a very small park – more of a corridor for wildlife travelling through to Tarangire from the Serengeti. But despite its small size, it is very beautiful (according to Wikipedia, Ernest Hemingway thought this place was da bomb). There is a decent amount of wildlife to see (although the tree-lions eluded us) – a lot of birds, wildebeest, elephants and a pair of well-camouflaged lions. We finished the park in the late afternoon and kicked back in our tented lodge just before sunset, enjoying a beautiful view and a tasty dinner.

Lake Manyara, with mountains from the Rift Valley escarpment in the background

 

Many birds call Lake Manyara home, including both Greater and Lesser Flamingos, and lots of pelicans

 

Flocks of pelicans flying in the distance

 

Plenty of wildebeest in Lake Manyara Park – this cute guy takes a dirt bath while his friend just stares at him like he’s crazy

 

Who’s that hiding in the bush? It’s a lion! She’s eyeing the warthog, but since she’s upwind, the warthog gets tipped off by her scent and runs off to safety

 

Another ridiculously large (but tasty) lunch box from our hotel. Lindsay and Igor started trading food items that we felt we could finish – like kids at school! – even so, we still had a few items for Joseph to donate for us.

 

We are more excited than we should be over a 5min walk on a boardwalk, but after such a huge lunch, any exercise is welcome – especially one with a view like this

Looking back at the park from the waters of Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara – said to be the “loveliest lake in Africa” by Ernest Hemingway (source: Wikipedia)

 

Natural hot springs bubble down from the escarpment and drain into the lake, creating a few “hot tubs” for the local Cape Buffalo to enjoy an afternoon soak!

 

More birds in Lake Manyara – a pair of green & yellow Bee-Eaters and a female ostrich

A trio of baobab trees in the hills

 

As we drive through the forest, we keep a sharp eye out for the tree-climbing lions, but without any luck. Near the exit to the small park, we come upon a huge traffic jam of safari jeeps

 

A family of elephants is chowing down on the trees along the side of the road – unlike the ellies in Botswana & Namibia, these gentle giants allow us to get extremely close without a fuss

 

Two final animal sightings as we leave the park – a pretty, orange-headed Agama Lizard and a shy Blue Monkey

 

A lovely, tree framed view of the lake from our private patio of our safari tent at Kirurumu Tented Lodge, just outside the park

August 17th, 2016

Day 139: Tarangire National Park

Osur safari adventure started at 8AM when Joseph from Basecamp Tanzania picked us up in his 8-seater Toyota Land Cruiser. We headed out to Tarangire National Park, a decent-sized park (although at barely 3000KM² it doesn’t even break the Tanzania’s Top 5 biggest parks) with *amazing* animal density! We’ve seen pretty much all of these animals before in southern Africa, but in much smaller numbers. In Tanzania, you can barely pick up your camera without an animal in the shot! It was a jam-packed day, as our game drive lasted right up to sunset, during which we spotted everything Tarangire is particularly famous for: baobab trees, birds and elephants (better tempered than their southern African relatives), plus the odd lion pride as a bonus!

 

Starting our safari adventure in an 8-seater Toyota Land Cruiser – all to ourselves!

 

Pop-top safari 4×4 – now *this* is how you do Africa!

 

On the road in Tanzania, heading for our first park

 

Tarangire National Park! Igor sees the first benefit of having a guide: he doesn’t have to deal with the 30min inefficiency of paying the park entrance fees! We just run off and play around the giant baobab while Joseph takes care of business

 

Look at all the Land Cruisers! Toyota has got a monopoly on Tanzania! Everyone’s car looks the same…until we spot an Abercrombie & Kent car…they have cell-phone chargers! Fancy.

 

Wildebeest in Tarangire National Park – following the rains for their Great Migration

 

Zebra follow close behind the wildebeest in order to find the water

 

More residents of Tarangire – the Banded Mongoose, a mama Grants Gazelle and baby, and a herd of elephants (plus photo-snapping tourists) in the distance

 

East African elephants are so much more chill than their Southern African counterparts – no ear-flapping, no mock charges – these guys couldn’t that we are parked nearby taking pics! They just keep on eating, scratching their butt on a tree, and the babies even pull faces for the camera!

 

Tarangire is another birding hotspot, and our driver Joseph is quite a birder, pointing out many species to us – here we have the Glossy Starling and a White-Headed Buffalo Weaver

 

More birds! A pair of Red & Yellow Barbets, and a Grey-Headed Kingfisher

 

Lovebirds! Yellow-collared Lovebirds to be exact.

 

Our guide is an *excellent* tracker. Just before lunch, he pulls over near the dry riverbed, pulls out his binoculars, then informs us he has spotted a small pride of lions. Boom! – there they are! NEVER would have spotted them on our own!

 

Lunch break at the Tarangire picnic area, with a HUGE lunchbox packed by our hotel. We hate the idea of wasting food in Africa, so we tried our best to finish everything, but there was just too much! Joseph was kind enough to take our leftovers and gift them to some of the janitorial staff cleaning the bathrooms

View of the river from the picnic area – a herd of elephants in the distance

 

The picnic area was overrun with Black-Faced Vervet Monkeys, who scavenge for leftovers. There are signs EVERYWHERE telling tourists to be careful with their leftovers and to NOT FEED the monkeys. Our driver, Joseph, takes these rules very seriously, and when a couple of tourists (not sure of the nationality, let’s call them French) left an orange on their table as they walked away, Joseph immediately told them off, as a monkey took the food the moment they walked away! Jerks.

 

More Black-Faced Vervet Monkeys – a safe distance from the picnic area, so they are behaving like proper wild animals

 

Another family of ellies! With lots of adorable babies

 

Elephant bath-time!

 

These three babies were so cute! When two of the babies started rolling around in the muddy water, the third walked over and *sat on the other baby*! Siblings, am I right?

 

Antelope in Tarangire – a lone Waterbuck, and Grants Gazelle on the horizon

 

Olive Baboons. Did you know that a group of baboons is called a congress?…and vice versa? J

 

Even more birds – but these a birds of prey, so they are more interesting! A snake eagle, a juvenile Martial Eagle, and an owl

 

Giraffes! I’ll never get tired of giraffes. Just look at that goofy face!

 

A herd of giraffes chowing down a leafy dinner

 

Cape Buffalo in the distance

 

A herd of Cape Buffalo kick up some dust as the sun starts to sink below the horizon

 

Moonrise / Sunset in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

 

Our first (of many!) Sopa Lodge! We have a nice view for the last few second of daylight, and a delicious buffet dinner. Have I mentioned how much weight we have gained on this trip?

August 16th, 2016

Day 138: Travel Day to Arusha

We had a long, 6hr drive plus a border crossing ahead of us today. After a big breakfast at the hotel, the driver from the day before picked us up and took us to our minibus. The drive through Kenya was uneventful, just very long. When we got to the border, everyone had to get out of the minibus and guide themselves through the process as there were big signs everywhere prohibiting tour guides from assisting tourists through Immigration.

We checked-out of Kenya easily enough, but once we exited the Immigration office, we had no clue where to go next – the Namanga border is a chaotic mess of government buildings and shops, with dozens of aggressive Masai hawkers bombarding tourists with snacks and trinkets. As with our ATM scam the day before, we quickly learned there are plenty of opportunistic folks hanging around to escort you to the Tanzanian border, however this time Igor up front told the guy, “I have no cash to give you, buddy.” No worries, we followed another tourist and eventually found the right line. After a “health inspection,” where you stand in a circle painted on the ground while a doctor looks at you from 6ft away to see if you are visibly sick, then checks your Yellow Fever Immunization Card, we headed over to Passport Control. When we tried to pay the USD $100pp for our on-arrival visa (twice the price for Americas as any other nationality, in retaliation for our costs to Tanzanians trying to visit the US), the agent took our passports and told us we had to exit the building and pay our fee at the bank next door, then return with the receipt. Jumping through hoops much? FYI, we did notice the agents accepting cash from other tourists when we returned a week later.

 

Hopping on to our minibus transfer from Nairobi to Arusha, and navigating the Nairobi rush-hour traffic

 

Immigration fun at the Tanzania border!

 

On the road to Arusha – President Obama has a lot of fans in East Africa!

Once we arrived in Arusha, we were picked up by Joseph, our guide from Basecamp Tanzania. He took us to our hotel where we had a comfortable, lazy afternoon. When we headed over to the restaurant for dinner, we discovered an acrobatic troop was holding a performance near the pool! But once the fire-limbo started, Lindsay dragged Igor upstairs to get some food – no burns for us thanks!

Checking into our hotel in Arusha

 

Lindsay beats Igor in a round of Jenga!

 

An acrobatic troop visits the hotel to give a performance. Halfway through, one of the performers goes through the crowd with a hat for tips – made us feel like we were in Central Park!

 

As darkness fell, the troop lit up some batons and started playing with fire

 

Fire swallowing…yummy? That reminds me, I’m hungry. Time for dinner.

August 15th, 2016

Day 137: Nairobi

We boarded the plane to Nairobi just after midnight, and got as much sleep as we possible could on the red-eye flight. However, it was only a 4hr flight, and a one-hour time zone change, so when we arrived at 6AM, we were exhausted and ready to crash at our hotel. Surprisingly, Immigration at the Nairobi Airport was lightning fast, and we were out of the airport so quickly we didn’t even have time to find a bathroom!

Or Kenyan safari operator had arranged for an airport pick-up for us. Since we had originally budgeted an extra hour for picking up a checked bag and passport control, we weren’t concerned when we didn’t immediately see a driver with our name. Since we had some extra time to kill, we decided to find an ATM to get some local currency and buy a SIM card. When we got to the ATM, however, two guys were standing outside the vestibule. “It’s broken,” they said, “But there’s another one just around the corner – I’ll show you!” We probably shouldn’t have, but we followed this stranger on a 10min walk outside the airport to an underground parking lot with several ATMs. After Igor got some Kenyan Shillings, our guide chose to inform us that we owed him money for escorting him to the ATM! Nice, try buddy – we’re not giving you a 100 KS note (USD $10). Luckily Igor had a USD $1 bill on him, and he told the guy to take it or leave it. When we walked past the original “broken” ATM again, no one was guarding it saying it was broken anymore. SCAM.

 

Boarding our midnight flight to Nairobi, Kenya

As Igor was buying his SIM card, Lindsay kept an eye out for our driver, and soon spotted him. Our driver was fast-talking and funny! Frustrated with all the airport traffic, he cut the line to get out of the parking area, only to be pulled over by a female officer carrying an AK-47. He argued with her in Swahili, apparently trying to excuse his behavior with a lie that he was transferring us to a different airport, and we were going to miss our flight. “I don’t care,” she said, and made him get out of the car and show his driving documents. She called over her superior officer, who took over. After some more words in Swahili *and passing the guy some bills* he waved us along. “How much did you have to pay him?” Igor asked. “Eh, 10 dollars. This is Africa.”

Although it wasn’t specified on our itinerary, our driver informed us that we had two activities in Nairobi included in our safari package! We were thrilled to hear it, as we were planning to hire a taxi in the afternoon to try and do some sight-seeing anyways. As it was barely 7AM, he took us to our hotel so we could check-in and freshen up, before heading out at 9AM to visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage for their morning feeding. We arrived about 40min before opening, and good thing! By the time the doors opened, there was a crowd of about 200 people behind us! We all gathered around a roped-off clearing and waited patiently for the baby elephants to appear.

 

An early morning visit to the Elephant Orphanage

 

A group of school kids eagerly line-up to watch the baby elephants get fed

The babies were *unbelievably* adorable! They were separated into age groups – the first bunch to come tottering out of the forest were the youngest – aged 4 months to 1 year. As each one rushed into the clearing, a keeper stuffed his/her mouth with a giant bottle of human baby formula, which they guzzled enthusiastically. As the babies were drinking, one of the keepers took up a microphone and introduced each elephant, stating their names, age, when they were rescued, and the circumstances which led them to be orphaned (mostly poaching and human encroachment by falling down water wells). Since baby elephants rely on their mother’s milk for the first two years of their lives, orphaned elephants will die if left in the wild. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is one of the most successful programs in Africa that rescues, hand-rears, and then reintroduces the orphaned elephants into the wild. After the first set of elephants were fed, they were led back into the forest, and two more groups (aged 1-3 years) came out for their breakfast – SO CUTE!

 

Here come the ellies! We saw 24 babies, ranging from 4 months to 3 years old

 

Several keepers dispense milk bottles to the hungry calves (filled with human formula milk, as “milking” female elephants isn’t really possible!)

The older ellies can feed themselves! Look – someone is starting to grow her tusks!

 

After drinking their milk, the babies finish breakfast by eating their greens!

 

As one of the keepers introduces each elephant, the babies walk around, getting love from the crowd!

After the Elephant Orphanage, our driver planned to take us to another popular animal attraction, but first he made a detour to a crafts market, as he said the majority of the elephant crowd was heading in the same direction. Normally we are able to resist buying souvenirs, as we need to travel light…but we really liked the African stuff! We broke down and got a set of wooden spoons – after all, we are planning to ship home some of our gear before we head to China anyways, may as well send home a few mementos as well.

 

Beautiful wood carvings and dishware at the crafts market

 

Artsy metal curios – wish we could bring home more souvenirs!

After giving half an hour for the crowds to clear, we headed over to the Giraffe Center – the public tourist attraction which is part of the exclusive Giraffe Manor property. The Manor is an insanely expensive boutique hotel (USD $550pp) where giraffes roam freely around the property and will stick their heads into the open windows of the Manor, especially during breakfast! We were obviously priced out of *that* experience, but we got to hand feed those same giraffes at the next-door Giraffe Center public feeding platform (entrance fee is only USD $1).

 

Waiting in the “ladies line” at the Giraffe Center – the genders were separated for a security pat-down as we entered the property (a lot of that in Kenya)

 

Igor feeding pellets to a hungry giraffe!

 

Lindsay takes a turn with the slimy black tongue!

 

Who’s a hungry giraffe? You’re a hungry giraffe!

After the giraffe feeding, we headed back to the hotel – we were still running on only 4 hours of sleep and we were ready to PASS OUT. We had a pretty shitty room at the La Maison Royal hotel (first floor, with a window facing into the hotel lobby), but we were so tired we slept through the noise anyways. When we asked to switch to a different room, we were told they were completely booked, but they would make sure we got a nicer room on our second stay before we flew out of Nairobi. Satisfied with their promise, we headed up to their rooftop restaurant for dinner, where they had a large Indian selection and a real tandoori oven on the outside deck! Not bad.

 

A surprisingly tasty Indian food dinner at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, along with a glass of Frontera!

August 14th, 2016

Day 136: Itaga Luxury Private Game Lodge – Day 2 & Leaving South Africa

We got up early on our last day in South Africa to see the Mabalingwe lions. We were hoping for the best – after all, we enjoyed the Otjitotongwe Cheetah Farm in Namibia, where they had to keep their “wild” cats in a 200+ acre enclosure. If that was what we expected, we were sorely disappointed with the set-up at Mabalingwe. Both the lions and two Spotted Hyenas were kept in tiny fenced-in enclosures – the one for the lions was probably 5 acres, while the one for the hyenas was about half the size. Honestly, we didn’t come all the way to Africa to visit a zoo – we came to see animals in the WILD! Or at least free-roaming.

The guides at Itaga made a point of leaving the resort at 6:45AM in order to be the first arrivals at the lion feeding. We had about 10min to view the lions and hyenas on our own before a dozen safari vehicles showed up, each brimming with tourists. Mabalingwe only feeds the animals twice per week, and given that it was a Sunday and we were only 2hrs from Johannesburg, this was clearly the most heavily booked tour. By the end, we were seriously regretting our decision to join the tour – it was a low note to end our amazing experiences in the wilds of southern Africa.

 

Huge safari vehicles packed with tourists arrive to see the caged predators: Spotted Hyenas and lions

 

So bummed that our first hyena sighting was in a cage. These guys are MASSIVE – the size of a Great Dane! – can’t wait to see them in the wild in Tanzania!

 

A mighty, majestic lion…behind bars

 

Feeding the lions: a truck drives into the lion cage, where the guy in the passenger seat loops a chain around a pole which drags two chunks of meat off the tailgate as the truck drives off

 

Since the meat is chained to the pole, the lion is forced to eat his meal in front of the viewing platform, for the amusement of the hundreds of tourists who are snapping pictures.

 

On the drive back to the resort, we spot free-roaming antelope (with barely a predator to worry about!) in the Mabalingwe Reserve: Tsessebe and Nyala

 

A small herd of hippos in the Mabalingwe hippo pool

 

Grysbok – an adorable, teeny antelope

Our flight to Nairobi, Kenya wasn’t scheduled to leave until midnight that night, so we were in no hurry to get to Johannesburg (especially after all the crime-filled horror stories we heard about car-jackings and police bribes). After breakfast we waited until the last possible moment to check-out, then we asked if we could camp out at the pool and use their Wifi for another hour or so. Finally, we forced ourselves to leave around 1PM – still far earlier than we need to return the rental car and get to the airport.

When we packed our bags, we realized our big backpack (with all our clothes, shoes, medication, toiletries and mosquito nets) had gotten a rip near the bottom, and had split open! We tried to duct-tape it shut, but the tear was too large. We considered looking for a camping store in Johannesburg or Pretoria, but didn’t want to risk getting burgled on our last day in the country. Instead, we decided to wrap the backpack at the airport for USD $7. Good news was the wrapping was very thorough – nothing would fall out with all that cellophane! Bad news was there was no way to wrap the bag without losing access to the shoulder straps, so we have to carry around our 17kg bag like a baby around the airport. We quickly snished our remaining errands (exchanging money, mailing postcards and finding a pharmacy) before checking in to our Air Kenya flight.

We got our tickets from the electronic kiosk, then walked over to the baggage drop counter at 5PM. When we told the attendant we were booked for the midnight flight to Nairobi, she looked us up and down and said, “We’re not checking in that flight yet. Come back three hours before departure.” I’m sorry, what? You mean, we have to hang around the airport before security for another 4 HOURS?!? But we have Executive Lounge Passes!!!! She said there was nothing she could do – she couldn’t hold our bags for us and she couldn’t check them in early. “Is the bag too big for carry on?” We asked. She looked it over, “Em, no, I don’t think so. But it’s wrapped – they won’t let you through security like that.”

That’s what *you* think. We quickly ducked into a hallway and unraveled our bag, then manually re-wrapped the cellophane around just the bottom half of the bag, so the top was still accessible. Ghetto? Yes. Flight-ready? You bet! We got into the security line – one agent tried get Lindsay to put the backpack in their carry-on size checker but when she threatened to cry, a second agent waved us through. After another hour at Immigration we were finally in the Executive Lounge, where we raised a glass (actually several) to our successful navigation and escape from the Johannesburg Airport. Next stop: EAST AFRICA.

 

Wrapping (then -wrapping) our ripped bag before our international flight to Kenya

August 13th, 2016

Day 135: Itaga Luxury Private Game Lodge – Day 1

After another delicious breakfast, we took our leave of the Leshiba Wilderness Lodge, and headed for our final stop in South Africa: the Itaga Luxury Private Game Lodge in the Mabalingwe Nature Reserve. Like Leshiba, it is an artificial game park, where all the animals have been “imported” as a tourist attraction.

There was a stark contrast between the two, however. While Leshiba purchased and fed their rhinos, the reserve didn’t *feel* fabricated – probably because they weren’t trying to do too much. Leshiba had one shtick – a bunch of rhinos, and that was enough. Mabalingwe, on the other hand, touted itself as a “Big 5” reserve. It was a huge, corporate-owned property with multiple lodges in addition to private residences. And while they had to have lions on the reserve in order to call themselves “Big 5”, we discovered that the lions were kept in a fenced off enclosure, as the residents want to make sure it is safe for their kiddies to play in their backyard pools. Bizarre. Against our better judgement, we booked the tour to see the lions the next morning.

In the meantime, we had an evening drive scheduled for our first day at Itaga, led by Robert, our first (and only!) Caucasian safari guide. Why am I pointing this out, you may ask? Well, it didn’t really register with us that Robert and all of his colleagues were white, while all of our other guides up until now have been black. But when we were chatting with him about his career as a guide, he mentioned that he grew up in his grandfather’s private lodge in Kruger National Park, and that was where he learned everything he knows about tracking. When we asked why he didn’t want to work as a guide in Kruger, he said he used to until he was fired. “Why?” we asked. “Because of the color of my skin – they only want black guides.”

Now, I’m not going to say, “Poor Robert, that’s reverse racism!” This guy grew up with incredible privilege and probably has many more opportunities for (better paying) jobs than the guys that are now “stealing” his job at the national parks. But we did notice that *every single guide* at Mabalingwe was white. Not saying it’s better or worse, just noticing the difference between a private game reserve vs. the national parks.

Armed with the gate code, we say farewell to Leshiba and brave the trecherous 4×4 road down the mountain

 

The waterhole just outside the Itaga restaurant attracts many antelope, including these beautiful Nyala

 

There’s just something about Coca-Cola – whenever Igor tried to enjoy a can of happiness, some cute little animal tried to sneak a sip! Itaga has a tame squirrel that was hand-reared on the premises, and he quickly made friends with Igor

 

While Igor was playing with the wildlife, Lindsay discovered the hotel had A PUPPY! Do we really have to go on a safari? I can totally just stay here and play with the puppy.

 

The elusive Tsessebe, Africa’s fastest antelope, and a herd of wildebeest

 

This silly giraffe was eating too fast and got a branch stuck on his face! So cute.

 

A private house within the Mabalingue Reserve – a view of White Rhinos as you and your guests enjoy sundowner drinks on your patio. How the other half lives in South Africa

 

Our sundowner drinks, next to an empty waterhole. We be poor.

 

Sitting by the fire for an hour and a half waiting for dinner to be announced. Finally, the waitress comes over and says, “You know you can eat anytime you like, right? You’re not waiting for anyone, are you?” Thanks for the tip – we would have been sitting there all night! Gimme food!

 

Our last hotel room in South Africa – a luxurious end to a fantastic stay!