I Get To Do This Again? (Monday night)

We went out at 4:00 for another game drive. I remember seeing very little game for the last half hour before the hotel. It only took ten minutes in the car, and we were stopping. These are the inspiration for a fine vintage Chevrolet.



We went back to the hippo hole. There are about 110 hippos all wedged into the river.


The hippos graze on grass onshore at night, then spend the day in water. It is amazing to see, however, it smells like the worst dairy farm you can imagine.


This is the final picture of the day, more impalas. Cathie's batteries had died on her camera and the sun was going down.


From here it was a sprint back to the lodge. You have to be off the roads by sunset.

The skies opened and we had evening thunderstorms. Also incredible.

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Location:Serengeti, Tanzania

Lions and Hippos and ... Oh My! (Monday midday)

Today, we left the hotel early, drove through Arusha and caught a prop plane to a landing strip in the middle of the Serengeti.


We saw giraffes, zebras and lions from the plane. We also saw a two to three mile wildebeest herd from the air.

Upon arrival, we were met by our three guides/drivers. The coolers in the jeeps have beer.


It was decided to go on a short game drive, before heading to the hotel. It was my understanding that wildlife can be a little hit or miss. Today was a hit.

First up, zebras.


Baboons. There were about twenty walking by the road.


A herd of elephants.


We then came up on some vultures and buzzards. We paused for a second, then the driver moved on. Some lions had killed something, and the birds were just cleaning up.



We started hurrying to the hotel, because we were late due to the amount of stops for wildlife viewing. That's when we came upon about thirty giraffes.


We ended the morning with a drive by the hippo hole.



We arrived at the hotel. The room is amazing. This is the view from our deck.



We go out again, this afternoon.

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Location:Serengeti, Tanzania

I'm getting too old for this

I have never slept well on airplanes. My record for sleep is three hours and it wasn't consecutive.

We left Seattle at 1:25 pm. 9 1/2 hours later, we were at Schilpohl. Stand around for two hours, then board the 8 hour flight to Arusha. I managed almost two hours of sleep on the second flight.

I have watched the following:
Moneyball
Drive (still not appropriate for Alexandra)
Margin Call (Jason was right, it was a little too close to home)
A Parks and Recreation episode

I've listened to the following albums:
Bob Dylan - Blood On the Tracks
Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Sessions (acoustic Brazilian Bowie covers)
Jackson Browne - Jackson Browne
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Patricia Kaas - Dans Ma Chair

I don't know how many meals I've eaten. I've had three separate headaches.

Now I am filling the last half hour to landing.

We finish the day with customs, a 40 minute ride to the hotel, then dinner with the owner of Cathie's company.


We have landed. The visa line was only an hour. Cathie took a picture of our flight.


Here is the group.


Finally, me in netting.



Tomorrow? Safari!



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Location:Arusha, Tanzania

And We're Off

In 2010, Cathie's company set some large goals. In 2011, they exceeded them. As a reward, senior management and spouses are going on safari.

I am at SeaTac, getting ready to board a flight to Amsterdam. We'll transfer there and fly to Arusha, Tanzania. We'll be there for a week, home next Sunday.

It's very exciting. I never thought I would do anything like this. Travel to Europe has been great. A stretch trip for me was some day going to Japan. I was perfectly happy to experience Africa through Planet Earth documentaries.

Now we are on our way. I've done minimal research. The plan for the week is to get to Arusha, follow the guide until he takes us back to the plane.

I'll let you know how it goes.


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