vibrant male hanging out
Going out the official exit of the Serengeti we saw zebra, wildabeest, thompson and grand gazelle scattered like sand across the plains. There are an estimated 200,000 zebra that migrate with the 1.5 million wildebest every year, and we got a snapshot of that.
wildabeest going crazy
young zebra are light brown
It looked straight to be out of a National Geographic film except we were taking it in with our own eyes. Meg is pretty convinced that zebras are her favorite. She is partial to the way they stand which is one looking each way with their head close to resting on the others back almost like they are doing a zebra hug . This is really their way of watching each others backs.
We also were driving through Maasai territory who are an indigenous people group that culturally live off of meat provided from their cows and goats along with their milk and blood. Pretty well rounded diet. Needless to say, they are lean. Lean to the point of from afar you have them pegged for 7 feet tall. The men (Maasai Warriors) wear long African-printed cloth wrapped almost like a dress and carry around huge spears as they herd cattle. They are clothed in jewelry made by their tribe, from head to toe. Meg and I were observing their little villages and kids along the road or out with their herds as we drove along. We both came away wondering aloud about their culture. Though they seem to cling to their primitive culture and lifestyle, as well as living separate from society in their little villages, they also seem to accept or at least desire what they are separating themselves from. Each one we went by, from our age on down to 3 or 4, waved at us to stop and asked for money or in one case a pen. Our guide told us they know asking for money isn't as probable so they ask for a pen for school. It seems a little counter intuitive for an intentionally separated society living as their ancestors have before them to also be wanting handouts. Meg and I wrestled with this thought for a while and even talked with our guides about it. Poverty is clearly a driving force for the requests for money, but what good is it doing if it only gets them by for a day and does not provide anything sustainable to them. Sadly you can see poverty any way you look here, and its heartbreaking. It makes you sincerely thankful for what you do have and perspective on how blessed our lives are. Two Massai below:
BIG giraffe along the way to the crater rim
male bull elephant right at our campsite
We arrived at the rim of the crater and set up camp. It was quite cold by Africa's standards. I would guess about 45 degrees give or take, but when you're rocking board shorts you can feel the cold.
our guide, bird expert and chef - victor
sunrise
Meg and I woke up in the morning about 5:15 and packed all our stuff up and wolfed down a quick breakfast. Nothing was going to get in the way of our main goal for the day, which was to see a pride of lions. We heard other groups planning to leave around 6:30 so then planned to go at 5:45. We wanted to alot for a potentially disastrous morning if the Landcruiser had issues. Thankfully we had no issues and were the second SUV into the crater (nobody is allowed in the crater for more than 6 hours). From their it was like being in a zoo. Wildabeest here, zebra over there, every other animal represented in the Lion King except giraffe (not enough tree for them to graze on). We started off strong with seeing 2 black rhinos that are supposed to be the most difficult because they apparently are a little people shy, plus they are only about 20 of them in the crater, which is practically the only place to see black rhino. O.k. cool Meg and I thought now lets get on to the main event. We want to see the lions... that is what we came for. Driving around our eyes peeled for anything possibly resembling a lion. In the process we happened by another couple rhino this time in a bit of a face off. Unfortunately, niether of them had the balls to charge the other and make contact while we watched this little dance of macho-ism in the wild. Bummer, the best action shot I got was one rhino relieving himself.
Sorry to anyone who is offended...
the rare black rhino!
wildabeest are hairy
the face-off (kinda)
tons of flamingos in the distance
Then we got what we were there for, a lioness casually sauntering around the SUV. Then we noticed another and another it was awesome. They had apparently brought down a water buffalo that morning. A male lion will eat 25 kilos of meat after a kill like that. The ones that had already stuffed themselves were lying in the sun in what I imagine is a pretty impressive food coma. There were 3 males that we could count and 9 females. One of the females plopped down in the road in the shade of another rig. Apparently they are friendly and drawn to people.
lady lion
serious food coma in the road
has the entire crater to pick a nap spot, but chooses here...
there were many lions lying around digesting their water buffalo
Male lion eating
the male lions = the most impressive
another female
this guy below is a teenager male - you can see his mane starting to come in
these water buffalo just lost one of their men
kind of cute little buggers
sorry zebra, we have to get by
last shot before heading out of the crater
With our lion fix complete after spending around 3 hours watching we started our journey out. This wasn't without another car event though. I had to push start the Landcruiser after stopping for a bathroom break. At the crater's rim we took the opportunity to use the restroom. It is amazing what you get excited about after being here for a few short weeks. I got back to the car with a look of accomplishment and pretty much simultaneously said with Meg "I scored us some more toilet paper!" Then we headed for Arusha.
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