3 Mar: SAFARI!!!

I really need to finish this before I take off for school...Hopefully that means more frequent posts in the near future.

We started the day by hopping on the daladala (48 this time, recall it uncomfortably seats 23). We rode into Iringatown and had breakfast, and we were soon on our way. It was a three hour drive to Ruaha National Park. The drive was amazing. When you see things you never thought that you would see over the course of your entire life, and then somehow find yourself in the middle of those things, its difficult to know how to react. A couple weeks before the trip I watched Blood Diamond, and though I knew I was coming on this trip, I was convinced I would never see scenery like that in the movie. When we came over the top of the mountain and saw Ruaha covering the ground like a green shag carpet stretching its way to end of the earth, I almost panicked. We had the driver stop the car so we could snap a couple of pictures, which you can see above. We paused for a couple minutes to catch our breath and soak in the view, standing on top of a land rover, with granite boulders on both sides. In Africa.

We arrived at the resort where we were staying, which was actually inside the park, and were blown away by the quality of our accommodations. The others staying in the park were fun to have around. There was a honeymooning couple from Britain, and a family of three from Germany (doctor, doctor, med student daughter). The place has running water, solar power, four-course meals, drinks, desserts, bottled water...all a bit of a change for us.

As far as the actual safari-ing, Ill let the pictures talk, and put them in a separate post above. The one thing you will not see, is the first time we saw lions. Since it is the wet season, the bush is thick, and people have been basically preparing us for disappointment as far as whether or not we'll see a cat (lion, leopard, or cheetah). We were actually heading back at the end of our first drive, when Brayn saw something lurking through the bush about ten feet to the side of our car. He tried to say something, but just made a few noises and hit me on the shoulder and made full-body gestures in its direction. I was finally able to get out a "Hey...HEY...HEY!!! LION!!!!" to get the driver and spotter to stop the car. It strolled along for awhile, then crossed the road. One of its buddies came walking along but stayed in the bush. We drove around the corner for a better look as they had both settled down for a nap and were tough to see. They decided to drive into the tall grass (which they asked us not to tell anybody they were doing, but I am now posting on the internet) and almost right on top of one of the lions. With my stupid camera battery dead and Brayn unable to prep his for a shot, we did not get a record of us probably being able to reach out and touch this thing, and then having it take a look at us, scream, and dart a few yards away. An amazing rush. This is an absolute dream come true for a science nerd like myself.

Insets: The "Neverending Road," the view from the top of the mountain over Ruaha, crossing the Ruaha River into the park, and everyone at the safari.

If this is your first time here, please be sure to read the first entry on this site. Thank you.