Elisha to the Ends of the Earth: East African Safari

We finished up the field work portion of Travis' project a few weeks back. The field work went much faster than originally estimated so we were unexpectedly left with some time that we could use to explore more of Kenya. Travis decided to book us a SAFARI ADVENTURE to celebrate finishing the field work. It is actually most economical and logistically easy to book trips through a tour company, so that is what we did. It was so awesome to be able to see more of the country and its beloved and amazing national parks. We also went into, neighboring,Tanzania to some national parks there. We went with a group tour as private tours are way more costly compared to sharing a vehicle and guide with a few other people. The guides know the parks well and communicate with other guides so your chances of seeing the cool stuff increases compared to trying to do it on your own (plus a couple parks require a guide). The parks we visited in Kenya were the Masai Mara, Nakuru, and Amboselli. The parks we visited in Tanzania were Lake Manyara, NgoroNgoro Crater, Serengeti, and Tarengeri.

On a safari you drive around in a van or land cruiser that has a pop up roof and drive around looking for wildlife. All the roads are dirt roads and a lot of them are very bumpy so having a tough vehicle is essential. Usually when people come to Africa on safari they are usually interested in seeing what is called the BIG FIVE. The big five are as follows: Rhino, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Lion and Leopard. I guess these animals are the top 5 most dangerous animals in Africa. Many of the locals would say that the cape buffalo were the most dangerous of all, which seems surprising. If I were to pick the big 5, I would swap the cape buffalo for a cheetah and it would be more based on being interesting vs dangerous. And then I would add an honorary spot for the giraffe because they are so cute and so tall!

I enjoyed seeing the cats the most, I think. Its probably because they are usually the more challenging ones to see. We actually saw so many lions that they began to feel almost common. But each time we saw some it was exciting. We saw a fair amount of cheetahs and only a couple leopards. I feel like the leopard sightings were my favorite...but a very close/equal toss up with the lion cubs...so stinkin cute! The cats are all so majestic and regal. It was amazing to see them!

A lot of people hope to see a kill by one of the cats. I must admit we were sort of hoping for that too. We saw a few hunts but none ended successful. One lioness came very close to taking down one of a group of 3 zebras. When she got close and it was apparent that it was probably going to be the baby zebra, I sort had a change of heart and was sort of rooting for the zebra to get away, and it did. My heart was pounding so hard watching the whole thing. It was really cool to witness! Another time we just missed a couple of lions taking down a wildebeest... by a few minutes, I would guess. The two lions were feasting on their fresh kill. Then upon the scene came a few hyenas who must have caught the smell of blood in the air. Then a few more came, then a few more, and more and more and more till about 50 hyenas were yapping with watering mouths as they watched the lions feast. As a group the, the hyenas were getting more and more brave closing in on the lions until they pretty much ran the lions off of the kill and then proceeded to fight among themselves for a bite. I actually think the lions had pretty much eaten their fill and left more out of annoyance than anything. We did see one of the lions take an aggressive swipe and then bite into one hyena before laying down a few feet away to snooze off a overly full tummy. It was really cool to watch that whole scene. I couldn't believe how many hyenas showed up!

Each park we went to sort of had its special or unique thing about it. The Masai Mara is not only a beautiful savannah land but also is part of the great migration of wildebeest and zebra. We happened to be visiting during the time were these millions of animals migrate into the Masai Mara. It was unfathomable how many there were and so cool that we got to experience this thing that is considered one of the wonders of the world! While we were there we saw so many fat and snoozing lions who were gorging themselves, probably daily, on this smorgasbord of easy food that had migrated into their area.

Nakuru has a big lake that is usually home to a whole ton of flamingos. Its biggest claim to fame is probably that it is home to the most rhinos of any other park.

Amboselli is famous for the copious amounts of dust that it holds and is kicked up by the vehicles that drive its roads....ha ha! Actually we were told in the Masai language that the world "amboselli" means dust. Amboselli boasts of a beautiful Mount Kilimanjaro backdrop. Unlucky for us, the mountain was covered in clouds the main day we were there. We caught a brief hazy view of it the morning we left.

Lake Manyara was nice but it probably a park that attracts "birders." It was a little too dense and bushy to see any animals. There are supposedly tree climbing lions there but we did not see any. It did host millions and millions of pink flamingos that we could only see from a far distance but it made part of the lake appear pink.

The Serengeti is HUGE!!! It also is part of the great migration but it is where the wildebeest and zebras go back to after the Masai Mara. The two parks are essentially connected but are separated by a river boarder between Kenya and Tanzania. This park is vast and would take quite a long time to fully explore. It is also mostly open savannah lands with the occasional picture-perfect "African tree" popping up here and there.

The NgoroNgoro crater is actually an extinct volcano. It is a very small area for the amount of animals that call it home. The majority don't leave the crater, though they probably could climb the 1000 meters to get out. It has the highest animal population densities by area of any of the parks.

Tarengeri is home to the baobab tree....which is the tree Rafiki on the Lion King lived in. It is nicknamed the "upside down" tree because it looks like the root system is sticking up in the air. It is super cool looking! This park also has one of the highest elephant densities of all the parks. We saw TONS of elephants and lots of little babies ones....awe:)

In all, it was a great safari trip and we got to see a lot of beautiful landscape and wildlife!

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures!