Serengeti, Tanzania

The morning light woke me up before 07:00 and I got ready to see the Serengeti today. I had breakfast at about 08:30 (coffee, thin pancakes, bread and jam, fried eggs with much needed chili sauce, and mango slices) and then I waited around with nine other safari-going tourists (two Austrian brothers, the French and Scottish guys I had met yesterday, the German couple I went on the safari with yesterday, and a Russian husband, wife, and small boy) as we watched everyone else that had stayed at the campsite take off before us (once again our piss-poor tour company had failed to pay money to the campsite and we couldn’t leave before that financial transaction took place); while we waited, I said goodbye to the American couple I had talked with during dinner last night. Finally, at about 10:30 (an hour after we were supposed to leave), we loaded up in to two safari vehicles (the one I was in had the two Austrian brothers, the German couple, and a cook; the other had the Frenchman, the Scotsman, the Russian family, and another cook) and drove out of the campsite resort and to the Serengeti. Unfortunately, we had to make several stops enroute to the Serengeti; first we stopped at the entrance to Lake Manyara for the driver to pick up a park pass; next we stopped at a bank to transfer money; then we stopped at a hotel with a grocery store for the drivers to take care of some more business (we did buy some cookies and other goodies at this grocery store while we waited). Also, while we stopped at the bank, the cook seated in the same car I was in bought some potatoes and a lollipop that he immediately began to suck on; then, while we were stopped at the hotel, he began to act strangely; soon, he was passed out cold and drooling; our driver kept trying to wake him, but it was futile; then he had me lock the passenger door to prevent the cook from falling out; when we entered in to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the security at the entrance gate questioned our driver about the drooling cook, telling him in Swahili that something was wrong, but our driver lied on behalf of the cook; we came to the conclusion that the lollipop the cook was sucking on must have been full of drugs and the moment he finished it, he woke up; although it took him two minutes of trying to open the passenger seat door before he realized it was locked (what professionalism!). Anyway, when the vehicle I was in reached the viewpoint for Ngorongoro Crater, we got out, took pictures, and then waited about forty minutes for the other vehicle to reach the viewpoint; we found out that the other vehicle had engine problems and was overheating (tea and duct tape helped alleviate the problem – kind of a MacGuyver solution), so it was slow going from here on as we climbed in elevation. We then went to a campsite on top of a hill in Ngorongoro to have lunch (we were told that this site would be where we would be staying the next night; also, there were two Marabou storks hanging around waiting for food to come their way); for lunch, we were each given boxes which contained a diced carrot and butter sandwich, a potato, a plain doughnut, a samosa filled with ground beef and onions, a banana, and mango juice (same as I had yesterday sans muffin and cookies). After lunch, we continued on to the Serengeti, passing by many Masai huts and herdsman. As we drove through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we finally started to see wildlife; we saw some buzzards and we drove through the great Wildebeest migration (they were just standing around grazing and we only saw the ones near the road take off running as we drove by). Next, we crossed in to Serengeti National Park (through the arched entrance), saw more of the great migration of wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, a cheetah with five cubs (far in the distance), and three young lions lying together (two males and one female). We then reached Naabi Hill (a rocky hill or “kopje”) where our drivers took care of the paperwork to allow us to camp inside the park for tonight; while they took care of business, we hiked up the rocky hill and saw some interesting flowers and many Agama lizards (some with very noticeable bluish and reddish colors); also, I did my best ‘Lion King’ pose on the rocky outcrop. Once the paperwork was taken care of, we drove onward to our campsite; on the way, we passed by a lonesome bull elephant, a hyena, some hippos (mostly submerged), a herd of buffalo, and a leopard far away, and in a tree (I could just barely make out his outline and leg hanging down from the branch in the driver’s binoculars – it also did not help that the sun was all but gone). We then finally made it to our campsite minutes before dark (and five hours later than we should have due to a late start, a disorganized tour company, and poorly maintained vehicles). We then set our tents up in the dark, put our bags away, and waited for dinner. Once dinner was served, we had bread and a soup (it looked like they had just blended the leftover carrot and butter sandwiches we had had for lunch and added water), spaghetti, and a ground beef sauce to put over the spaghetti; it wasn’t that bad, but it did take forever to prepare and serve. After dinner, I broke out the Gordon’s Gin and Amarula Liquer (I had bought the liqueur earlier today at the grocery store at Naabi Hill) and the Frenchman brought his Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum out; then the Austrian brothers, the Frenchman, the Scotsman, and I stayed up until about 23:30 drinking and joking; while we were doing so, we could hear the hyenas laughing and even saw one run through camp. We then all went to sleep, ready for the 06:00 coffee and safari tomorrow.