Part 2. Safari
So after a short rest in the towns of Moshi and Arusha we headed out for 5 day safari. We visited Lake Manyara NP, Serengeti NP, and Ngorongoro Crater. All parks were quite different but the Serengeti by far had the most animals so most of my pictures are from there. There was a ton of driving not only between the parks but also on the game drives. I'd say 6-8 hours on dusty roads per day was the norm. Not exactly relaxing or laid back but a welcome change from Kilimanjaro. We couldn't leave the road to view animals so a lot of the time we had to spot wildlife from quite a distance and zoom in with our cameras and binoculars. When animals did come up close to us it was a sight to behold.
We were in 9-seater Toyota Land Cruisers with pop tops which after riding in them for 5 days, I believe to be virtually indestructible. Here's a short convoy of us trying to help the lead Jeep out of some mud in the Serengeti
Zebras are so numerous in the Serengeti it's unbelievable. Watching them is pretty damn mesmerizing I must say
A Cape Buffalo with a feathered friend at Lake Manyara NP. This is the most common of the Big 5 Animals - The other four being Lion, Leopard, Elephant, and Rhino
A cheetah hidden in the grass. This is where a good guide/driver was crucial in helping you spot animals. They knew exactly where to look
I wish I was a little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
And a 6-4 Impala
Hippos are pretty disgusting animals IRL. You can smell them before you see them what with them wallowing in their own filth. Also the most deadly animal when accounting for human deaths
Female lions and their pride out on the prowl
Male Lion just chillin'
In the year one million and a half, humankind is enslaved by giraffe.
Coming upon a herd of Elephants in the wild was life changing for me. Almost brought me to tears seeing how majestic and playful they can be
This is the Ngorongoro Crater, a collapsed extinct volcano that holds a multitude of Animals you'd find on the Serengeti as well. While not as dense with life, the landscape was stunning. This is also the abode of the endangered Black Rhino, the only one of the Big 5 Animals we didn't get to see
We saw only one kill - a Hyena taking down a baby gazelle for breakfast. It all happened so quickly and was lucky to be able to snap this. Found it hilarious his buddies could only stare back in wonder that it wasn't them.
Safari is the reason most travellers come to Africa and it's easy to see why. I'm not even that much of an animal person and I was completely engrossed and wonderstruck. In addition to the posted photos there was a huge amount of Primates, Birds, Antelope, Wildebeest, etc. Highly recommended and not even that expensive if you camp out in tents. At night you can hear animals that pass through the campsite - Hyenas especially but even Lions and Elephants! But yeah, if that's not your thing the sky's the limit on how much you can spend for luxuries on accommodations.