Serengeti to Amboseli

Friday, 23 September 2016

Serengeti to Amboseli

Last night we went to sleep to the high-pitched squeaks of bats and the strange howls of the hyenas, who were quite chatty. We have a final breakfast, as on every morning,  of made-to-order omelet, delicious bacon, fresh fruits, pastries and breads, an delicious coffee.We pack up to depart, enjoying a final view out over the valley. At the receptions area, we sign the guest book and take some photos of the Masai men and the house staff, who have been wonderful. Every morning the Masai men, armed with a long stick, walk us to breakfast in the barely dawn light, and in the evening. They walk us to and from dinner. This seems a bit much at first, but sightings of Cape buffalo and hyena on the lodge grounds, as well, as hearing of the three leopard who live there, make it clear that this is indeed a good idea. We hear that the male staff asked if they could create a soccer field for times when there are no guests, and host Doreen and her husband said yes. In a few hours, they cleared a soccer field near the drive, and play there, with  one man always standing guard for predators.

On our last ride with our driver, John, there is still more wildlife to be seen: gazelles, giraffes including one that was sitting down, and a lioness and her Cuban a downed dead Ted, posed perfectly. A bit over an hour to the airport, and we wait for our flight, which is either at 10:00 or 11:00. It is getting hot, so time for some sunscreen. After much switching of who is on which plane – each carries only 9 passengers . We are off for a very smooth flight to Arusha. The landscape that was so strange when we arrived now looks familiar, winding roads throughout the Serengeti reaching throughout the park.

We arrive in Arusha, go through security, and stop at a very large restaurant, which from the sign appears to do quite a business  for weddings and similar events. They have a huge circular barbecue, and almost all  of us get their special plate, which is barbecued chicken, lamb, beef, and goat, which is delicious. Then off to the Tanzania Cultural Center, which offers every imaginable kind of carving, wooden wall hanging, statues, beaded jewelry and accessory, as well as Tanzanite, a beautiful blue stone from this area. We find a pretty pair of earrings for Madeleine – her birthday is just after our return – and placemats I admired so much at the Soroi lodge.

At the border crossing , we get out of the rather stuffy bus, stand in line for out exit papers, all along the way women in traditional dress and beaded jewelry are selling necklaces and bracelets quite assertively. Ari buys a number of water bottles and small ice creams for the group and graciously distributes them. We then walk over the  border to the Kenya side to get our visas, with about 7 or 8 women again selling beaded items while we waited in line. A problem arises – one of our group’s passport was altered, and the immigration agent was not at all happy about it. Fortunately our Kenyan escort, Eric, was able to help, as it was quite hot by now and most everyone was a little cranky. We walk to our three new vans, load up the luggage, most of the women still selling through the windows as we wait for everyone to board, and we are off. We drive through a village which quickly become countryside, a vey dry and brown landscape.On the road from the border crossing to Amboseli, we see people on motorcycles with huge loads of of firewood, children driving small herds of goats, wood or concrete block and mud houses with metal roofs, some very sad looking wooden kiosks selling various items, and the fewer new buildings mostly seem to be mosques. Seeing these small herds of goats and cattle makes it clear that this is an important part of people’s livelihoods. The road is rough, and all-weather road Barney tells me, the gravel surface making it less dusty than a dirt road, but not paved so it is still dusty. Because of the delays at the border crossing, we are quite late, and the drivers are eager to get us to Amboseli before dark, so they are driving quite fast, about 80 kph. It is a bone-jarring two hours, though we see Kilimanjaro at sunset from the Kenya side. It is too noisy in the car to talk, so I’m writing to catch up on the day. There is work underway on the road, so we take a detour, driving over a dry river which is rather smooth by comparison, and then back on the bumpy road. We arrive at last, dental work mostly still intact, tired and very dusty. We head out to dinner, and Joel shifts our start time from 6:30am to 9:00am, which we’re all happy about.

The Amboseli Serena Lodge is much larger than the Soroi, 60 rooms compared to 13, so it suddenly feels like there are lots of people around, and quite a diverse crowd. The rooms are smaller, but the shower is lovely, After being almost alone at the Soroi and getting to know the few staff by name, it seems a little odd to see so many staff here, plus a large lounge and gift shop. A little stream runs through the reception area, and the sound of water, missing from our soundscape recently, is very nice. We’ll sleep well tonight.

Serengeti Day 3

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Serengeti Day 3

 Up early for the hot water brought to our room at 6:00am to make coffee, Barney and I are actually ready early for once, and we head down to breakfast. It is lovely and cool this morning, likely from the rain. We got our laundry back last night, beautifully washed and pressed, even the men’s underwear. Because all the staff at the lodge are male, they cannot wash women’s “smaller” or underwear, so we take care of that on our room. After a hearty breakfast, we head out at 7:30 for the south Serengeti, a new area for us. There’ s a lot of wildlife out, more than yesterday, as we left 30 minutes earlier.

The landscape looks different here, more Savannah-like, fewer trees,  and no hills in the background. There are lots of Thomson’s gazelles and Impala with their gently-corkscrewed horns, and then we see a large male Grant’s gazelle, with his V-shaped horns, posing pertly for us. Then soon we see some female ostriches, which have eggs at this time of year. They prefer insects, and their heads bob up and down every few moments as they feed and keep watch.

We come to a large rock formation, a place where John says that lion and leopard often hides their cubs in the crevices. We  look carefully, but don’t see any, and John tells us this is also a good spot to see the poisonous large Black Mamba snakes, sunning themselves, on the rocks. We spot a Secretary bird, who looks much larger now that we are closer, a male-female pair who hunt together, and their nests are in the trees.  They eat snakes  and large insects, and have sharp long tails and long, black and white legs. Their beaks look about 8 inches long, plenty long enough to snare a snake, and they also use their feet to kill their prey.

We come to an open flat area, with a typically African vista, and we see some Step Eagles in a tree, one sitting on a nest, with a giraffe and a family of elephants in the distance.
John tells us about the sausage tree, whose fruit is used to make a local gin. For big parties they have the gin, well as the  blood from the cow, which is their favored animal to eat, as well as the milk and yogurt from the cow.  We are told that you must always eat with the gin, usually barbecued cow, as it is very strong. This gin is not sold, as it is unregulated, a bit like white lightning or moonshine.

A quick rest stop, fortunately, and we're off. We see a black-shouldered kite, and discussion ensues about whether the phrase "high as a kite" comes from the bird or the paper toy.

We come upon a large male ostrich near enough to the road that I can photograph him. With each step his wings pulse outward and his neck leans forward, graceful and rhythmic. Up close we can see how large and powerful his legs are.

We discuss the differences between the three big predators. Cheetahs hunt alone and rely on their incredible speed for success; the cubs stay with the mother about 9-12 months, until they learn to hunt. While they can climb trees, they can only go up a short distance, not like the leopards. Leopards also hunt alone, and rely on their stealth, tree-climbing ability, and that they  can put their prey up in a tree to eat later. Leopard cubs stay with their mothers until about one year. Lions rely on the power of the group, the pride, for success in hunting, and while they climb rocks, they do not really like to climb trees. They can hunt anytime of day or night, and can go as much as seven days between eating when really full, or 3-4 days if not full. We come upon two lionesses sleeping in the shade of an acacia tree, around 11am. In the dry season, lions stay very near the river, as they know that all the other animals must come to the river for water. Further along the road, we see the young male lion associated with the two lionesses we just saw, similarly sleeping quietly under a tree. We can see his ribs, so likely he has not eaten for a while.

We cross the Korange River, which is barely a creek this time of year, and see a herd of Cape buffalo in a line by the river, which must stretch for a quarter mile or more. There are a number of very old Bulls called "retired," which are cast out by the larger group's dominant males, and then form their own group, where they act as sentries in the rear. We see a number of hippos, half submerged in the water. They graze at night, up to 10 km distance, and stay in the water during the day to remain cool. Apparently, despite being herbivores, hippos are quite dangerous, and many people have been killed by them, as their teeth are fierce. Barney remembers being at the Oakland Zoo as a college student, on a date with a girl, and there was a baby hippo on the petting zoo which loved having its mouth and tongue petted. Alas, this was in the pre-Joel era. We also see some Egyptian geese in the water, and some lovely yellow and red flowers along the riverbank. We see a male reebok with two females drinking from the river.

Soon we come to what apparently is the hippo health spa, and a group of 17 hippos entering the water. They frequently use their tails to flip water onto their backs, so there is a constant splashing sound. There is a large older dominant male, a number of females and babies, and at least one young male. The young male is trying to pull a female from the group, and the older male, catching him, fights with him a bit and bellows, and the younger male tries a few more times, then retreats to the edge of the group. Here's the video of them fighting: https://vimeo.com/184134365.   And this:

A banded mongoose poses on a large termite mound, the sentry for the group. We see more warthogs, females and young, as the males travel separately. And then closer to the river again, an enormous herd of Cape buffalo, stretched out over half a mile or more and on the move.

We arrive at another part of the river, where a herd of Impala are headed to drink. We see them coming down the banks, almost all females and babies with a few young males with small tusks who have not yet been turned out of the herd. The big male brings up the rear, and makes sure that everyone gets to the water to drink. Here we see flamingoes and other shore birds drinking and foraging. Then one of the old, "retired" Cape buffalo comes to the water's edge and wades in, half submerging himself. The male Impala keeps a close watch on his herd, never letting any of them stray too far. Then at last, when all have had a drink, he finally got a drink, and herded there up the hill again.

We continue on and find a shady spot for lunch, and briefly get out of the jeeps for some photos.  I guess we've all got a little jeep fever, based on how quickly everyone wanted to get out. Ari] takes photos of each couple and then of each jeeps, with some very amusing poses. The group divides, with some going back early, and others continuing on to the Kopje rocks, also known as the Simba rocks.

We arrive at the rocks, which is also a ranger station devoted to the protection of the endangered Black Rhino. The sky is overcast and the sun streams down, I get a photo of Joel and Ari, who has taken photos of all of us. There is a collection of skulls there, antelope, elephant, hippo, and Cape buffalo. Apparently butterflies lay their eggs in small holes in the buffalo's horns, and the rough parts are the remains of where the caterpillar emerges. Nearby we see a female Hartebeest laying down with her baby nearby; not far away are four baboons are under a tree.

We continue on the road through the massive stone formations, the Kopje, with variations of dark gray, beige, and a terra cotta color. We come to one large formation where concrete steps have been poured. John walked up first to check for lions, and then gave us the OK to come up. We had a magnificent view over the whole enormous vista, and as the dark clouds had been gathering above us, the grass nearby were a grayish-brown, and the ones in the distance glowed a right gold under the sunny area. I decided this might be a good place to carry on the family tradition and sing, and decided to do "Must the Winter Come So Soon," though I momentarily forgot some lyrics in the second verse and had to improvise.  It was interesting singing outdoors without walls or ceiling to reflect the sound ... I wonder how far it carried in the serene stillness of that place.

On our way back to the lodge, we saw a group of Thomson's gazelles quit close to the road, a big male with females and a number of babies. I wonder about the dark stripes on their backsides, for what purpose they evolved. Farther on, a troop of at least 20 Olive baboons crossed the road, headed toward some nearby trees. We saw the big male with his huge ruff, some adolescents, and a few tiny babies on their mothers' snacks, which were beyond adorable. I'm really wishing that the iPad had a telephoto lens so I could get clearer photos from far away, but alas. 

Serengeti Day 2

We went to sleep to the sounds of hyenas, heard a group of lions attacking something, during the night, and the wind howled through the canvas walls. The Masai men walked us to an early morning breakfast outdoors, then we’re off at 8:00am for a full day of wildlife viewing.

Early on, we see a family of Olive baboons crossing the path, but too fast for me to take a photo. Joel tells us that the males dominate the troop, and defend the group if they are attacked. Lots of gazelles, some zebras, and giraffes nearby, here’s the link to the video of a giraffe walking toward a tree. Their gait reminds me of how professional ballet dancers walk, turned out, with each step carefully articulated. https://vimeo.com/184134524

Soon we’re in an open area, where we begin to look for leopard or cheetah. Aileen spots a leopard in an acacia tree, her tail hanging down. Joel says that the leopard hunt at night, and bring their kill up into the tree to eat and rest. This one is really sacked out, draped over the branch, after her big meal. This particular leopard is too far away for me to photograph with the iPad, but is spectacular through the binoculars. I will try to add Barney’s photo later.

The Big Five discussed in African wildlife are the Lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, and Cape buffalo. So far we have seen all but the rhino.

We pause at a little rest stop, where there were many other vans stopped as well. And a flock of Superb starlings (the iridescent ones), and Buffalo weavers (the black and white and orange ones) had clearly decided this was a good place to hang out and scavenge. The Buffalo weavers create the fluffy yellow nests in some acacia  trees, and the entry hole is at the bottom to prevent other animals from getting in. Some of the birds gathered around Joey and Barney and Mary, almost as if listening to their conversation.

Along the road, we came to a lone zebra, posed majestically and looked right at us, who crossed just behind the truck. They are stunningly beautiful.

Then suddenly we see some other vans gathered near a leopard at the base of a tree. The big male leopards sleeping at the bear of the tree, and we spotted his prey, a dead gazelle, suspended in the tree. He starts to clean himself, them stretches and rolls over. He is in complete command, just resting while his prey is safely stored. The tiny bit hanging below the tree is the hoof of the gazelle, the head and antlers are above the limb. In the big tree view, the tiny white bit hanging down lower left is the leg of the gazelle.

We decide to wait, most of us eat lunch, hoping that the leopard will wake up and climb the tree. And after a while, he gets up, pees, walks around the tree, then leaps up into the tree and climbs up to where he stored his kill. He checks it out, then walks past it further out the limb, and lays down for a nap. He is digesting heavily and breathing deeply, his back leg moving in sync with his breathing. We all watch raptly as he settles into a new nap, his kill secure.

Farther on, we come to a herd of elephants, mothers and babies and cousins, no bulls, as they are solitary. The young males, about 15 years old, then hang out in gangs for a while, until they are about 25 and can push out an old male and take over a herd. Males continue to grow physically until they are about 40, females until about 25. In this group, there is a tiny new baby elephant, barely visible over the top of the grass, looking like a gray shadow. The herd is moving toward a large tree, where they circle up to rest in a starburst formation, so they can protect the several young ones.

Then we come to the first view of water we’ve seen. Herons stalk the grass, occasionally poking down for fish. Numerous hippos  are in the water, silent and unmoving like large gray rocks. Th,ree crocodiles sit half in, half out of the water, also unmoving. On the side is a truly newborn Thomson’s gazelle, Joel says les than 30 minutes old, as it is not yet standing up, and still has some placenta attached. The moth stand guard on top of the tiny hill while the gazelle trie s to stand. Byte time are about 30 minutes old, the gazelles can stand on their own, and start to walk with the mother at about two hours old, amazing considering ha I no muscle tone after a six- month gestation. A reebok hops by, seems to confer with the mother gazelle, then moves on. We learn from our guide John that the word Serengeti means “endless” in Masai.



Another rest stop, with nice newish bathrooms and small tables to eat, and an interesting. Nature walk. A major feature is the kobje, granite outcroppings that have been pushed up over geological ages. These inspired the “Simba Rock” in the Disney film The Lion King. Near the picnic area we saw a small group of Hyrex , small rodent-like animals which are actually related to elephants, with similar feet and small tusks.











Off to an area near the river, we encounter a huge herd  of Cape buffalo, perhaps 500-750 head, essentially in a large circle around our truck. The males with the big tusks that grow like a cap over their heads are staring at us, keeping a very close eye on things.


Then John spotted something under a large umbrella acacia tree, which turned out to be a lion and a lioness, the brown dots under the tree (better photos from Barney to come). Joel told us that males can tell which lioness is in estrus, and will cut her from the herd.hey then stay together for 2 days to one week, mating and resting, mating and resting, fasting the whole time.we see them sleeping under a tree, and the. The lioness gets up and stretches, so catlike, and then the male rises too. He turns to her and mounts her, briefly, then they separate, and lie down again. We are all in awe, even Joel said it was only the second time he has seen lions mate. Ari actually gets it on video, breathtaking.

Serengeti Day 2

Soon we come to a gathering of about 15 trucks, gathered near a pride of lions. On the left are two lionesses, pacing and then finally weaving through the parked jeeps to the other side. There we see a pride of lions, about 6 cubs and 8 lionesses, feeding on a zebra, who we can identify  by the stripes. The lions’ lips and noses are red from the blood. Then about 50 yards away comes the male, who walked alongside our truck and put his feet up on a small hill in the "Lion King" pose, setting off a barrage of photography. By his time nearly 40 jeeps had gathered to see the pride with the kill and the lion, and the lion turned away from the trucks which separate him from the kill, and walked off into the tall grass. Joel said these animals are used to the trucks that have been operating here for generations, but still it seems to have distracted the lion from crossing over to the kill. 

We left and continue on the road to the lodge. On the right, Joel spotted a mongoose, and the two jackals walking in the background. Turns out they were stalking a young Thomson's gazelle, which they then started to chase at high speed, running in front of us and then in a big arc to the left. Despite the two jackals on one gazelle, the gazelle seemed to escape  which we were all relieved at. Joel said it was the second time on these trips he had seen a chase, that it is quite rare.

Then closer to the lodge the jeep ahead spotted some cheetah cubs with their mother, five cubs in all. They are adorable Little fluff balls, we just wanted to pick one up and cuddle it. Joel said they were about 4 months old. The mother cheetah was keeping a vey close eye on us. John said that the cheetah mothers sometimes have problems when they on a 2-3 mile long chase, as they leave their cubs behind, and sometimes then cannot find them after. The leopards and lions are a considered "good mothers" as they stay close for hunt, and then can go back easily to get the cubs to come and feed. If a cheetah cub is left on its own, it may be attacked my a lion or leopard, or hyenas which hunt in packs.

What an incredible day, we are so lucky in all the amazing things we have seen today. We arrive back at the lodge, hot and tired and dusty. The outdoor shower feels delicious, and we have a little time to sit on the deck and gaze out onto this beautiful landscape. It seems so serene from a distance, yet now we know how teeming with life it is up close, from the mating to the birth to the adulthood to the chase and finally, in death nourishing other life.

Serengeti Day 1, Part 2

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Serengeti, Day 1, Part 2

We land at the Serengeti airstrip … the airstrip is even more rustic than Arusha, with thatched-roof and metal-roof buildings (and very nice bathrooms). The 180 degree view from the Land Cruisers was beautiful and open.

And we’re off in the Land Cruiser, the vehicle of choice here, for some wildlife viewing. Our lodge is within the park, so we’re going to have some nice viewing en route. Even as we leave the airport, we see a lone Topi on the road, and some warthogs. A few minutes later, we come to a herd of Thomson’s  gazelle.

And then, a stunning and unusual sight … a lioness eating her fresh kill, one of those same gazelles, she would even lick it at times. In the background near the trees, a small family of seven elephants, and down by the creek in the far distance, three hippos. Here’s a link to her eating the gazelle, you can see her flip the legs up. All the while, another gazelle stood on the other side of the road, almost in mourning. We are indeed in Africa now.

https://vimeo.com/184134274

Further on the road, we encounter a number of giraffes, mostly males and young ones, which Dr. Parrott says are about 6 months old. These are Masai giraffes, whose spots are in somewhat of a
flower pattern. Their tails end in beautiful waves, cascading like a model’s hair in a shampoo ad. They almost seem to pose for us, they nibble on umbrella acacia trees. Left and right of the jeep, we can see a total of seven giraffes  – amazing.

In the controlled burn areas, we see the whistling thorn acacias, which have big galls at the ends of their branches, with holes in them through which the wind whistles. Ants live in the galls, so when giraffes try to eat them, the ants race out of the galls and onto the faces of the giraffes, which they don’t like, so this protects the acacias. We see a vulture overhead as we get into Tsetse fly territory, so our guide, John, closes the pop-top for a while. But then we see a family of elephants, led by the matriarch, with lots of babies, and a big, swaggering bull bringing up the rear.

As we continue toward the Soroi Serena tent camp  where we’ll be staying, we see several zebras from a distance and then suddenly, up close to the car, two large Cape water buffalo. Apparently they are aggressive, so our guide did not want to stop, and continued on.

The Soroi Serena Lodge is absolutely stunning, and all electricity and water heating is done through solar power. Built on a high ridge, the main reception area is a giant thatched-roof room with chandeliers made of acacia branches, and beautiful wood and upholstered furniture and subtle earth tones.

After a quick briefing – you cannot go outside your room after dark and must call to be escorted by a staffer, one of the Masai men with a stick, there are no fences allowed in the Serengeti so the animals can and do wander in - we are each escorted to our own thatched-roof tents, each with its own view of the plains below. Canvas tent walls and wooden door frames enclose a beautiful warm room, with a large bed with mosquito netting around it, a bathroom with a gorgeous soaking tub, and an outside shower with a view of the Serengeti plain, just next to some lounge chairs. The tents are cleverly designed so that each is perfectly private, like a little hideaway. We have enough time to cool off a bit, then off to a healthy lunch, and out for a late afternoon wildlife viewing drive.

Our late afternoon viewing ride began with more Cape buffalo, then two groups of mother and baby giraffes, carefully hidden in the trees, and a Secretary bird which is a hunter. Then a few Grant’s gazelles with the Thomson’s gazelles, and giraffes, silhouetted against the late afternoon sun. Then a pair of ostriches, the male is dark, the female is grey; the female sits on the eggs during the day to hide them, and the male sits on the eggs at night. The Thomson’s gazelles are everywhere, with their sweet faces, and tails that are constantly going back and forth like little propellers.

Then a small herd of Impala, with horns that could impale you, thus the name. More zebras, some silhouetted against the mountain, and some Elands, a huge type of antelope. Then we see some more Topi, the little brother of the Wildebeest (the other is a Hartebeest).  The zebras we see here are Burchell’s zebras (a type of plains zebra)  with the wider stripes, in Kenya we’ll see the Grevy’s  zebra, which is a different species. As the sun continued to go down, we saw a Lapped-Faced or Nubian vulture, on the top of a dead acacia, and then a tawny eagle in a tree, just touched by the golden sunlight at the end of the day. A large group of zebras went by, including a baby, and suddenly started rolling in the dirt; they do this to pick up dirt so they can shake off the bugs. And the the other two started rolling in the dirt too, shaking their legs in the air, seeming so happy just to roll in the dirt.

We captured some beautiful sunsets on the way back, it was breathtaking.

Serengeti Day 1

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Serengeti  Day 1

Up bright and early after a good night’s sleep, on a nice bed and with a lovely shower. Breakfast included everything one could want, omelets made to order, meats and fish, cereals  and yogurts, delicious fresh local pineapple, and local coffee.


Then up and out at 7:00am to Arusha airport. We drive through Arusha at morning rush hour, filled with people going to work and school, tiny shops already open, offices and mosques and churches, unpaved side roads off the main drag, Uhuru Road.


Everywhere there are new concrete structures going up alongside metal-roofed wooden houses. One building has six stories of wooden scaffolding that seem a bit shaky to me, “not OSHA approved” as one man said.

We take off on a 12-passenger plane from Arusha airport, bound for the Serengeti. The airport is small and somewhat rustic, a series of small buildings, and we load onto the very low-ceilinged plane. As we ascend we see the city of Arusha and the many small coffee plantations surrounding it. On our plane are two women from South Africa who have lived here 8 years; their husbands are in the safari business and their children go to the local international school which we passed on our way in. They now have a business setting up curio shops in safari areas. We fly over the South Serengeti, where we stop to drop off the two women at an airstrip.

Landing on approach to South Serengeti, we have a nice view as we ascend again.

Kilimanjaro

Nairobi (Airport Mostly) to Kilimanjaro

Landing in Nairobi early this morning, we wind our way through the airport, to get rebooked for a late afternoon flight to Arusha. We spent most of the day in the Kenya Airways Simba lounge, which had everything one could want to drink, mostly traditional foods for lunch, plus cakes and fruit, and some very comfy chairs and sofas.

Finally, a bus to the old terminal, and we walked up the gangway onto a small plane (held about 60 people), for the 45-minute flight to Kilimanjaro.

Barney is in the left window seat, so he gets some great views of  Mt. Kilimanjaro. At last we land in Kilimanjaro, meet our escort from Leopard Tours, and go through customs, get visas, luggage, and load up a small bus to the hotel in Arusha.

Leaving the airport, we have a view of Mt. Meru on the left at sunset, and Kilimanjaro to the right far in the distance. Lots of people are along the highway, and we see loaded donkeys amid the motorbikes. Driving on the British side of the road is always a bit disconcerting at first, so glad not to be driving here, especially being so jet lagged.

We head out the “Great Road,” a 2-lane highway with no lights, which runs all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt. We pass a number of small one-story buildings, which seem to be combination homes and general stores packed with people, then eventually we get to an open area as the sun set.

Tonight we stay in a hotel in Arusha (showers at last!), then we’re up early for the flight on a small plane to the Serengeti!

Off to Africa - After An Unscheduled Stop in Cairo

Off to Africa!

Day 1, Saturday 17 September: after a very hectic week of preparations, many work deadlines, and celebrating Barney’s birthday, we’re finally off to Kenya and Tanzania with Dr, Joel Parrott and a group from the Oakland Zoo. Saturday late afternoon we leave on a smooth and uneventful Virgin Atlantic overnight flight from SFO to London with a six hour layover at Heathrow.

Day 2, Sunday, 18 September, at Heathrow, we drag our jet-lagged selves around the airport, and go  up to a viewing floor to watch planes arrive and depart. It is very busy, planes landing every 30-60 seconds, and we get to see one of the remaining Concorde planes parked there.



Finally, we board Kenya Airways to Nairobi, and were  exhausted enough that we actually sleep. Until an announcement comes, seeking someone with medical expertise for a passenger in distress. A few minutes later comes the announcement that we’d be diverting to Cairo airport so the passenger could deplane.

Day 3, 20 September: We’ve been here about an hour now, and since it was almost midnight when we land, we did not even get to see the pyramids when landing. We’re hoping that we can still make our Nairobi connection to Arusha and Kilimanjaro on Monday morning. Three calendar days on travel is a long time.

Three hours after the stop in Cairo, the person who is ill has to stay, they have to off-load her baggage, and then we finally took off. We land in Nairobi four hours late, and miss our flight to Arusha - one of only two flights per day. so after rebooking all 11 of us, we get them to let us into the Kenya Airways Simba Lounge so we could have some comfortable chairs, a sleeping area, showers, and food, very nice after 12 hours on an airplane. The flight will get us to Kilimanjaro/Arusha around 7pm, then to the lodge about 8pm, when we'll all probably collapse before our flight to the Serengeti in the morning for our first day of wildlife viewing.