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Arusha Monday, January 1, 2001This is our last morning here. On our way to the airport we did a little game drive. We saw three lion, seven ostrich, five Coke Hartebeest. We were in the OPEN plain and didn’t really see too much this stretch. We did see our first elephant on the open plain. They were very dark here. Must not be the same soda ash soil. We passed some Ranger Safari guides and stopped to speak with them. They are all smiling!! They will all be on their way back to Arusha like ours will be when they leave us at the airport. It will be about an eight-hour ride back for them. We’ll be going by air to Arusha and then will drive to Amboseli in Kenya. We have stopped by the Serena Lodge, which is build on and around a Kopje. It’s really unique architecture. Monkeys, baboons, hyrax and lizards are everywhere… on and in the lodge – hence you do see a few droppings around. It’s about 10:20 and it’s very warm. Ephata has gone to use the phone. His brother may be the one that can arrange for Andrew’s Kilimanjaro climb. The clientele here at the lodge looks a little ritzy. I’d have been perfectly content in a tent this whole trip without every staying in a lodge. It’s been great. We’ve also talked about how used to driving on dirt roads we’ve become. We almost don’t even want to see asphalt because it will mean civilization. We have been isolated and we have loved it! Right across the road from where we are sitting in the parking lot is a slew of Maribou storks and then we noticed about six hyenas. One took the kill away from them and ran off to eat it. Topi were all over the lodge grounds. We watched about a dozen tourists walking around to take pictures. They must have JUST flown in and no one has talked to them yet---or else they are just idiots. If they had seen the hyenas we say yesterday or heard the tales Ben told us at dinner last night they would be nowhere near where they are now! I’m beginning to think we really didn’t take anything seriously enough ourselves. He told about six staff at Sopa Lodge that got eaten by lions while walking back to their sleeping quarters (NOT FAR). Lions were very close to us - NOW he tells us he spent several hours in his car the first night doing guard duty!!!! We have really enjoyed Ephata and Ben and we hated to wave good-bye at the airport! Ephata had sung with us along the way today trying to reinforce our learning the Tanzanian song we’ve heard several times. He did arrange for his brother to meet Andrew in Arusha. They will be able to work out details for his trip while we are at the Mountain Inn for lunch. It is interesting looking out the window of the plane. Everything is green and that still astounds us. We are flying at about 7000 ft in a plane that holds 18 people and of course every seat is taken. They didn’t even ask for our tickets. I guess to be out here in the middle of nowhere at just the right time indicates you belong there. There is no room for anything. My pack is in my lap. The luggage compartment was JAMMED full. This is the flight that our packing and shopping totally revolved around!! It is a 55-minute flight. I took a Dramamine just in case but probably should have taken it a little earlier. I’m not ever quite sure on a little plane! From the air we can see all the bomas very clearly. They are sprinkled out and are truly in the middle of nowhere! It’s easy to see from the air how truly remote some of these Masai are. These make the others living by the road seem tame. As we are coming into Arusha you can see how the bomas change. Some have tin roofs mixed in. Agriculture becomes more prevalent. It’s much browner over here once we came over the mountains. It seems warmer in Arusha now and is very tropical looking again. We went back to Mountain Village for lunch after two quick stops at souvenir places. Andrew met the fella that is lining up his Kili climb. I feel better about that now. We started out for Amboseli a little later than we had planned because we got to Mountain Village a little later. The guides swapped us over at the border again and this time those fellas had waited a couple hours for us. It was a game drive into Amboseli. We saw a giraffe necked gazelle (Gerenuk) for the first time. They will get up on their hind legs to reach leaves in the tree. Amboseli is a park of 390 square kilometers. LOTS of Birds: Sand Grouse Buffalo Weaver Mouse bird Ostrich Social Weaver Egyptian Geese Flamingo African Jacana Long Toed Lapwing White Stork Marshall Eagle Nubian Vulture White Backed Vulture Abdims Storks Kori Bustard (weigh 40 pounds)White Crowned Shrike Elephants abound in Amboseli. There are also lots of buffalo and a few Wildebeest of a different variety (Blue). Zebra and Gazelle I believe are everywhere. We are staying at Tortilis Camp, which is a beautiful lodge. I would love to be here longer than we will. These are permanent tents, which are nice and big. The bathroom area is all wood paneled. There is a lovely veranda with couches and tables. They will come and do a wake up call and bring coffee or tea with sugar cookies. We are hoping to see Kilimanjaro here. Some of the tourist shots are to get elephant in front of the mountain. (Only possible on a clear day) Jane Wojecki |
Amboseli National Park. Monday, January 1, 2001 Had our breakfast and got on our way to the airport in the middle of the Serengeti. We saw more lions on the way to the airport. Prior to the airport we went by the Serengeti Wildlife lodge. It is located up in the same woodland area as the Sopa lodge we had stayed at previously. There were animals all around the lodge and the lodge was built right in the rocks. We made it to the airport, which consisted of nothing but a gravel runway. We said our good byes to our guides and loaded up in a Twin Otter. It was full. There were approximately 18 people on board plus the two pilots. The luggage compartments were full, so it is obvious why we were told to carry very little clothing and luggage on the safari, since it would have not all fit in the luggage compartment. It was beautiful looking down. Everything looked lush and green.
After a good 50 minute flight back to Arusha, we were picked up at the airport by some Ranger Safari drivers. They took us to some more souvenir shops and finally to the Mountain Village lodge again for lunch. After lunch we were taken back to the border where we met up with our new guides for Kenya. Our guide was Preston and the other was Peter. We made it through the border and traders faster this time. We traveled to the gate of Amboseli National Park. Preston took care of the paperwork and we continued through the park. While traveling through the park you could see the evidence of the past droughts that Kenya had been having. There was a lot of sparse vegetation and no water in the rivers. We were told that a lot of animals had died during the drought. We continued to the Tortilis Permanent tented camp. This was truly a luxury tented camp. Everything was first class and something to see. We went for an afternoon swim and then headed to dinner. We had a great dinner and prior to dinner sat and enjoyed the view in the bar. We all enjoyed a good night’s sleep. The Hazels
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