So, the last time I wrote in my blog, it was roughly the halfway point of my trip. It's so hard to believe that I will be heading home shortly... really I haven't had the time to think about it much, which is the scary part. I know that this trip is going to be over before I know it! But that being said, I am excited to be home for Christmas and it will be really nice to have some of the luxuries of home- like my own bed and a hot shower in the morning!
The past 10 days have been spent in Kenya and Tanzania... with a lot of animals. I can't tell you how many times in the past week and a half I have thought... "Am I really seeing this right now?" It's been like an episode of National Geographic.
The start of this trip was in Nairobi, which is kind of a big, dirty city. It's not classifed as a "safe" city, so I didn't do too much wandering outside of the hotel, but we did go out as part of the tour here and so I was able to see parts of the city that I wouldn't have otherwise. There are definitely no traffic laws here... at least none that are followed... and so driving around the city has been interesting. One of the main attractions that we visited in Nairobi, and the one that I enjoyed the most, was the Giraffe Center. There are three main types of giraffes in Africa- the Masai, the Reticulated and the Rothschild. The Rothschild Giraffe is endangered, and the Giraffe Center in Nairobi is attempting to breed them and release more into the wild. We were able to get really close to these amazing creatures... feed them, pet their noses, and even give them a kiss. I was able to get some great photos that I'll post as soon as I get home.
Left Nairobi after a couple of days there, and headed into Arusha, Tanzania. Arusha is much more lush and green than I thought it would be, considering the Serengti plains are not too far away. This place defnitely has an interesting mix of lush green and arid plains.
From Arusha, we set out on basically 7 days of game drives. Our first stop was to Lake Manyara National Park, which is the only place in teh world where you will find lions climing trees. The lake itself is huge and there are underground springs that come out of the mountains surrounding the lake and provide this park with the majority of its water. The vast amounts of water here make this place a very lush, green place and it felt like a tropical jungle. Aparently this is why the lions here climb trees... so that they can get a better view of potential prey.
The lake was amazing and supported vast amounts of birds- and a ton of flamingos. Unfortunately a few years ago, someone wanted to get rid of all of the flamingo in the area and introduced an algeae into the lake which killed most of the birds. THey are slowly making a comeback in the area and already their numbers are so vast, it's hard to imagine what it was like before they were chased away.
We saw a ton of zebra, giraffe, elephant and gazelle in the park and we even saw a dikdik... which is a small deer-like animal that is apparently very shy and rare to see. No tree climbing lion, but it's okay... maybe next time!
Next it was off to the Serengeti Plains, and the really amazing part of the trip. For three days and two nights, we were surrounded by all kinds of amazing wildlife. We were there during the annual zebra and wildebeast migration, so we saw literally thousands of them. We also saw a ton of lions, hiyena, jackel, and giraffe. We saw so much in those days, so again I will just stick to the highlights.
The Serengeti plains and the Savanah are more what I pictured Africa to look like- arid, dry, with acacia trees everywhere. It was very picturesque and the perfect backdrop to the wildlife that we saw there. So, here are the highlights....
Like I said there were thousands of zebra there, and not too many places for them to get water. We came acros a watering hole where you could see zebra everywhere around you. You could tell that they were very thirsty, but you could also hear warning calls coming from many of the zebra next to the water. They would get close to the water's edge and look like they were going in for a drink, then they would suddenly dart away, barking a warning. The reason for this became aparent as we got closer to the water and saw a pair of eyes staring back at us, and the back of a massive crocodile about 15 feet from the water's edge where the zebra were trying to take a drink. It was fascinating to watch the few brave zebra who would go in for a drink, just to be driven back as soon as they sensed danger.
We waited there for a while until all of a sudden about 30 zebra came running wildly towards us from a road not too far from the watering hole. Our driver sped away and as we came around the corner of the road where the zebra had come running we saw the reason why they were so frantic. Right next to us on the road stood a young male lion with a baby zebra in its mouth. It was really sad to see, but fascinating at the same time. The lion would throw the zebra up in the air and let it flop down then shake it in its mouth, just to make sure it wasn't still alive. It would then pick it up again and we watched as it repeated this a couple of times and dragged it off into the acacia forest. It was one of those moments... the "holy crap, did that just happen?" moment.
A bit later on that day, we had another crazy encounter with lions. This time, we were out at sunset and came across a pride of lionesses. We followed them around for a while until they found a log where they decided to plop down for a rest and some play-time. It was so cute to see how they interacted. They were very affectionate with one another, and looked just like house cats playing and biting eachother. Pretty soon they were joined by more lions... they looked like they were coming from all directions. Three groups of lions came up and joined them and then they all were on the move. We followed them in our truck towards another watering hole where they decided to stop. We stopped our van there, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by lions. There must have been 15-20 lions- young males, lionesses, and cubs- all around our vehicle. This gave me a whole new appreciation for the cute animals we had just seen playing by the log. They looked so innocent from far away, but when they looked at you, you got this feeling that they just wanted to eat you. It was crazy.
On the next day, our morning game drive took us way out in to the savanah where there aren't many trees. Our guides spotted a whole group of vultures circling in the air in front of us and below it they saw three cheetah in the grass. We followed the cheetah until they crossed the road right in front of us. There was a group of gazelle just across the road, downwind of the cheetah. We watched as one of the cheetah pulled out in front of the other two, eyeing the gazelle. As she got closer, she started crouching down in the grass. I couldn't believe how close she was able to get before one of the gazelle noticed and started alerting the rest. This was the moment that she popped out of the grass and went sprinting after one of them. It was so incredible to watch her speet as she fully stretched out. She didn't make much of an effort, and didn't catch anything, but it was still absolutely amazing to witness. Our guides told us later that they thought it was a female with two cubs and she was teaching them how to hunt. The vultures in they sky probably meant that they had already killed something and were not very hungry, so what we saw was just a hunting lessn for the cubs. We were incredibly lucky to see that, and it's not something that I will forget. It was absolutely amazing.
Those were kind of the big moments of the Serengeti. Other than that, we spotted a leopard up in a tree with two very small baby cubs, we saw a pair of lions mating, and we saw several more cheetah.
After the Serengeti, we moved on to Ngorongoro Crater, which is the largest fully enclosed crater/caldera in the world. Much more wildlife there, including a black rhino with a baby- which meant that I saw the Big 5 again! :) Many more flamingo in the crater, although the same guy who killed the flamingo at Lake Manyara did the same at Ngorongoro so there weren't as many as there were 5 years ago. Still it was amazing to see.
Another great highlight of this trip was that we were able to visit a Masai village, which are the nomadic people of Tanzania. It was fascinating to see how they live- in little mud huts, relying on their herds of cows and goats. We were shown around by the son of the chief (we actually visited the chief's house, but he was sleeping... we saw his feet sticking out of his bed). They did their traditional welcome dance, which was really cool. It was mostly performed by the men, but the women and childredn sang along with them. They are poligamous and woud traditionally travel around following the rains. Now that they are ablet o buy water, they are able to stay in one place for longer periods of time, although they will still move when necessary. Again, I have some cool pics that I will post as soon as I get home.
So, now I've moved on to the last part of my trip. Currently I'm in Egypt, and am really loving it here. I'll write more about Egypt shortly. Hope all is well with you!!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Bungee Jumping, Shark Diving, and Saying Goodbye
So, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I feel like every time I sit down to update my blog the same problem comes up... there's so much that I could write about, I feel like it would take me days to say everything that I want to say. But again, I will just stick to the highlights and save the rest for later.
When I last updated my blog, we have gone to several different places, including the Drakensburg Mountains, which contain the 2nd largest mountain in Africa (2nd to Kilimanjaro). They were absolutely beautiful- lush green valleys with mist-covered mountain peaks. Absolutely gorgeous! We went on a huge 6 hour hike through these mountains, and visited a cave which was used by the first civilizations to settle in the mountains. There were cave paintings that were over 8,000 years old. It was pretty amazing to see something still in tact from that long ago, but the even more amazing thing to me is that our guide told us that the caves were still used for spiritual ceremonies today by the ancestors of those first settlers. That is definitely one thing that I am coming to learn about many of the cultures throughout Africa. It seems like there is a strong connection to the past and ancient customs that have been in practice for thousands of years. I think it's pretty cool, and I consider myself lucky to be learning about it from the people who live it.
From the Drakensburgs, we went through Addo Elephant Park where we saw TONS of elephants- big and small, male and female... I got some great photos that I'll download when I get home (I've given up trying on these computers!). Once outside of Addo , we headed towards to coast to a place called Tsitsikama National Park. We were really fortunate to make it there, as they had been experiencing heavy flooding which had shut down many of the roads in and out of the park. But, we lucked out and made it there. The campsite was right on the beach, which was awesome!
Just outside of Tsitsikama is a gigantic gorge with a bridge from one side to the other... this is home to the largest bungee jump in the world (216 meters) AND where I did my first bungee jump ever! (although I don't think it ill be my last!) I was surprised that there were only two other people who wanted to do the jump- Johan and Ben. I was glad though, because they are two of my closest friends on the trip, so it was really cool to have them there.
I really didn't think that I would have the guts to do the jump myself- I thought that the staff would have to give me a little nudge, but I surprised myself and when it came time to take the plunge, I didn't hesitate at all. The feeling of my feet leaving the platform is one that I will never forget as long as I live. The adrenaline rush was definitely on par with sky diving... even a bit scarier because it was just me- I didn't have the comfort of being strapped to someone who knew what they were doing. The freefall only lasted about 5 seconds, but according to our bungee guides we reached a speed of 12o mph! Pretty crazy. After the initial fall, the rest of the experience was so peaceful... just hanging mid-air in the most beautiful gorge, facing the ocean. It was truly amazing.
We all made it safely through the bungee experience, and were on the road again before we knew it. We headed through the wine country of South Africa, which was again SOOO beautiful, and were in Cape Town within a few days. On our first day in Cape Town, we climbed Table Mountain, which was an experience. Apparently we there is more than one trail to get to the top, and we took the most difficult route... there were points at which we were basically clinging to the sides of rocks, just trying to find any way up the mountain that we could. It was difficult, but a lot of fun, and the views from the top were totally worth it.
The second day in Cape Town wasn't really spent in Cape Town, it was spent with Great Whites! Four of us from the group wanted to go shark diving, so we hired a guide to take us out to "Shark Alley." The guide picked us up early in the morning and drove us from Cape Town out onto the peninsula, where we were dropped off at Ultimate Shark Diving, a company along the coast in Shark Alley. There, we had a bit of breakfast and went through a briefing on what to do when we got out to the sharks. After a 30 minute boat ride, we were in prime Great White territory. Our guides baited the water with fish blood to attract the sharks. Within about 10 minutes of the bait being in the water, we caught our first glimpse of a Great White. It was a fairly small one, but it came right up to the boat and we all got a good look before it was off again into the deep.
Shortly after that, the first group of divers were fitted with a wetsuit and were in the water. There were about 3 or 4 sharks that came swimming up, and we all got a good look at them from the boat. Then it was our turn to get in the water. We waited for what seemed like forever in the freezing cold water before we saw our first shark. There were a couple that swam fairly close, but the visibility wasn't great under the water, so we didn't get a good view. But we didn't have to wait long. Another shark came swimming up about 10 minutes later and took the bait right in front of our faces. It was huge and swam right past my head. I was amazed by how quickly it came and went. I didn't see it for long, but it was enough to make me realize what powerful and graceful creatures they are. The next shark that came along also got right up to our cage, although this time it grabbed the bait and the cage that we were in along with it. It grabbed the cage not 3 feet from me and came right out of the water. It shook the cage quite a bit, which was pretty scary, but it was over about as quickly as it began. It was an awesome thing to see an experience- again one of those things that will stick in my memory forever.
After a few more sharks came and went, we hauled our boat back into shore and headed back to Cape Town. We said our goodbyes, as our tour was over. It was a lot more difficult to say goodbye than I thought it would be. I have made some great friends on this trip. It's funny how much you get to know about someone when you spend every waking minute with them for 25 days!
My flight took off the next morning, and I am now writing to you from Nairobi, Kenya where I will be leaving for a safari in the Serengeti tomorrow. I am excited for my next adventure, and will keep you all posted.
I hope that you all are enjoying the holidays! Take care!
PS- I was sitting in a cafe in Cape Town and they were playing CNN. A story came on about how much snow Snoqualmie Pass is getting- I couldn't believe it! I was sitting in Cape Town seeing a story about home! I got really excited, and it made me excited about the ski season! Save some powder for me!!
When I last updated my blog, we have gone to several different places, including the Drakensburg Mountains, which contain the 2nd largest mountain in Africa (2nd to Kilimanjaro). They were absolutely beautiful- lush green valleys with mist-covered mountain peaks. Absolutely gorgeous! We went on a huge 6 hour hike through these mountains, and visited a cave which was used by the first civilizations to settle in the mountains. There were cave paintings that were over 8,000 years old. It was pretty amazing to see something still in tact from that long ago, but the even more amazing thing to me is that our guide told us that the caves were still used for spiritual ceremonies today by the ancestors of those first settlers. That is definitely one thing that I am coming to learn about many of the cultures throughout Africa. It seems like there is a strong connection to the past and ancient customs that have been in practice for thousands of years. I think it's pretty cool, and I consider myself lucky to be learning about it from the people who live it.
From the Drakensburgs, we went through Addo Elephant Park where we saw TONS of elephants- big and small, male and female... I got some great photos that I'll download when I get home (I've given up trying on these computers!). Once outside of Addo , we headed towards to coast to a place called Tsitsikama National Park. We were really fortunate to make it there, as they had been experiencing heavy flooding which had shut down many of the roads in and out of the park. But, we lucked out and made it there. The campsite was right on the beach, which was awesome!
Just outside of Tsitsikama is a gigantic gorge with a bridge from one side to the other... this is home to the largest bungee jump in the world (216 meters) AND where I did my first bungee jump ever! (although I don't think it ill be my last!) I was surprised that there were only two other people who wanted to do the jump- Johan and Ben. I was glad though, because they are two of my closest friends on the trip, so it was really cool to have them there.
I really didn't think that I would have the guts to do the jump myself- I thought that the staff would have to give me a little nudge, but I surprised myself and when it came time to take the plunge, I didn't hesitate at all. The feeling of my feet leaving the platform is one that I will never forget as long as I live. The adrenaline rush was definitely on par with sky diving... even a bit scarier because it was just me- I didn't have the comfort of being strapped to someone who knew what they were doing. The freefall only lasted about 5 seconds, but according to our bungee guides we reached a speed of 12o mph! Pretty crazy. After the initial fall, the rest of the experience was so peaceful... just hanging mid-air in the most beautiful gorge, facing the ocean. It was truly amazing.
We all made it safely through the bungee experience, and were on the road again before we knew it. We headed through the wine country of South Africa, which was again SOOO beautiful, and were in Cape Town within a few days. On our first day in Cape Town, we climbed Table Mountain, which was an experience. Apparently we there is more than one trail to get to the top, and we took the most difficult route... there were points at which we were basically clinging to the sides of rocks, just trying to find any way up the mountain that we could. It was difficult, but a lot of fun, and the views from the top were totally worth it.
The second day in Cape Town wasn't really spent in Cape Town, it was spent with Great Whites! Four of us from the group wanted to go shark diving, so we hired a guide to take us out to "Shark Alley." The guide picked us up early in the morning and drove us from Cape Town out onto the peninsula, where we were dropped off at Ultimate Shark Diving, a company along the coast in Shark Alley. There, we had a bit of breakfast and went through a briefing on what to do when we got out to the sharks. After a 30 minute boat ride, we were in prime Great White territory. Our guides baited the water with fish blood to attract the sharks. Within about 10 minutes of the bait being in the water, we caught our first glimpse of a Great White. It was a fairly small one, but it came right up to the boat and we all got a good look before it was off again into the deep.
Shortly after that, the first group of divers were fitted with a wetsuit and were in the water. There were about 3 or 4 sharks that came swimming up, and we all got a good look at them from the boat. Then it was our turn to get in the water. We waited for what seemed like forever in the freezing cold water before we saw our first shark. There were a couple that swam fairly close, but the visibility wasn't great under the water, so we didn't get a good view. But we didn't have to wait long. Another shark came swimming up about 10 minutes later and took the bait right in front of our faces. It was huge and swam right past my head. I was amazed by how quickly it came and went. I didn't see it for long, but it was enough to make me realize what powerful and graceful creatures they are. The next shark that came along also got right up to our cage, although this time it grabbed the bait and the cage that we were in along with it. It grabbed the cage not 3 feet from me and came right out of the water. It shook the cage quite a bit, which was pretty scary, but it was over about as quickly as it began. It was an awesome thing to see an experience- again one of those things that will stick in my memory forever.
After a few more sharks came and went, we hauled our boat back into shore and headed back to Cape Town. We said our goodbyes, as our tour was over. It was a lot more difficult to say goodbye than I thought it would be. I have made some great friends on this trip. It's funny how much you get to know about someone when you spend every waking minute with them for 25 days!
My flight took off the next morning, and I am now writing to you from Nairobi, Kenya where I will be leaving for a safari in the Serengeti tomorrow. I am excited for my next adventure, and will keep you all posted.
I hope that you all are enjoying the holidays! Take care!
PS- I was sitting in a cafe in Cape Town and they were playing CNN. A story came on about how much snow Snoqualmie Pass is getting- I couldn't believe it! I was sitting in Cape Town seeing a story about home! I got really excited, and it made me excited about the ski season! Save some powder for me!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)