Day 3 – Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock)
Breakfast at the camp this morning before leaving at 7:30. We are heading South today in search of the Black Rhino. It was quite the drive so Ally drove with a purpose today so we could get there, search then begin the long drive back. Driving with a purpose here has a whole new meaning for me…lol!
There is a Black Rhino project here where the monitor the species to help from extension. Poaching here is still a huge problem so there are rangers in this area who live on top of the cliffs to help protect them. We learned that often poachers are just killed here because too many have been arrested but go back to poaching when they get out so it’s easier to just eliminate them. Something to be said for repeat offenders of violent crimes in the states. Visited the Rhino information center to learn about their history. A great guide full of knowledge and passion for these animals. You would have to love it to live way out here. You sure can’t just run down the street for milk if you forgot it on your way home.
No luck in spotting a Rhino today though. Since there are only 23 monitored animals on these planes, and they mostly graze alone, there was no telling where they were. The trip however gave us the opportunity to see the Kopjes, which are forms of rocks like none I have ever seen. There are many difference Kopjes, named for the tribe that lived there many centuries ago. This is Massai country. When in Arusha, we saw many of the Massai tribe which are easy to spot as the men still wear the red draped clothes as their daily attire. Would have been something to see these people still living upon on these rocks. There was one particular area where steps have been built so that you can climb to the top. Ally said he normally would not allow us to climb there unless there were other vehicles around because it has been known to have lions up there. But we all agreed we were game to try it. I know…wreckless right? Ally led the way making lots of noise to scare anything that might have been visiting the area. A few remnants of lions were present but no lions to be found. Let me say how glad we are we made that decision. What an amazing site from up there.
Back in the jeep and off to a lunch spot for a packed lunches. Arrived a favorite spot by many and were told we couldn’t be here because the President of Germany and the President of Tanzania would be visiting there soon. They were already setting up a huge spread for them by the Zebra refreshment company…lol! So we left in search of a new lunch spot.
Now for the excitement of the day. On our way to find a new spot we ran across a pride of lions laying in the shade of a huge tree not far from the road. It was an amazing site. 10 juvenile cubs in all and 7 lionesses (we never did see the males) however it was the same pride we saw yesterday, noted by one with a monitoring collar and one with a huge gash in her nose. Within a few minutes, one of the females raised her head and they all looked in one direction towards a herd of zebras who were making their way across the road into the area of the lions. In a split second 5 of the lionesses each rose and moved with grace to do their particular job. Can you believe this? A kill is just about to happen right in front of us. I didn’t think I wanted to see this at all until I watched how these amazing animals worked together with patience and purpose to feed their family. In a matter of maybe 15 minutes, they had completely formed a parameter around the herd and were waiting for their opportunity. In a split second one lioness made a move and the herd scattered, charged, ran…you name it. One of the lioness had to lay down in the road to keep from getting trampled. In that split second their opportunity was lost…they got away! We have a video of the whole thing and believe it or not it was sad. I hate to see the zebra loose it’s life but it was such an amazing thing to watch. Ally put it well, the lion laid down because no one wanted to die that day. They all made it back to the tree with the cubs to rest from their big chase.
We needed to make a trip back to the airstrip anyway (I’ll mention in a future post why) so decided to just have lunch at the airport. Now, keep in mind, without thinking, when were going to the same airstrip where both Presidents were expected in shortly. A guard at the entrance just let us on in, we parked and walked to the small building with our lunch boxes. We laughed because you can’t even get within 5 miles of the airports at home when our president is flying in. Tons of safari vehicles lined up to meet their arrival. A few armed guards and mostly people like us standing around with cameras. There was no concern to be standing along the strip for a photo op so I took it. Now, I have no idea who the president of Germany even is but figured it would be a great moment for Ally to have photos of “his” president. Planes landed and I snapped pictures of anyone coming off the plan. Ended up with great pictures of the German president but the Tanzania president was not there. Only the Interior ministers were there to meet him. Fun adventure to this trip, even though our original trip to the airstrip was not a success 🙁
Before heading back to camp we saw another Leopard in a tree. It’s so funny to see how they just chill and are so uninterested in us.
Back at camp at 4:30. Showers again at 6. Dinner at 7. Tonight we were joined by all the staff of the camp, except the chef. We had asked them all to join us when we first got there and they said they would on the last night. It was a great meal and a lot of fun. This crew has over exceeded our expectations. It will be hard to top it at the next camp. During our dinner, we were joined by a Hyena, just beside the tent. That just sort of cracks me up. I watched JJ leave the dining tent and walk to the kitchen tent, in the dark, with the Hyena sitting right there. He said, He knows me! They also shared that a few weeks ago a pride brought down a buffalo right in the camp area and stayed there for a solid week. JJ said they had approached him carrying the buckets of water to the tents to get a drink. He just dropped the buckets of water, walked away, let them get their drink and then picked up his buckets and carried on. OMG!!!! I guess there is something to be said for living in this country and feeling comfortable.
Back to the tent to be zipped in at 8:30. We packed, well Rich packed, played a few hands of gin and I caught up on my blog posts. Heard several lions throughout the night. I don’t think I will ever get tired of this. We leave for 2nd camp location tomorrow.
Avery here — I’ve tried cross-chain transfers and the useful analytics impressed me.
We’re developing some community services to respond to this, and your blog is helpful.
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol
Appreciation for taking the time to discuss this topic, I would love to discover more on this topic. If viable, as you gain expertise, would you object to updating the website with further information? It is tremendously beneficial for me.
This article actually helped me with a report I was doing.
Howdy I wanted to write a new remark on this page for you to be able to tell you just how much i actually Enjoyed reading this read. I have to run off to work but want to leave ya a simple comment. I saved you So will be returning following work in order to go through more of yer quality posts. Keep up the good work.
Hello there, You have done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this site.
very good post, i certainly love this web site, keep on it
Hello there, I found your site by the use of Google even as looking for a related subject, your website came up, it appears to be like great.
I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hi there, just changed into alert to your blog via Google, and located that it
is truly informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels.
I will appreciate when you proceed this in future.
Many other folks might be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
I have been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found anything that grabbed my interest as much as this piece.
I like what you have to offer. Keep up the good work!
Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this article i thought i could also make comment due to this brilliant paragraph.
I have to say this post was certainly informative and contains useful content for enthusiastic visitors. I will definitely bookmark this website for future reference and further viewing. cheers a bunch for sharing this with us!
This is a very informative post. I really appreciate how clearly everything is explained, especially for people who are
new to online casino platforms.
The way you describe the features, usability, and overall experience makes it
easy to understand and compare with other websites. I also
like that the content focuses on safety, convenience, and
user experience.
Thanks for sharing such useful information. I will definitely check out more articles on this site.
You are good writer. Thank you.
Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely
magnificent. I really like what you have acquired here, really like what you are stating and the way in which you say it.
You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it wise.
I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific web site.
Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your articles. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same subjects? Thanks a lot!
This piece of writing gives clear idea in support of the new
users of blogging, that actually how to do blogging.
Some truly interesting info , well written and broadly user genial .
I am glad to be one of the visitors on this great site (:, appreciate it for putting up.
Wow, this paragraph is pleasant, my sister is analyzing these kinds of things, thus I am going to inform her.
Actually no matter if someone doesn’t understand then its
up to other viewers that they will assist, so here it occurs.
The post is absolutely great! Lots of great info and inspiration, both of which we all need! Also like to admire the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer! I will bookmark your website!
Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained I’m sure you had fun writing this article.
We absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content to suit your needs? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome weblog!
There is a lot of misunderstanding about these issues today. Your material helps explain things.
Thanks for discussing the issues and covering them in a well written format.
Thank you, I have just been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?
whoah this weblog is great i really like studying your articles. Stay up the great work! You already know, lots of persons are looking round for this information, you can aid them greatly.
Fine write ups Cheers!
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your blog. You have some really good articles and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested. Many thanks!
Thanks for another great post. Where else may anybody get that type of info in such an ideal way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I’m at the search for such information.
How long does it take you to write an article like this?
Lovely just what I was looking for. Thanks to the author for taking his clock time on this one.
I’ve been using it for a month for using the bridge, and the accurate charts stands out. Charts are accurate and load instantly.
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
Robin here — I’ve tried swapping tokens and the robust security impressed me.
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I’m not
sure whether this post is written by him as no one
else know such detailed about my problem. You are amazing!
Thanks!
Awesome article.
There most be a solution for this problem, some people think there will be now solutions, but i think there wil be one.
Have you given any kind of thought at all with converting your current web-site into French? I know a couple of of translaters here that will would certainly help you do it for no cost if you want to get in touch with me personally.
Could not disagree with the main ideas. Wonder how things will develop over the coming years.
Awesome post. It’s so good to see someone taking the time to share this information
Just wanna admit that this is extremely helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
This website has lots of really useful stuff on it. Thanks for informing me.
I think I might disagree with some of your analysis. Are the figures solid?
These kind of posts are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post. writing is simply wonderful! thank you for the post
What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you’re now not really a
lot more smartly-appreciated than you may be right now.
You’re very intelligent. You recognize therefore considerably in the case of this
subject, made me individually consider it from a lot of
numerous angles. Its like men and women aren’t interested until
it is one thing to accomplish with Girl gaga!
Your own stuffs excellent. Always care for it up!
Good job for bringing something important to the internet!
If wings are your thing, Tinker Bell’s sexy Halloween costume design is all grown up.