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.
Good day! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established blog.
Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick.
I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start.
Do you have any points or suggestions? Thanks
What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered
It positively helpful and it has aided me out loads.
I hope to contribute & help other customers like its helped me.
Good job.
Terrific article! This is the kind of info that are meant to be shared around the net.
Disgrace on Google for not positioning this post higher!
Come on over and seek advice from my website .
Thank you =)
I always used to read paragraph in news papers but now as I
am a user of web therefore from now I am using net for content, thanks to web.
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to create a great article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say excellent blog!
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2 images. Maybe you could space it out better?
I seriously love your website.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own personal blog and want to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Thank you!
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I don’t know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉
Cheers!
My spouse and I stumbled over here by a different page and thought I may as
well check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
Look forward to exploring your web page yet again.
I like it when individuals get together and share opinions. Great blog, stick with it!
이 웹페이지의 관리자가 열심히 일하고 있어서, 망설임 없이 곧 잘 알려질 것입니다, 그 특징 콘텐츠 덕분에요.
Hey very interesting blog!
Saved as a favorite, I love your site!
My brother suggested I may like this blog. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how a lot time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
%spintax|こちらの記事|この内容%は%spintax|非常に|とても% %spintax|参考になる|役立つ%です！%spintax|セクシーコスプレ|ベビードール%の%spintax|選び方|素材の見極め方|コーデ術%について%spintax|分かりやすく|詳しく%解説されています。補足ですが、%spintax|MERRSS|メリス%は%spintax|高品質コスプレランジェリーに特化|デザイン豊富|サービス充実%なサイトで、%spintax|購入を考えている方|コスプレ好き|ランジェリー愛好家%には%spintax|必見|おすすめ%です。
For most up-to-date news you have to visit
the web and on web I found this website as a best site for hottest updates.
I read this post completely regarding the difference of latest and preceding
technologies, it’s remarkable article.
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am genuinely happy to read all at alone place.
Quality articles is the important to interest
the visitors to pay a visit the web page, that’s what this web site is providing.
This is a really good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Simple but very accurate info… Appreciate your sharing this one.
A must read post!
Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff
previous to and you are just too great. I really like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are stating
and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it
wise. I cant wait to read far more from you. This is actually a tremendous site.
I pay a visit everyday a few sites and websites to read content,
except this web site provides quality based articles.
I savor, cause I discovered just what I was taking a look for.
You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice
day. Bye
What’s up, the whole thing is going sound here and ofcourse every one is sharing information, that’s truly good,
keep up writing.
Hi there, I enjoy reading all of your article post. I like to write a little comment to support you.
I like it whenever people get together and share ideas.
Great website, stick with it!
Very descriptive blog, I enjoyed that bit. Will
there be a part 2?
After I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me from that service? Cheers!
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was once a entertainment account it. Glance advanced to far delivered agreeable from you! However, how can we keep up a correspondence?
Hi there everybody, here every person is sharing such know-how, thus it’s fastidious to read this website, and I used to visit this blog daily.
hey there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical points using this site, as I experienced to reload the web site lots of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and could damage your high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Well I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for much more of your respective exciting content. Make sure you update this again soon.
In fact no matter if someone doesn’t know after that its up to other
people that they will help, so here it happens.
After looking over a number of the blog articles on your blog, I really appreciate your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my website as well and tell me your opinion.
Hey would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!
Hey! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My weblog looks weird when browsing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Many thanks!
Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging
for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of
your web site is excellent, let alone the content!
Simply desire to say your article is as amazing.
The clarity in your post is simply cool and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming
post. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
Hello! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the excellent work!
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
Hi! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to look it over.
I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Fantastic blog and outstanding design and style.
Your mode of explaining everything in this post is in fact fastidious, every one can simply understand it, Thanks a lot.
Excellent blog you have got here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog
and I am inspired! Very helpful information specifically the final section 🙂 I deal with such information much.
I used to be seeking this certain info for a very long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
great points altogether, you simply won a new reader. What would you suggest in regards
to your submit that you just made a few days in the
past? Any positive?
Nice answer back in return of this question with genuine
arguments and telling all about that.
Howdy would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
I am really enjoying the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues?
A small number of my blog readers have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox.
Do you have any ideas to help fix this issue?
fantastic submit, very informative. I wonder
why the opposite experts of this sector don’t notice this.
You should proceed your writing. I’m sure, you’ve a huge readers’ base already!