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.
Your style is very unique in comparison to other people I have
read stuff from. I appreciate you for posting
when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this page.
Your style is very unique compared to other folks I’ve
read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will
just bookmark this site.
Hi i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anywhere, when i read this piece of writing
i thought i could also make comment due to this sensible paragraph.
This is my first time pay a visit at here and i am truly pleassant to read everthing at single place.
Remarkable! Its actually remarkable piece of writing, I have got much
clear idea concerning from this post.
Thanks so much for this, keep up the good work 🙂
I believe everything typed made a lot of sense. However, think about this, suppose you
typed a catchier title? I am not suggesting your content is not solid, however
what if you added a title to possibly get people’s attention? I mean Day 3 –
Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock) | African Adventures of Peep and Pickles is a little vanilla.
You should look at Yahoo’s front page and note how they create post headlines to get people to open the links.
You might add a video or a related pic or two to get readers excited about what you’ve
written. In my opinion, it could make your
blog a little livelier.
It’s continually awesome when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I’m sure you had fun writing this article. Regards, Clotilde.
Good day very cool blog!! Guy .. Beautiful ..
Superb .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also?
I’m glad to find a lot of helpful information here in the put up, we want work out more techniques on this
regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post
seem to be running off the screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure
if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser
compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved
soon. Cheers
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d
post to let you know. The design look great though!
Hope you get the problem fixed soon. Kudos
Thanks pertaining to discussing the following superb written content on your site. I ran into it on the search engines. I will check back again if you publish extra aricles.
Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have
to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding
skills so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience.
Any help would be enormously appreciated!
What i do not realize is in reality how you’re not
actually a lot more well-favored than you might be right now.
You’re so intelligent. You recognize thus considerably with
regards to this subject, produced me in my
view imagine it from numerous varied angles. Its like women and men don’t seem
to be fascinated until it’s one thing to accomplish with Girl gaga!
Your individual stuffs excellent. All the time handle it up!
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your
site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts.
Anyway I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.
Wonderful article! We will be linking to this particularly great article on our website.
Keep up the great writing.
Every weekend i used to visit this web site, because i wish for
enjoyment, as this this website conations really nice funny information too.
Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it, you might be a great
author.I will always bookmark your blog and will come back later on. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great job, have
a nice weekend!
If you would like to get a good deal from this article then you have to apply
these methods to your won blog.
I’d like to be able to write like this, but taking the time and developing articles is hard…. Takes a lot of effort.
This information is critically needed, thanks.
I am actually delighted to read this web site posts which
consists of plenty of valuable information, thanks
for providing these kinds of data.
Excellent article. I will be facing a few of these issues as well..
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article!
It’s the little changes that make the largest changes.
Thanks for sharing!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes that produce the
most important changes. Many thanks for sharing!
Post writing is also a fun, if you be acquainted with then you
can write if not it is complex to write.
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?
My brother recommended I might like this website. He was entirely right.
This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time
I had spent for this info! Thanks!
Howdy are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any coding knowledge to
make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Post writing is also a excitement, if you be acquainted with afterward you can write otherwise it is
difficult to write.
Touche. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the amazing work.
I’m really loving the theme/design of your site. Do you ever run into
any internet browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Safari.
Do you have any advice to help fix this issue?
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this site daily, this site is actually pleasant and
the visitors are actually sharing fastidious thoughts.
I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog
that’s equally educative and engaging, and let me tell
you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is something too
few men and women are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m
very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Hi, Neat post. There is an issue along with
your site in web explorer, could test this? IE still is the market chief
and a huge section of other folks will omit your magnificent writing due to this problem.
This is one very informative blog. I like the way you write and I will bookmark your blog to my favorites.
You need to really control the comments listed here
This article actually helped me with a report I was doing.
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for форум vredux
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem along with your web site in web explorer, might test this?
IE still is the marketplace chief and a good portion of folks will miss your magnificent writing because of this problem.
This information is critically needed, thanks.
I was reading through some of your content on this internet site and I believe this web site is very informative ! Continue posting .
I’ve been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be much more useful than ever before.
Tips and tools you offer are so helpful to agencies in our community.
Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just
your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything.
Nevertheless think about if you added some great
images or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!
Your content is excellent but with pics and clips, this site could
certainly be one of the most beneficial in its niche. Terrific blog!
This article actually helped me with a report I was doing.
I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but I’m glad I visited. I will post a link to this site on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
Hello this is a wonderful write-up. I’m going to e mail this to my friends. I came on this while searching on yahoo I’ll be sure to come back. thanks for sharing.
I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again
This information is critically needed, thanks.