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.
Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to
be on the net the easiest thing to be aware of. I say
to you, I certainly get irked while people think about worries that they just do not know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people
can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
Thanks
I have read several good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot attempt you place to make the sort of wonderful informative web site.
It’s an awesome article in favor of all the internet people; they will get benefit from it I am sure.
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to check it out.
I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my
followers! Superb blog and superb style and design.
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment.
I believe that you should write more about this issue, it might not be a
taboo matter but usually folks don’t speak about such subjects.
To the next! Best wishes!!
Hi, i believe that i noticed you visited my blog so i came to return the prefer?.I’m attempting to
in finding things to enhance my website!I assume its good enough to make use of a few of your ideas!!
I wanted to thank you for this very good read!! I definitely
loved every little bit of it. I have you book marked to look at new stuff you post…
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!!
Finally I have found something which helped me.
Appreciate it!
My brother suggested I might like this web site.
He was once totally right. This publish actually made my day.
You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
I believe that is one of the most important information for me.
And i am happy studying your article. However want to observation on few normal things, The site taste is great, the articles is in point of fact nice :
D. Excellent process, cheers
Great blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any forums that cover the same
topics discussed in this article? I’d really love to be a part of online community where I
can get comments from other experienced individuals that share the same interest.
If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
Thanks a lot!
Cactus Casino — современная площадка для азартных игр
If you are going for best contents like I do, simply go to see this web page everyday for the reason that it provides quality contents,
thanks
Hi, this weekend is pleasant for me, because this time i am reading this impressive educational piece of
writing here at my residence.
Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, let alone the content!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It’s the little changes that will make the greatest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
I’m excited to discover this web site. I wanted to thank
you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely loved every part of it
and i also have you bookmarked to look at new things on your web site.
I know this web page provides quality depending articles or reviews and other material, is
there any other site which provides these data in quality?
Hi mates, how is everything, and what you would
like to say concerning this article, in my view its actually remarkable in support of me.
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to
be just what I’m looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for
yourself? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating
on a number of the subjects you write in relation to here.
Again, awesome site!
Just desire to say your article is as amazing.
The clarity in your post is simply nice and i could
suppose you are an expert in this subject. Well together with your permission allow me to grasp your RSS feed to keep updated
with approaching post. Thank you one million and please continue the enjoyable work.
You need to take part in a contest for one of the greatest sites online.
I will highly recommend this web site!
Hi it’s me, I am also visiting this web site daily,
this web site is actually nice and the people are actually sharing nice thoughts.
Simply want to say your article is as astonishing.
The clearness for your publish is just spectacular and that i can think
you’re an expert in this subject. Fine together with your permission allow me to clutch your
RSS feed to keep up to date with drawing close post.
Thanks a million and please carry on the enjoyable work.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was curious what
all is required to get set up? I’m assuming having a
blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100% positive.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed!
Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care
for such information a lot. I was looking for this certain information for
a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Samsung Smart TVs (2017 and newer models) support the Fubo.tv/samsungtv-connect app, allowing users to watch live TV without needing an external streaming device. The app is available in the Samsung App Store and can be installed directly on the TV.
Hi all, here every person is sharing these know-how,
thus it’s pleasant to read this blog, and I used to
pay a visit this webpage every day.
This is very fascinating, You’re an excessively skilled blogger.
I have joined your rss feed and stay up for looking for more
of your excellent post. Additionally, I have shared your site in my social networks
Thanks for any other wonderful post. The place else may just anybody get that type of information in such an ideal
manner of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am at the look for such info.
Hey! I know this is kind of off-topic however I needed to ask.
Does building a well-established website such as
yours take a massive amount work? I am completely new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal daily.
I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to share my
personal experience and views online. Please let
me know if you have any ideas or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers.
Appreciate it!
Having read this I believed it was rather enlightening.
I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this article
together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and commenting.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!
I couldn’t resist commenting. Perfectly written!
Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Appreciate it
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!
Hi friends, how is the whole thing, and what you wish for to say on the
topic of this post, in my view its genuinely remarkable designed for
me.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site?
My website is in the very same niche as yours and my users would truly benefit from a lot of the information you provide here.
Please let me know if this okay with you. Thank you!
I truly love your website.. Very nice colors & theme.
Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my
very own website and would love to learn where you got this from or exactly
what the theme is called. Kudos!
Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with
hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no data backup.
Do you have any methods to protect against hackers?
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having problems
locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some
recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on %meta_keyword%. Regards
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been conducting a little homework on this.
And he actually ordered me dinner simply because I discovered
it for him… lol. So let me reword this….
Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this topic
here on your site.
Every weekend i used to visit this website, as i wish for
enjoyment, since this this site conations actually pleasant funny data too.
With havin so much content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My website has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either written myself or outsourced
but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet
without my agreement. Do you know any methods to help stop content from being stolen? I’d genuinely
appreciate it.
When some one searches for his required thing, therefore he/she
wishes to be available that in detail, so that thing is maintained over here.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting
for your further write ups thanks once again.
Hi Dear, are you in fact visiting this web page on a regular basis,
if so afterward you will without doubt take fastidious
knowledge.
I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this site.
I really hope to see the same high-grade blog posts from you later
on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal blog now 😉
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am inspired!
Extremely useful information specifically the remaining phase 🙂 I care for such info much.
I used to be seeking this certain information for a long time.
Thanks and good luck.
It’s actually very complex in this active life to listen news on Television,
therefore I simply use the web for that purpose, and get the
most up-to-date information.