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.
20150205_014827

20150205_072127

Posted on

14,951 thoughts on “Day 3 – Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock)”

  1. Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to
    browse your website on my iphone during lunch break.

    I love the information you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my cell phone ..

    I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, very good blog!

  3. Hello! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering
    if you knew where I could find 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!

  4. What’s Happening i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely helpful
    and it has helped me out loads. I am hoping to give a contribution & help different customers like its helped me.
    Great job.

  5. Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with?

    I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having
    a tough time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.

    P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

  7. We yearn for the beautiful; be it for a pretty dress, an elegant
    brooch, or even a lovely face and body. If your aim is to attain your beauty goals, to have that picture-perfect
    face and dream body, know that the journey there is not easy.

  10. My spouse and I stumbled over here different web address
    and thought I may as well check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.

    Look forward to going over your web page repeatedly.

  12. Howdy, There’s no doubt that your website might be having internet browser compatibility
    issues. Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari,
    it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer,
    it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a
    quick heads up! Aside from that, fantastic website!

  13. Its such as you learn my thoughts! You seem to
    understand so much about this, such as you wrote
    the ebook in it or something. I think that you just
    can do with some percent to force the message house a
    little bit, however instead of that, that is wonderful blog.
    An excellent read. I will certainly be back.

  15. hi!,I really like your writing so a lot! percentage we keep in touch extra approximately your post on AOL? I need a specialist on this house to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Having a look forward to peer you.

  17. I just could not go away your site before suggesting that
    I really enjoyed the usual information a person provide to your
    guests? Is going to be again incessantly in order to check out new posts

  19. My brother recommended I might like this website. He was totally right.
    This post truly made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time
    I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  23. I am extremely inspired with your writing talents and also with the format to your blog.
    Is this a paid subject matter or did you customize it yourself?
    Anyway stay up the excellent high quality writing, it is rare to see a
    great weblog like this one nowadays..

  26. Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the net the easiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people think about worries that they plainly 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 could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.

    Thanks

  28. انفج باز روند بازی‌ها سریع و هیجان‌انگیزه سایت انفج باز هر حرکتش حس برد و هیجان میده و سایت شرط بندی انفج باز تجربه حرفه‌ای و جذاب ارائه میکنه

  29. I’m curious to find out what blog system you happen to be using?
    I’m having some minor security issues with my latest site and I’d like to find something more
    safe. Do you have any suggestions?

  30. 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.

  38. My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a number of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  46. I think this is one of the most important information for me.
    And i’m glad reading your article. But want to remark on few general things, The site style is wonderful,
    the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers

  48. This is the perfect website for anyone who hopes to understand this topic.
    You understand a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa).

    You definitely put a new spin on a topic which has been written about
    for ages. Great stuff, just wonderful!

Leave a Reply to 88XX COM Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *