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

69,929 thoughts on “Day 3 – Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock)”

  10. I savor, result in I discovered exactly what
    I used to be taking a look for. You have ended my 4 day lengthy hunt!
    God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye

    • Hello would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re working with?
      I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must
      say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good
      hosting provider at a reasonable price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!

    • Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but
      after looking at many of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
      Regardless, I’m certainly delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and
      checking back often!

    • I really love your site.. Excellent colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself?
      Please reply back as I’m looking to create my very own blog and would like to know
      where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Cheers!

    • I think this is among the most important info for me.
      And i am satisfied reading your article. But want to statement on some normal things,
      The website style is great, the articles is in point of fact excellent :
      D. Excellent activity, cheers

    • Pretty component of content. I simply stumbled upon your blog and
      in accession capital to claim that I get actually
      loved account your weblog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing in your
      feeds and even I achievement you get admission to constantly fast.

    • I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was
      curious what all is required to get setup? 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 recommendations
      or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

    • Hey there! This is my first comment here so
      I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading
      through your articles. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums
      that deal with the same topics? Thanks a ton!

    • Hmm it appears like your site ate my first comment (it was
      extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
      I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything.
      Do you have any suggestions for novice blog writers?
      I’d genuinely appreciate it.

    • I’ve been surfing online greater than 3 hours as of late, yet I
      never discovered any interesting article like yours. It is lovely worth enough for me.
      Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will probably be a lot more useful
      than ever before.

    • Hmm it looks like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just
      sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your
      blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
      Do you have any points for rookie blog writers?
      I’d really appreciate it.

    • I’ve been browsing online more than 4 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
      It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all
      webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be much more useful than ever before.

    • Hello there! This post couldn’t be written any better!

      Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate!
      He always kept talking about this. I will forward
      this page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read.
      Thanks for sharing!

    • Hello! I understand this is somewhat off-topic however I had
      to ask. Does running a well-established blog such as yours require a massive amount
      work? I am completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary on a daily basis.
      I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my own experience and thoughts online.

      Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or
      tips for brand new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

    • I must thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this blog.
      I really hope to see the same high-grade content from you later on as well.
      In truth, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get
      my very own blog now 😉

    • obviously like your web-site however you have to check the spelling on quite
      a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very
      troublesome to tell the reality on the other hand I will surely come again again.

    • Hi there, I found your website via Google whilst searching
      for a comparable matter, your website came up, it appears
      good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
      Hello there, simply become alert to your weblog through Google, and located that it is
      really informative. I’m gonna be careful for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you proceed this in future.

      Lots of folks can be benefited from your writing.
      Cheers!

    • Howdy! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to take a look.
      I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
      Terrific blog and amazing design and style.

    • I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or weblog
      posts on this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website.
      Reading this info So i am glad to express that I’ve an incredibly good uncanny feeling I found
      out exactly what I needed. I so much no doubt will make sure to do not forget this web site and give it a glance regularly.

  36. Great beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your web site,
    how could i subscribe for a blog site? The account helped
    me a acceptable deal. I have been a little bit acquainted of
    this your broadcast provided vivid clear concept

  38. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?

  39. Definitely believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware
    of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people consider worries that they just don’t know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out
    the whole thing without having side effect , people could
    take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
    Thanks

  41. An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who was conducting a little homework
    on this. And he actually bought me breakfast simply because I discovered it for him…
    lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this topic
    here on your web page.

  44. Greetings, I think your website could possibly be having browser compatibility issues.
    Whenever I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however,
    if opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues.
    I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
    Besides that, wonderful site!

  47. I got this web page from my buddy who told me about this site and now this time I am visiting this website and reading very
    informative content here.

  49. My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for.

    can you offer guest writers to write content
    to suit your needs? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or
    elaborating on some of the subjects you write in relation to here.
    Again, awesome weblog!

Leave a Reply to windshield installer charlotte Cancel reply

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