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

91,022 thoughts on “Day 3 – Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock)”

  18. I have to say this post was certainly informative and contains useful content for enthusiastic visitors. I will definitely bookmark this website for future reference and further viewing. cheers a bunch for sharing this with us!

  27. Отсюда можно открыть статистику и результаты матчей, проверить купон по номеру, перейти к скачиванию
    приложений, изучить контакты, правила компании и многое другое.

    • Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to know a lot about this, such
      as you wrote the guide in it or something. I feel that
      you can do with a few % to pressure the message home a little bit, but other than that, that is excellent blog.

      A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.

    • Simply want to say your article is as astounding.

      The clearness for your post is just spectacular and i can think you’re knowledgeable on this subject.
      Well with your permission allow me to take hold of your
      RSS feed to keep up to date with approaching post.
      Thank you one million and please keep up the enjoyable work.

    • I have to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this website.
      I really hope to see the same high-grade blog
      posts by you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my very own site now 😉

    • Definitely consider that which you stated.
      Your favorite reason seemed to be on the net the simplest
      factor to take into accout of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while folks consider worries that they just do not recognise
      about. You managed to hit the nail upon the
      highest and also outlined out the whole thing with
      no need side effect , people can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more.
      Thanks

    • Hi are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set
      up my own. Do you require any html coding knowledge to make your own blog?
      Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    • Great work! This is the type of information that should be shared across the net.
      Shame on Google for not positioning this publish upper!
      Come on over and discuss with my site . Thanks =)

    • Greetings! I know this is kind of off topic but
      I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this
      website? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had
      problems with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform.
      I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    • I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog.
      Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
      Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like
      this one nowadays.

    • Hey would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re working with?

      I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and I must
      say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend
      a good hosting provider at a reasonable price? Cheers, I appreciate it!

    • Superb site you have here but I was wanting to know if you
      knew of any forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
      I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get opinions from other knowledgeable
      individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations,
      please let me know. Bless you!

    • Hi there! I know this is somewhat 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 problems finding one?

      Thanks a lot!

    • I am really inspired along with your writing abilities as
      neatly as with the layout on your blog. Is that this a paid subject matter or did you customize it yourself?
      Either way stay up the nice high quality writing, it’s rare to peer
      a nice weblog like this one nowadays..

    • I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for.
      Would you offer guest writers to write content in your case?

      I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write related to
      here. Again, awesome blog!

    • Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a weblog site?
      The account aided me a acceptable deal. I were a little
      bit familiar of this your broadcast offered vibrant transparent
      concept

    • It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this fantastic
      blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
      I look forward to new updates and will talk
      about this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!

    • I do accept as true with all the concepts you’ve presented to your
      post. They are very convincing and will certainly work.
      Still, the posts are very short for beginners.
      May you please prolong them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

    • hey there and thank you for your information – I’ve definitely picked up something
      new from right here. I did however expertise a
      few technical issues using this website,
      as I experienced to reload the site a lot of times previous to I could get it
      to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK?
      Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and can damage
      your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
      Anyway I’m adding this RSS to my email and could look out for
      a lot more of your respective exciting content. Make sure you update this
      again soon.

    • After looking at a handful of the articles on your web site, I seriously like your way of blogging.
      I book marked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back in the
      near future. Please visit my web site as well and let
      me know how you feel.

    • We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.

      Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You’ve performed a formidable job
      and our entire group might be grateful to you.

    • Hi there! I realize this is sort of off-topic but I had to ask.

      Does running a well-established blog like yours require a lot of work?

      I’m brand new to operating a blog however I do write in my diary every
      day. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to 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!

    • It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.

      I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you
      some interesting things or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next
      articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!

    • I do not 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!

    • I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s
      both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
      The issue is something that too few people are speaking intelligently
      about. I’m very happy that I stumbled across this during my
      search for something concerning this.

    • Greetings, I do think your blog may be having web browser compatibility problems.
      Whenever I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine
      but when opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping
      issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!

      Apart from that, wonderful site!

    • A person necessarily lend a hand to make significantly articles
      I’d state. That is the very first time I frequented your web page and thus far?

      I surprised with the analysis you made to make this particular post extraordinary.

      Excellent task!

  49. Обойти блокировку клуба и получить
    доступ к играм при любых других форс-мажорных обстоятельствах помогают
    зеркала casino Slotozal.

Leave a Reply

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