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

41,981 thoughts on “Day 3 – Safari (Moru Kopjes & Gong Rock)”

  6. En résumé, le casino crypto sans KYC et le casino en ligne sans KYC sont devenus des
    alternatives incontournables pour les joueurs souhaitant jouer sans contraintes.
    En optant pour un casino sans verification, vous bénéficiez d’un environnement sécurisé,
    flexible et parfaitement adapté aux tendances actuelles
    du jeu en ligne.

  8. I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and
    engaging, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head.
    The problem is something which too few folks are speaking intelligently
    about. Now i’m very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something regarding this.

  10. This is a very informative post.
    I really like the way you explained
    the topic in a simple way.

    A lot of users are confused about
    how digital sports streaming functions,
    especially regarding
    user experience and access.

    This post does a good job explaining it,
    and I think it will be useful for beginners
    who are looking for reliable information.

    Thanks for writing this guide,
    I will definitely read more articles
    here.

  19. Normally I don’t learn article on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and
    do so! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you, very nice article.

  20. Если ищете честное онлайн казино, — Pin-Up — то что нужно.

    Тут официальная лицензия КРАИЛ, так что все честно.
    С верификацией проблем нет, через BankID прошел
    вериф за минуту. Игровых автоматов — очень много, слоты не скриптовые.
    Всем удачи!

  24. Hello very nice web site!! Man .. Excellent .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds also? I’m glad to search out a lot of helpful information right here in the post, we want develop extra strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  30. Hey there! 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 prevent hackers?

  37. Excellent article. Keep posting such kind of info on your blog.
    Im really impressed by it.
    Hello there, You’ve done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and in my view recommend to my friends.
    I am confident they will be benefited from this
    web site.

  41. Yes! Finally someone writes about ARASLOT.
    Good reply.
    Good post.
    Interesting post.
    I like reading this.
    I think,
    this article was quite helpful.
    Nicely written post.
    The content is clear to understand.
    Pretty good article.
    Good read.
    Pretty good article.
    Good read.

  45. Excellent site. A lot of helpful information here.
    I’m sending it to several buddies ans also sharing in delicious.
    And obviously, thanks on your sweat!

  46. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was curious what all is
    needed to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog
    like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not
    very web savvy so I’m not 100% certain. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you

  48. Nice article! I totally enjoyed reading
    this.|Many thanks for writing this content.|Really interesting article.|I like how you described the topic.|Great information here, well done.|This is a really good article.|Feels quite well written.|Nice points mentioned in this post.|Many thanks for the details.|I found this
    post is really interesting.|Great explanation on this subject.|Useful post
    overall.|That article is really easy to understand.|I like
    the way you presented this.|Great article, well done.|Very helpful article.|Thanks for making
    this simple to read.|That’s a nice blog post.|I liked reading this post.|Nice effort on the post.|Nice view on this topic.|That post feels really smooth.|Thanks for
    the ideas.|Nice write-up, thanks for sharing.|I enjoy this kind of article.|Very interesting to read.|This is a good post.|Good details included here.|Thanks for the clear explanation.|I feel this article is easy to follow.

  50. I’m juggling about 10 things right now so I don’t have that much time to play around learning how to make a website. What are good resources to jump-start implementing javascript, php, mySQL, etc?.

Leave a Reply to visa to egypt from uk Cancel reply

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