My weeks here in Tanzania keep flying by. I realized that it's now October, and that as of today, I only have 29 days left here. Crazy. The weather is changing; it is definitely getting a little warmer, a little more humid, and a little less comfortable in the house. I used to actually be chilly at night, but now more and more I am kicking off the covers and praying not to let the heat keep me from sleeping. My first month in Tanzania, I was amazed that I didn't get a single bug bite and that I really didn't need to use sunscreen, but those days are over and I am currently covered in really red, itchy bug bites and rocking some sun burn and tan lines. All those things aside, Tanzania continues to amaze me. This past weekend the whole house went on a 2 day safari to Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater, both of which were pretty spectacular.
We left very early on Friday morning for Lake Manyara, which is about two hours away. We got to the park early in the morning for a drive, and found that the early rising was worthwhile to catch the animals while they were up and about. I don't really feel the need to describe everything I saw (as I am hoping my photos and videos do that), but I will go over a few of the highlights. First, seeing an elephant in the wild for the first time. Since elephants have always been my favorite animals, that was pretty special. Second, finding out that I love baboons. Manyara is a primate park, and there are gangs of baboons all over the place - particularly loved seeing the baby baboons playing and climbing on their mothers. Lots of monkeys around the park. Other side note, there isn't actually a lake at Lake Manyara anymore. Unfortunately, it has dried up over time (global warming?), but the name still stands. Oh, also, something I have never seen before - giraffe sex. We came right at mating season, and we actually watched as a male giraffe attempted to get his mate on; unfortunately for him, the female wasn't really going for it. Apparently it is a long courtship process (we didn't stick around for the whole thing; but did leave and come back later and he still hadn't sealed the deal). Last cool thing about the park is that there are some volcanic hot springs there; not deep enough to swim in or anything, but still pretty cool. Great views. Check out the pictures!
After spending a full day at Lake Manyara, we headed off to our lodge for the night, which was called Twiga Lodge (side note: twiga means giraffe in Swahili). The place was really awesome; it was a pretty big compound with tents for camping, rooms for those who didn't want to rough it (we all stayed in rooms, and Trish and I actually forcefully upgraded ourselves to the best room, ACES!), and also had a pool, a really cool dining area and lounge, and was really just very peaceful and relaxing. It was the perfect kind of place to go back to after having spent a day on a safari. We had another early rise (let's just say we woke up well before the sun) to drive to Ngorongoro; again, this was totally worth it. The views on the way there were really amazing, and once we got to the Crater (Ngorongoro is the only true crater, we were told) it was an awesome drive. Basically, you start at the top of the crater and have to drive down into it. At the top, it's really foggy and hazy and you can't see very well. We saw some giraffes and elephants and it was actually quite cool seeing them through the haze. The drive down is bumpy, windy, and since it was raining, slippery, and you definitely feel pretty nervous about the possibility of driving off the edge (I have a video of part of the drive down). It takes a long time to get all the way down into the crater (over an hour). As you move down, the haze clears up, the vegetation changes, and the views become really incredible - pictures really don't do it justice, and it's the first time here that I think the landscape and view really took my breath away. (I have seen tons of beautiful landscapes in a lot of different countries, and they are always very green and lush and beautiful, but for the first time ever, I saw this really awesome, wheat colored landscape and I am now obsessed with wheat and tan and want my mom to paint my room tan and have a whole new appreciation for this color palette. I know my mom is the only one who reads this, so shout out - these are the colors we are painting my bedroom). Anyway, we finally made it down into the crater, and it was spectacular, because even though this was the third park we've been to, it was the first time that we actually felt like you are smack in the middle of the animals. It was unlike the other parks, because the crater is filled with tons of each type of animal (side note: I don't know much about migration patterns, but right now the animals are all up in Kenya, and they migrate back in late October/November; however, animals that live in the crater don't really migrate back and forth because they have everything they need here all the time, so instead of seeing a sampling of each animal, you really see large herds). It takes hours to make your way around the crater, and you get to see everything; zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, warthogs, hippos, lions, rhinos, ostriches (other side note: was also mating season for the ostriches and we got to see their mating techniques as well). It was definitely, by far, the coolest thing I have experienced thus far in Tanzania. I know that nature is awesome and I have always appreciated it on some level, but I wasn't ever one of those people who got really moved by nature; I have always been more interested in people and find myself to be moved by the awesomeness of mankind when people do really spectacular things. However, I am definitely developing a greater appreciation for nature and how it really humbles you, inspires you, and reminds you that there is a natural way that things should be. It is interesting, to me at least, that it's made me start thinking this way. That's enough writing and ranting about nature for now; enjoy the pictures and videos. My friends all have much better cameras and I intend on stealing their pictures, which are far better, but until I get their pictures, take a look at my amateur shots, as well as the many, many videos I decided to take that day.
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