Saturday, October 28, 2006
13 Oct
Today was a full day safari in the Serengeti. In the morning, we went back to the river area we had been the previous evening. The game was very dense. The highlight was the amount of lions. We saw over 20 in the morning alone. We even watched lions hunt. 4 lions lined up down wind of a group of zebras and waited for them to go to the water hole. They were crouched low in the golden colored grass. After an hour of watching, the lions gave up the hunt. The number of cars watching was a zoo in or itself. There must have been 30 safari vehicles there. We blocked the access for the zebras to the water, so we may have caused the unsuccessful hunt. We also saw lots of zebra, gazelle, giraffes, and buffalo. We also saw a cheetah and a leopard. After lunch at the camp, we went out into the grasslands in search of more animals. We saw a cheetah and some giraffes. Right as we were heading back to camp, we saw the lions with a fresh kill. They were fighting for the meat. In the end, we saw them rip the gazelle in half and eat seperately (they were only 5 yds away)...quite gruesome. We drove back to camp with our hair blowing in the breeze of the open top jeep and the sun setting over the endless plains.
14 Oct
This morning we went to a hippo pool further afield in the Serengeti. There must have been 100+ hippos crowded together in a small pool. The banks of the pool were surrounded by crocodiles. In the afternoon, we drove back to Ngorogoro Crater. The drive was dusty and bumpy again. Not very eventful. We did see some lions, but they had lost the allure. By the afternoon we were at our camp on the crater rim. After taking time to look out over the crater floor, we sat down to dinner. It was the best of the trip. The night was cold.
15 Oct
We woke up early and drove down into the crater. Ngorogoro Crater is home to the big five and the highest concentration of predators...as well as the largest crater that is not filled with water. We had seen lots of cats. All we needed was a rhino to complete the big five. All morning we drove around the crater looking for a rhino. The crater was even more densely filled with tourists than the serengeti. There were lots of wildabeasts and zebra. There is no migration in the crater like the serengeti (most of the migratory animals were in Kenya when we were in the serengeti). So many that the ground is covered with dung. We saw lions even closer than in the serengeti...but no rhinos. It was more like I envisioned a safari to be...harder to see animals...a real search. By the end of the day we hadn't see a rhino. I was disappointed, but it was still a great safari. After lunch we left the crater (it was very dry and dusty there as well). We drove back to Le Jacaranda hotel. The showers felt great after our time camping. We ate at an Ethiopian resturant across the street for dinner.
16 Oct
Woke up to the pouring rain. We relaxed all morning at the hotel and left at 1 PM to go to the airport to fly to Zanzibar. We flew Precision Air. It was only 50 min. in the air to get to Zanzibar compared to the 8 hour bus ride. We went back to the same hotel as we had previously in Stonetown. Relaxed at the African House bar for sunset and the stars and ate at our favorite fish stall. It was relaxing to be back in a place we had been before and knew where to go.
17 Oct
Took the share bus up to Ngunwi (beach) in the morning. Got a hotel at Union Bay, the hotel beside the last one we stayed at. Did some errands/chores...laundry, internet etc. We hung out at the beach until lunch. We had fish at a resturant beside the ocean and then played cards during an afternoon rain. Booked a diving trip for the next day and swam in the ocean. We watch the sunset from the beach bar and had dinner at a resturant beside the water again. A very relaxing day.
18 Oct
We woke up to the rain, but it was only a quick downpour. Luckily it did not rain the rest of the day. After breakfast, Conor and I went Scuba diving. We went to two spots close to where we had gone before. At the first, the visiblity was not as good as the last time. The second spot was really good though. Lots of colorful fish. The highlight were two crocodile fish. The afternoon was very similar to everyone we had spent at Ngunwi previously. Sunset at the beach bar and dinner at a resturant by the ocean.
19 Oct
Another wake up with the rain. This time it rained all morning. At 10 AM, we got on a share bus and headed back to Stonetown. We got a room at our hotel in Stonetown. We got ferry tickets and tried to get on the internet, but there was no power. Zanzibar was doing 4 hour a day blackouts on a rotating basis. We had lunch in the old fort (it was still Ramadan) and then booked a half day spice tour for the 20th. After that, we explored the market. We checked out all of the street vendors, fruit vendors and spice vendors in the narrow and congested market area. In the evening we headed back to the Africa House bar and the fish stands.
20 Oct
It rained again this morning. The "short" rains had started...essentially a monosoon season with daily rains lasting only a couple of hours maximum. We got picked up for our spice tour at the hotel (we were the only people on it). First stop was a historic spot, the palace of the sultan. Prior to independence in 1964, Zanzibar was ruled by arabic sultans protected militarily by the British. The mansion had been destroyed but the ruins had once held his 99 "secondary wives." After the palace, we went to a spice farm. We walked through the trees with our guide. He had us smell the leaves and sample the spice directly from the trees. They had everything from cloves to vanilla to lemon grass. We had some coconut water and lemongrass tea before hoping in the minibus for a quick driving tour of Stonetown. After lunch, we went to the ferry terminal. It was a good thing we got there early because the ferry left a half hour early. If we would have missed it, we would not have made our flight. When we got to Dar, we had dinner and hit the internet cafe. At 10 PM we got on our flight to Dubai (Emirates Air).
Today was a full day safari in the Serengeti. In the morning, we went back to the river area we had been the previous evening. The game was very dense. The highlight was the amount of lions. We saw over 20 in the morning alone. We even watched lions hunt. 4 lions lined up down wind of a group of zebras and waited for them to go to the water hole. They were crouched low in the golden colored grass. After an hour of watching, the lions gave up the hunt. The number of cars watching was a zoo in or itself. There must have been 30 safari vehicles there. We blocked the access for the zebras to the water, so we may have caused the unsuccessful hunt. We also saw lots of zebra, gazelle, giraffes, and buffalo. We also saw a cheetah and a leopard. After lunch at the camp, we went out into the grasslands in search of more animals. We saw a cheetah and some giraffes. Right as we were heading back to camp, we saw the lions with a fresh kill. They were fighting for the meat. In the end, we saw them rip the gazelle in half and eat seperately (they were only 5 yds away)...quite gruesome. We drove back to camp with our hair blowing in the breeze of the open top jeep and the sun setting over the endless plains.
14 Oct
This morning we went to a hippo pool further afield in the Serengeti. There must have been 100+ hippos crowded together in a small pool. The banks of the pool were surrounded by crocodiles. In the afternoon, we drove back to Ngorogoro Crater. The drive was dusty and bumpy again. Not very eventful. We did see some lions, but they had lost the allure. By the afternoon we were at our camp on the crater rim. After taking time to look out over the crater floor, we sat down to dinner. It was the best of the trip. The night was cold.
15 Oct
We woke up early and drove down into the crater. Ngorogoro Crater is home to the big five and the highest concentration of predators...as well as the largest crater that is not filled with water. We had seen lots of cats. All we needed was a rhino to complete the big five. All morning we drove around the crater looking for a rhino. The crater was even more densely filled with tourists than the serengeti. There were lots of wildabeasts and zebra. There is no migration in the crater like the serengeti (most of the migratory animals were in Kenya when we were in the serengeti). So many that the ground is covered with dung. We saw lions even closer than in the serengeti...but no rhinos. It was more like I envisioned a safari to be...harder to see animals...a real search. By the end of the day we hadn't see a rhino. I was disappointed, but it was still a great safari. After lunch we left the crater (it was very dry and dusty there as well). We drove back to Le Jacaranda hotel. The showers felt great after our time camping. We ate at an Ethiopian resturant across the street for dinner.
16 Oct
Woke up to the pouring rain. We relaxed all morning at the hotel and left at 1 PM to go to the airport to fly to Zanzibar. We flew Precision Air. It was only 50 min. in the air to get to Zanzibar compared to the 8 hour bus ride. We went back to the same hotel as we had previously in Stonetown. Relaxed at the African House bar for sunset and the stars and ate at our favorite fish stall. It was relaxing to be back in a place we had been before and knew where to go.
17 Oct
Took the share bus up to Ngunwi (beach) in the morning. Got a hotel at Union Bay, the hotel beside the last one we stayed at. Did some errands/chores...laundry, internet etc. We hung out at the beach until lunch. We had fish at a resturant beside the ocean and then played cards during an afternoon rain. Booked a diving trip for the next day and swam in the ocean. We watch the sunset from the beach bar and had dinner at a resturant beside the water again. A very relaxing day.
18 Oct
We woke up to the rain, but it was only a quick downpour. Luckily it did not rain the rest of the day. After breakfast, Conor and I went Scuba diving. We went to two spots close to where we had gone before. At the first, the visiblity was not as good as the last time. The second spot was really good though. Lots of colorful fish. The highlight were two crocodile fish. The afternoon was very similar to everyone we had spent at Ngunwi previously. Sunset at the beach bar and dinner at a resturant by the ocean.
19 Oct
Another wake up with the rain. This time it rained all morning. At 10 AM, we got on a share bus and headed back to Stonetown. We got a room at our hotel in Stonetown. We got ferry tickets and tried to get on the internet, but there was no power. Zanzibar was doing 4 hour a day blackouts on a rotating basis. We had lunch in the old fort (it was still Ramadan) and then booked a half day spice tour for the 20th. After that, we explored the market. We checked out all of the street vendors, fruit vendors and spice vendors in the narrow and congested market area. In the evening we headed back to the Africa House bar and the fish stands.
20 Oct
It rained again this morning. The "short" rains had started...essentially a monosoon season with daily rains lasting only a couple of hours maximum. We got picked up for our spice tour at the hotel (we were the only people on it). First stop was a historic spot, the palace of the sultan. Prior to independence in 1964, Zanzibar was ruled by arabic sultans protected militarily by the British. The mansion had been destroyed but the ruins had once held his 99 "secondary wives." After the palace, we went to a spice farm. We walked through the trees with our guide. He had us smell the leaves and sample the spice directly from the trees. They had everything from cloves to vanilla to lemon grass. We had some coconut water and lemongrass tea before hoping in the minibus for a quick driving tour of Stonetown. After lunch, we went to the ferry terminal. It was a good thing we got there early because the ferry left a half hour early. If we would have missed it, we would not have made our flight. When we got to Dar, we had dinner and hit the internet cafe. At 10 PM we got on our flight to Dubai (Emirates Air).
# posted by Adam @ 9:09 AM 
