Today we are in London's Heathrow Airport in the business class lounge. We have clean running water, no dust, internet access, and free food and drinks. Too bad it is 5:30 in the morning.
Talk about a world away. We have had a long journey from Arusha to Naiorobi. That was a 6 hour dusty bus ride. Then we had a long day in Nairobi airport (about 12 hours), and a very late flight out of Nairobi to London.
This lounge is an amazingly civilized place for us. We had long hot showers and put away our very dusty clothes, and are very happy to be in a place where we have clean water and no dust.
We will be back home later today, but it will be tomorrow to us, I'll have to work that out later.
I plan to add many photos to this blog when I get home, so stay tuned. I have added our summit photo on the summit day post- it seems like a world away right now.
To everyone at home, we can't wait to see you all again. We missed all of you, and loved reading your comments and encouragement on the way up the mountain. It really helped.
Rizzo and Lucy, we always come home, we told you that. We can't wait to throw balls for you again.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Ngorongoro to Arusha
This was a travel day- most of our group were getting on flights out of Kilimanjaro Airport in the afternoon. We all piled into the jeeps in the morning, said goodbye to our camp crew, and travelled back. We had lunch in a nice restaurant in Arusha, and then went back to the hotel where our mountain gear was stored. We have two really big bags that we DO NOT want to open until we are home.
Doreen and I plus Bob and Larry had one more night in the hotel. Relaxed by the pool, had a nice dinner (but not nearly as nice as we got on the mountain).
Tomorrow, Doreen and I have a day by ourselves at the lodge, then the day after we begin the long travel back home. I think we are ready.
Doreen and I plus Bob and Larry had one more night in the hotel. Relaxed by the pool, had a nice dinner (but not nearly as nice as we got on the mountain).
Tomorrow, Doreen and I have a day by ourselves at the lodge, then the day after we begin the long travel back home. I think we are ready.
Ngorongoro Crater
Today we went down in the Ngorongoro Crater. which is an ancient caldera about 20 x 20 km in area at the base with walls about 1200 m high. We saw lots of gazelles, zebras, and wildebeests, of course. Cape buffalo were all around, we saw some hippos lolling in a watering hole, and we saw some black rhinos- but very far away.
At our lunch stop, black shouldered kites swooped down on us to take our food if we weren't very vigilant about protecting it. These are very large animals that we are competing for food with!
On the way out of the crater, we saw very old elephants- they come in to the crater and stay to graze on the soft grass (their teeth are worn out). We also saw baboons and vervet monkeys.
That evening, we stopped at our old buddy Chief Oliduro's boma (group of houses for him and his wives and children) and got a tour. They live in huts made of cow dung mixed with ash with acacia leaf roofs. About 5 of us could go inside one of his bomas at a time, they are very small. He had a small calf in there- they keep them inside for their first year. We took pictures of one of his wives and a bunch of his kids- they giggled like crazy when we showed the images to them.
Finally-back to camp to a hot shower, a really nice meal, and our last campfire together as a group. The chief joined us for a while but he was very busy text messaging one of the wives for much of the time.
At our lunch stop, black shouldered kites swooped down on us to take our food if we weren't very vigilant about protecting it. These are very large animals that we are competing for food with!
On the way out of the crater, we saw very old elephants- they come in to the crater and stay to graze on the soft grass (their teeth are worn out). We also saw baboons and vervet monkeys.
That evening, we stopped at our old buddy Chief Oliduro's boma (group of houses for him and his wives and children) and got a tour. They live in huts made of cow dung mixed with ash with acacia leaf roofs. About 5 of us could go inside one of his bomas at a time, they are very small. He had a small calf in there- they keep them inside for their first year. We took pictures of one of his wives and a bunch of his kids- they giggled like crazy when we showed the images to them.
Finally-back to camp to a hot shower, a really nice meal, and our last campfire together as a group. The chief joined us for a while but he was very busy text messaging one of the wives for much of the time.
PART TWO
Photos:
1. Crowned crane
2. Hyena
3.Lioness intent on her stalk
4. Hippos in a watering hole
5. Zebra and a warthog
Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater
We left our Serengeti tent camp and drove the back roads to Ngorongoro Crater, doing wildlife viewing along the way. We passed a huge lake with thousands of flamingos standing in it. On the shore there were some wooded hillsides. In several trees we several found baby wildebeest carcasses that the leopards had hung in the night for later eating.
We stopped for lunch under a big acacia tree and had a picnic. Because of the amount of babies and milking mothers, there were thousands of flies around. Want flies with that?
Our driver today was Shange with Cobra spotting in the back. Shange was raised as a traditional Maasai, but left at 22 with a good education and now lives in the city. Cobra was raised in town since he was very young, and calls himself a Modern Warrior. We learned a lot about the Maasai culture from them.
Our Ngorongoro tent camp was completely luxurious. Our tent included a washroom with plumbing that drained outside, as well as our indoor shower and toilet. We had wall hangings and drapes too. In the evening, we were invited down to a Maasai warrior camp to learn about how they live. They had slaughtered a goat and were roasting it and making us a special acacia bark and goat innards soup which we were encouraged to try. The Chief, Oliduro, told us all about how Maasai become men, and how they live in the bush herding cattle amongst all the wild animals with only their spears for protection.
That evening several Maasai came up to our camp and did some dancing for us. It was really amazing. The men jump as high as they can and the women flip their ring necklaces around. I'll post a video of it when I am back in civilization again.
We stopped for lunch under a big acacia tree and had a picnic. Because of the amount of babies and milking mothers, there were thousands of flies around. Want flies with that?
Our driver today was Shange with Cobra spotting in the back. Shange was raised as a traditional Maasai, but left at 22 with a good education and now lives in the city. Cobra was raised in town since he was very young, and calls himself a Modern Warrior. We learned a lot about the Maasai culture from them.
Our Ngorongoro tent camp was completely luxurious. Our tent included a washroom with plumbing that drained outside, as well as our indoor shower and toilet. We had wall hangings and drapes too. In the evening, we were invited down to a Maasai warrior camp to learn about how they live. They had slaughtered a goat and were roasting it and making us a special acacia bark and goat innards soup which we were encouraged to try. The Chief, Oliduro, told us all about how Maasai become men, and how they live in the bush herding cattle amongst all the wild animals with only their spears for protection.
That evening several Maasai came up to our camp and did some dancing for us. It was really amazing. The men jump as high as they can and the women flip their ring necklaces around. I'll post a video of it when I am back in civilization again.
PART TWO
Photos:
1. Giraffe in acacia trees
2. Sectreary bird and a zebra
3. Us on ssafari
4. Maasai dance at ight in the tent camp
A Day in Serengeti
Our tent camp is in the Serengeti National Park, on a little Naagi (small hill) that overlooks the plains which stretch to the horizon. Last night we watched endless lines of wildebeests in migration crossing those plains. Truly amazing.
We have a new camp crew at this location. The food is more about barbecue, and is still really fantastic. Our problem is that we are trying to wean ourselves away from the 6,000 calorie per day diet we got so used to up on the mountain. A very difficult task.
We got up early in the morning and headed out for the early morning animal viewing in the Serengeti. We all piled into three jeeps with roofs that open so we can stand up and watch things from all around. We still have Ben and Cobra as guides, plus we have our three drivers/wildlife experts: Kiago, Shange and Peter. These guys can spot the most amazing things on a bumpy 4wd track that we never would have seen, and we have radio contact between the jeeps so no one misses anything.
Everywhere we go there is a constant mass of wildebeests, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, zebras, and several other prey species. There are hundreds of thousands of animals here, all migrating towards the rains that are coming to this part of the Serengeti. It is baby season here too, so there are one-to two-month old very cute baby wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras everywhere. Unfortunately, they are the easy kills, so we see a lot of carcasses scattered around of said cute babies.
Now for the predators:
On our first jount out of camp, Larry wanted to get out for a phot op. We did that, and freaked Ben out, because we are not supposed to get out of the vehicles. We soon learned why, because about 30 seconds after the photo op, we saw a lion sitting there waiting for breakfast. Later one of the jeeps reported a leopard chasing them, and we all headed toward where they were. The leopard and its cub were in a den, and we were parked nearby to see if they would come out. They did, and then went to hide in the bush nearby and were nearly impossible to see after that.
We saw several Cheetah. One mother and three cubs were having a nice family outing around a freshly killed zebra. We sat and watched as the cubs got up periodically and took a hunk out of the zebra rump and then curled up by mom.
Later, there were a couple of lions sleeping next to a watering hole, clearly well fed. And a huge herd of wildebeest on the hill overlooking the pond- they wanted to go down to the watering hole but that was not an option at that time. Nearby a huge squawking mass of vultures and marabou storks (possibly one of the ugliest birds ever created) were finishing off the zebra carcass that likely was the lion's meal that morning. Nearby was a small herd of elephants with a couple of babies.
We took a mid day siesta, and then went out for an afternoon safari drive in another section. We saw a whole pride of lions sleeping on a hillside, lots of reedbucks along one of the streams, some crowned cranes and other really cool birds, and a few lions working there way to the reedbuck stream. We caught a couple of lions getting jiggy (as our guides phrased it).
PART TWO
Photos:
1. A herd of wildebeest and baby wildebeest
We have a new camp crew at this location. The food is more about barbecue, and is still really fantastic. Our problem is that we are trying to wean ourselves away from the 6,000 calorie per day diet we got so used to up on the mountain. A very difficult task.
We got up early in the morning and headed out for the early morning animal viewing in the Serengeti. We all piled into three jeeps with roofs that open so we can stand up and watch things from all around. We still have Ben and Cobra as guides, plus we have our three drivers/wildlife experts: Kiago, Shange and Peter. These guys can spot the most amazing things on a bumpy 4wd track that we never would have seen, and we have radio contact between the jeeps so no one misses anything.
Everywhere we go there is a constant mass of wildebeests, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, zebras, and several other prey species. There are hundreds of thousands of animals here, all migrating towards the rains that are coming to this part of the Serengeti. It is baby season here too, so there are one-to two-month old very cute baby wildebeests, gazelles, and zebras everywhere. Unfortunately, they are the easy kills, so we see a lot of carcasses scattered around of said cute babies.
Now for the predators:
On our first jount out of camp, Larry wanted to get out for a phot op. We did that, and freaked Ben out, because we are not supposed to get out of the vehicles. We soon learned why, because about 30 seconds after the photo op, we saw a lion sitting there waiting for breakfast. Later one of the jeeps reported a leopard chasing them, and we all headed toward where they were. The leopard and its cub were in a den, and we were parked nearby to see if they would come out. They did, and then went to hide in the bush nearby and were nearly impossible to see after that.
We saw several Cheetah. One mother and three cubs were having a nice family outing around a freshly killed zebra. We sat and watched as the cubs got up periodically and took a hunk out of the zebra rump and then curled up by mom.
Later, there were a couple of lions sleeping next to a watering hole, clearly well fed. And a huge herd of wildebeest on the hill overlooking the pond- they wanted to go down to the watering hole but that was not an option at that time. Nearby a huge squawking mass of vultures and marabou storks (possibly one of the ugliest birds ever created) were finishing off the zebra carcass that likely was the lion's meal that morning. Nearby was a small herd of elephants with a couple of babies.
We took a mid day siesta, and then went out for an afternoon safari drive in another section. We saw a whole pride of lions sleeping on a hillside, lots of reedbucks along one of the streams, some crowned cranes and other really cool birds, and a few lions working there way to the reedbuck stream. We caught a couple of lions getting jiggy (as our guides phrased it).
PART TWO
Photos:
1. A herd of wildebeest and baby wildebeest
2. Baby wildebeest
3. Herd of zebra and babies
4. Kori bustard
5. Pair of elephants
6. Cheetah cub
Monday, February 23, 2009
Travelling to Serengeti
We hobbled out to our jeeps and headed north to Serengeti via Ngorongoro. It was an all day drive with many cool stops. Unfortunately, each time we got out of the jeeps, it was really painful- many of us are quite crippled (and not just the 50 year olds).
We stopped at Oldovai Gorge and saw where the Leakey's did their major digs and learned a lot about that whole business. Later we stopped at a Maasai market which was wild. Didn't buy any cows though.
We stopped at the rim of Ngorongoro and looked in, we'll get to that in a few days. Then we got to Serengeti and our tent camp, at about dusk.
Just as we were pulling in to our new home, we saw 4 lions walking away from it. We have new rules in this camp- once we go to our tents for the night, we don't come out. For one thing, lions are attracted to the sound of zippers opening. We can't go off for a walk or anything outside of a vehicle while we are here either. We had a fun evening beside a fire watching the sun set over the plains of Serengeti which go on forever to the horizon, a really amazing place.
So far the new animals we saw today include:
Thompson's and Grant's gazelles by the millions
Wildebeests by the million
Cape buffalo
Baboons
Secretary birds (gigantic)
Kori Bustards (also gigantic)
Lots of rollers, weavers, plovers and stilts
Tawny eagle, kestrals, a few kinds of vultures, augur buzzards.
And we don't actually start safari until tomorrow.
PART TWO
Photos:
1. Lion in camp.
2. More lions in camp.
2. Hanging by the campfire with the endless plains at our feet.
Our group
There are 13 of us who set out to do this adventure. We all met just over a week ago, but got to know each other very quickly because we ate all our meals together, and told our stories on the trail all day while we hiked, and endured a lot of tough days together. There was a lot of camaraderie, support through the hard times, and good (and really bad- I don't want to talk about the Man Walks into a Bar jokes) humor in our group. I know we all wanted each and every one of us to make it to the summit or this trek would not have been a complete success.
Here's a list and quick description of the people in our group:
Bob and Larry- we met them 1st on the bus from Nairobi. They are both market analysts and have worked and travelled in many places around the world. Bob is from S Florida, and Larry is from Portland, OR.
Richard I - We also met Richard on the bus, he is an American currently living in Baghdad, working for the Dept of State on humanitarian aid for misplaced Iraqis. He has also worked in and visited many places around the world.
Barry, his daughter Jayne, and friend Richard II - They are from the Gold Coast, Sidney, and Adelaide Australia. Barry has travelled much of the world for his retail rug business, Jane is in advertising, and Richard II is an accountant who has also travelled many interesting places.
Linda and Pat - They are from Vancouver BC, they are early retirees, and are doing some world travels, and have 3 kids at home.
Aleisha and Chris - They are from Atlanta. Aleisha is a veterinarian and Chris is an IT guy for Home Depot. They have 3 dogs and a couple of cats at home.
Pam - She is a schoolteacher from Maine who has never slept in a tent or hiked before, and decided to try it all 1st on Kilimanjaro. She was supposed to meet her friend Amanda here but Amanda never showed up. The guides found out that she never got on her flight from home. We don't now what happened, but we have 2 running jokes here. One is about how much we miss Amanda and the other is about how we can eat her share of the food.
Here's a list and quick description of the people in our group:
Bob and Larry- we met them 1st on the bus from Nairobi. They are both market analysts and have worked and travelled in many places around the world. Bob is from S Florida, and Larry is from Portland, OR.
Richard I - We also met Richard on the bus, he is an American currently living in Baghdad, working for the Dept of State on humanitarian aid for misplaced Iraqis. He has also worked in and visited many places around the world.
Barry, his daughter Jayne, and friend Richard II - They are from the Gold Coast, Sidney, and Adelaide Australia. Barry has travelled much of the world for his retail rug business, Jane is in advertising, and Richard II is an accountant who has also travelled many interesting places.
Linda and Pat - They are from Vancouver BC, they are early retirees, and are doing some world travels, and have 3 kids at home.
Aleisha and Chris - They are from Atlanta. Aleisha is a veterinarian and Chris is an IT guy for Home Depot. They have 3 dogs and a couple of cats at home.
Pam - She is a schoolteacher from Maine who has never slept in a tent or hiked before, and decided to try it all 1st on Kilimanjaro. She was supposed to meet her friend Amanda here but Amanda never showed up. The guides found out that she never got on her flight from home. We don't now what happened, but we have 2 running jokes here. One is about how much we miss Amanda and the other is about how we can eat her share of the food.
Overall, there are 8 people in their 50s, 1 in their 40s, 3 in their 30s, and 1 in their 20s.
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