Africa...so far

Wow! I don't know what other word to use! Of course, we had some flight/luggage issues at the beginning of the trip, but we got here and finally got our luggage and it was time to head out for our safari!

Our first night on safari was spent at Tarangire National Park. The lodge we were staying at overlooked an amazing area and we all slept in tents. We went for an afternoon drive and saw a lot of elephants and some giraffes (along with other smaller animals). When we got back we had a visitor over near our tent...AN ELEPHANT!! I got some great video and pictures! This would be one reason why they didn't want us to go out alone after 11p. Oh, let's not forget the pride of lions that were relaxing in the dried river bed below...yes, they occasionally come up too!

This morning we left for a sunrise drive at 6a and it took a while before we came upon any wildlife. Once again we saw a ton of elephants and just a couple of giraffes. Tarangire is known for their large population of elephants, so this would explain why we saw so many.

After our drive, we packed up and headed out for a 3.5 hour drive to our next location. We are now staying at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. It is a World Heritage Site and a National Conservation Area. The only people living in this area are members of the Maasai tribe. You can spot them by the red clothes that they wear. Currently the younger males are going through the rite of passage to becoming a man and you will occasionally see them wearing black and their faces are painted white. We saw a few of these while driving. Approximately 25,000 animals live in the area with the black rhino being their main attraction. Zebras, Hippos and wildebeests along with some other animals also live here.

I hope this catches everyone up! I will try and update more often, but it truly depends on our internet connection. I will not be posting any pictures to the blog at this time, but am continuously uploading to my facebook page.

Cheers!
Meg & DJ