I woke up before 7am today, and not just because of the call to prayer. It was weird, though, because our room was much darker than a tent would be at that hour.
We had two hours to eat and sort our safari stuff from our hiking stuff. Pretty much, we just took out our toiletries from our disgusting, dusty duffel bags and tried to shove our day packs back into them.
We waved goodbye to our crew one last time, then headed out to a waiting Land Cruiser with Hussain, a softer-spoken older guy. We put our bags in his car, and started to pull away.
Except that we were stopped by some of the Zara people. They had us get out of the car and introduced us to Abu, our real driver. The bags were switched to his car and off we were for real this time.
It was a long drive to get to Lake Menyara. Alisa has been having an upset stomach since yesterday, and the lulling of the car made us both take naps.
There was a few kilometers of construction that had us driving on gravel paths that weren't very comfortable. The trade-off was no air in the car or dusty air. And some pretty intense speed bumps.
There were some interesting things to look at along the way, even if they weren't wild animals (yet). We passed through some areas with Masai, an African tribe that still maintains a lot of their heritage. One of their rites is that they have boys in their early teens cast out to sustain themselves for a few months. The boys wear black clothes and skeleton face paint and often bans together for those months. I saw about half a dozen walking along the road as we drove past.
Once we were through Arusha, it was mostly rural, with fewer people alongside the roads, but many still plowing or herding or toting things here and there. There were bands of kids in uniform coming back from school that we waved to as well.
Lunch was a packed box that we ate outside a big gift shop. There were mini bananas, per usual, but I got Abu's, since he said he didn't like them. Someone else said they were allergic, and a third person wasn't hungry enough. By the time it was all said and done, I had enough bananas for a troop of baboons!
It still seemed like forever before we got to the park, but we finally did around mid-afternoon. Alisa still wasn't feeling well, so I walked the little interpretive trail before starting our game drive.
It was dirt roads, but winding through jungle, and the anticipation that an animal might jump out at any minute!
Our first sightings were of baboons (of which the park had a lot, we came to realize). We chilled with the family group, saw some babies and some baby-making (apparently they do it for fun too), and then moved along toward the Hippo Pool.
There was a stopped vehicle in front of us, so we checked out the red-backed deer (or something like that) before determining there wasn't a lion behind it and moving on.
Right in the clearing ahead of us were six elephants grazing (including a baby!) They ambled along, grabbing grass with their trunks and shoving it into their mouths. Apparently, they spend 18 hours a day eating.
One gray lady looked like she was trying to pass in front of our car, but another car was blocking her way. She ambled around and continued eating.
We watched the elephants for a few more minutes until they has passed the car, then continued on. We could see herds of wildebeest and cape buffalo in the distance, but we'll see a bunch more of them tomorrow. The final patch of forest before the pool had some baboons running around, so I assumed the other brown things running were baboons as well. Turns out, two warthogs crossed our path instead. Pumba!
At the Hippo Pool, Abu said that it was hard to see hippos when it was sunny out, since they don't have sweat glands and need to stay in the water to keep cool. However, the hippo in the pool 50 yards away yawned just then, and we got to see the first of the beasts.
More pool and hippos were a bit farther away. As we were looking there, a mom and her calf came lumbering out of the water! Another baby! They were out for just a minute, but it was exciting nonetheless.
At this point, Alisa's stomach was really starting to bother her. We decided to head back toward the hotel, and along the way managed to see zebras, gazelle (with babies!), a mongoose, guinea fowl, and a single blue monkey in a troop of baboons.
The hotel was another 45 minutes away, but Abu did a great job of zipping us there as quick as possible. The landscaping is great, and we have our own little safari hut.
Alisa hit the bed and is staying there. Her bug is really biting back, so I'm really hoping tomorrow dawns bright and healthy. I had dinner with another couple that did Lemosho, so we traded Zara and Kili stories all evening. But, on Kili time, 8:30 is bedtime, so we tried to chat a little later, but bedtime it is.
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