Serengeti!

First night in the tent went well, with a 3:00am trip to the bathroom without having to worry about animals.

Good breakfast in the camp dining area, then it was time to pack up for the road. While climbing the rim, we became engulfed in mist & noticed that the trees were taller. Montana asked if we were in a rain forest, which Richard confirmed. He explained that there are many mini-zones in the general area, mostly depending upon the altitude.

Our first wildlife sightings were gazelles, zebras, and dozens, hundreds of wildebeests. This is migration season.

 We stopped at a cluster of trees & a building, not sure what to expect. Richard said that this was the Masai village that is part of our tour. We did briefly see a couple of other westerners, but mostly it seemed we were alone in the village. People came out to do a welcome dance for us. Richard introduced us to a young man with the name something like Lazongo. He was our guide through the village. Once inside the enclosure, we were shown a cluster of mud & wattle huts with grass & leaf roofs. We went inside one of them & sat on the beds as our guide explained their traditions of moving to new locations every few months to follow the rainy season. Their livelihoods depend upon their cows, sheep, and goats, so they have to follow the rain. Their diet consists of beef, blood, & milk. So, if LuRue or Montana didn't want to have to eat fruits and vegetables, they could just drink some blood.

Young men of 23 are expected to marry young women of about 18. Their parents choose their wives, sometimes up to 10 women, always from surrounding villages. Each bride costs several cows. After we left the house, we were shown to one of the craft tables & decorated with necklaces & bracelets. We then realized we were expected to buy them, so we each chose a bracelet of a single strand of beads.

Our guide said that there would be a special performance of dancing. The men did a jumping dance, then Montana was invited to join the women. They taught her the steps and how to bounce the neck ring.

The next stop was the village school, housing a teacher & about 12 to 15 kids, ages 3 or 4. They demonstrated their numbers and a couple of other things. The only thing left was the negotiation of “price”, even though the trip was part of our safari itinerary. These people are master salespeople. We finally agreed on a price & were bid a farewell.

From there we began our day of seeing lots of wildlife...many we had already seen plus ostriches & various birds. The really exciting encounters started with a lion chasing a cheetah, which had encroached on its territory. The first real close-up was 3 teenage lions, probably the offspring of the cheetah chaser. They were lounging in the grass next to the road. Next we sat and watched a giraffe eating bushes just a few yards from us. Before long an elephant was munching grass along the road, then crossed the road in front of us and another vehicle stopped there.

Our final sightings were a leopard quite well hidden in a tree, but by being able to drive around 3 sides of the tree, we did get a good look. On the way to camp, we saw a large herd of cape buffalo.

After getting settled into our very basic camp, we ate dinner. Then as we were leaving the washhouse to return to our tent, Montana kept asking what all those pairs of lights were when she shone her flashlight. Though we were only able to see vague shapes & guessed they might be buffalo, some of the other campers came by our tent & confirmed it. It appeared to be a long line of animals moving along the road, walking by the vehicles parked by the washroom.

Not quite sure what we’re going to do if we have any 3:00am urges.