Safari

Giraffes, zebras, baboons, warthogs… you see them in zoos and read books about them, but to see them in person – it was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! A few weeks ago a group of us went to Arusha National Park, Tanzania’s smallest park and merely an hour from our house. We had been warned that the small park was no “true African safari.” Not true! Within 5 minutes of driving through the gates, we came across a group of zebra and a herd of cape buffalo. A few minutes later, when we had gotten out of the car to inspect a stream we were going to have to cross, a giraffe popped his head out of the trees, soon to be joined by two of his buddies. These scenes continued all day, including a huge flock of flamingos in a picturesque chain of lakes and wart hogs fighting next to a family of baboons. The animals even gave us a grand finale at the end. Before we left the park, we stopped to watch a herd of cape buffalo grazing. A few minutes later a bunch of zebra wandered up and joined the crowd, and then, slowly… one by one… giraffes slipped out from the behind the trees until there were over 20 of them in the clearing. Seeing all the animals together, with Mt. Meru in the background and the sun shining like a spotlight through the clouds, was an incredible scene!

Sarah and I in front of a literal menagerie of animals.
It felt like we had been dropped in the middle of the Lion King!

We spent a lot of time over the course of the day riding on the roof of the jeep, so of course we needed to pose for a photo up there.

Janet, Sarah, and I in front of the biggest fig tree I've ever seen.

The cape buffalo look friendly, don't they?

After watching the wart hogs fighting, I would not want to come
across one of these alone!

Our view at lunch included a beautiful lake with thousands
of flamingos... and a cow skull.

Not sure if this was a stand-off or making friends...

Did you know giraffe have blue tongues? That was a surprise to us.

Just a portion of the gorgeous scene at the end of the day. It was incredible!