Anyone contemplating a trip to Africa needs to plan for a safari. Anyone mildly interested in animals needs to plan a trip to Africa to go on a safari.
I really did not care one bit that we were planning on this trip to Mikumi when we were doing our trip preparation last semster. It just seemed so ungodly touristy, and I was going to see people, not animals (and I love animals more than anyone I know). Well, I am now very glad that I was not in charge of planning our trip.
The pictures above are a smattering of the animals we saw, and one of a gigantic hippo footprint in the dried mud next to the hippo pond. We only saw their noses sticking out of the surface of the water since they only come out at night. Apparently Africa's most deadly animal gets sunburned!
We got to the park and once we checked in, we got back in the bus and drove around for another three hours with a guide. It might as well have been 10 minutes to me. There were hundreds of giraffes, everywhere. We would drive right up to where they were standing by the road, and most would just stare at us rather than walk away. We were close enough to see their long, long eyelashes and the birds that ride on their backs. Sometimes we would see 25-30 at a time. There were thousands of impala, lots of elephants, and enough crazy birds that people go on safari there just for that. The Lion King has nothing on Mikumi. After the sun set we ate our four-course meal outside on their patio by latern light and a few million stars.
In the morning, I woke up to find an entire herd of impala about 10 paces away from our back porch, with water buffalo not too far out behind them, just having their breakfast, as calm as could be. We headed out again for another four hours and this time saw lots of zebra, whole tribes of monkeys and baboons, and three lions sleeping by the side of the road. This was a very big deal as some people have been going to Mikumi for years and have never seen a lion because they blend into the tall grasses. We turned off the bus and sat there with our heads hanging out the window for a half hour, just staring at them. And the Swahili word for lion is simba, if anyone was wondering.
We went back and ate lunch at their outdoor porch and watched the impala, baboons, giraffes, and water buffalo meander by. It was just crazy. Giraffes are the most majestic things I have ever seen. And I would really like to see one born because I really can't figure out how that would work!
My roommate is quite sick and we had to pull over for her on the way back, so I'm staying out of the room to give her some space.
Kar, do you think Hunter's teachers would like some very ornate hand-carved door hangings that say loin instead of lion? I feel so bad for the guy here selling them because so much work went into them that I'm looking for an excuse to buy them all!
We're off to a Masaai village in the bush tomorrow for church. It should be an interesting tale to tell (especially for this vegetarian who has already seen the pictures of the decapitated goats served for lunch during the trip last year).
No comments:
Post a Comment