SAFARI SURFIN' TANZANIA!

I"M ALIVE!!!!!

That's right team. you heard about an American who died on Kilimanjaro (no bullshit), but it wasn't me. I have climbed the mountain and returned safely (and painfully) to the ground in Moshi, Tanzania where I am spending a much much MUCH needed day of rest. (Although at midnight last night the key broke off in my padlock to my room, so we spend an hour trying to break in with the hotel staff. Yep...those things work! No luck, so I had to sleep in another room and they are still waiting for the carpenter to break in and get the thing open. As a result I’m walking around Moshi early in the morning not getting my break, but that's okay, Hakuna Matata).

Wait Craig, did you just say "Hakuna Matata?"

I did. It means No worries, for the rest of your days...

So, where have I been for the 9 days or so?

Well first I was on a 3 day Tanzanian Safari to Lake Miniera, Tirengerie National Park ("Warthog River" National Park), and the crème de le crème: Ngorongoro crater. I was with 2 Danish girls named Maibrit and Christine, and for 2 of the days Victoria and Peter from Poland. We got along well and had a good time camping and getting dusty as can be. The safari was a bit more expensive than in Kenya, but was still fun. Got to sleep under the stars and see lots of animals (but unlike in Masai Mara you can't drive off road to see them so you have to accept the distance you have which is better for the ground but not quite as cool.).

Still, we had a wildebeest/zebra mini stampede across the road that was awesome. Those guys can fly when they want. About 300-400 animals charging between our parked cars. Leaping over the side of the road. Not really sure what they were afraid of, but it made for some very dramatic photos. That was in Tierengerie.

And the Ngorongoro crater is fantastic! SOOOO beautiful. It's about 7 miles diameter crater with 2700 foot tall walls. It's a collapsed volcano and because of all the water there is a lot of wildlife down in the basin. Masai warriors bring their cattle in to feed and it is quite amazing to see. Dust, rain, cliffs, hippos and lions. And when you stop for lunch you are by a hippo pool with Black Kite birds flying over head. Seems peaceful...until the crazy bastards dive bomb you for your food! I had one hit the top of my head from behind as he dove in for my chicken, taking it out of the box on my lap. Then one, two more over my head and tore the lunch box apart!

At that point we all went inside the safari van to finish up our lunch. :)

a great time including a rowdy game of Danish Spin The Bottle! They say they play it "all the time". Given the rather fantastic girl to guy ratio, seemed like a fun plan.

BUT, nope, this game is not what you think. Danish spin the bottle is basically "dare or Dare" where you say what happens when the bottle lands on someone and then it's random who has to do the dare. The best was to go up to the tent of the two Spanish gals who went to sleep and howl and pound your chest like a gorilla. in the morning we found out it scared them pretty good (though they had earplugs in so it wasn't as dramatic as you might think. ) Still very funny. Markus and Phia from Sweden joined in. (yet another awesome couple from Sweden... are they all as cool as the people I've met? If so Sweden RULES! :)

Anyway, that's safari, after 7 days in Safari vans and safari surfin' and even playing Frisbee on overlooks with elephants down below, I'm ready to not be in a van anymore. Ready to be out in nature, walking, maybe hiking a mountain... a BIG mountain....

next episode.

Rock on\

Craigo

SAFARI SURFIN', KENYA!

Well Team...

so, I’ve made it across the border into Tanzania! My last country on

the tour (unless you count Zanzibar, which does give you a stamp and

sorta is its own country but thank god they don't charge for Visa's

because Tanzania charges 100 USD! (of course we charge them much more,

so I guess it's only fair)).

Turns out American's are traveling to Kenya! So says Rebecca who runs

the Miliani Backpackers in Nairobi. She says there have been many

more American's than ever before since about April. I asked if it was

about Obama... and it is. His father is from Kenya, and so many

American's are now aware of a bad ass country called Kenya and are

coming. This is good since Kenya tourism is SLOOOOWWWWW thanks to the

problems in January and February. Rebecca also told me about how she

and her family survived the riots and people blocking roads, throwing

rocks and burning tires. Them racing through the line of people with

horn "hooting" and skidding into their apartment garage as the guard

slammed it shut on the oncoming crowd. Straight out of a movie,

except that it was real. Fortunately Kenya is totally calm, friendly

as ever but hurting for the travelers to come back. I'm so glad I was

able to come as my safari was fantastic with only about 1/4 the safari

vans as normal. So get your ass to Kenya so you can enjoy the low

crowds and also help out! :)

So for those who don't know what exactly a Safari is I'll tell you (as

I didn't really know exactly before this trip either). You travel in

a Safari Van (or Land Rover) I was in a van, it holds up to 8 people,

but there were only 3 (and then 4) of us. So we had lots of room.

You drive to the national park with your guide/driver (ours was

Barry...well, until the Van broke down and we were sent with another

crew). The roof pops up so you stand up in the van and look out 360

degrees at the scenery and the animals.

And I mean ANIMALS. Rhinos (the endangered black and white ones),

Leopards in trees and Lions in the grass (Mothers, Babies of many

sizes, including 2 week old ones that squeak like birds, can't see and

even went UNDER the safari Van. The mother came over and picked it up

in her mouth and carried it off). Giraffes by the dozens, Elephants

by the dozens. Zebras, Hyenas, Gazelles, Hartebeests, Warthogs

(Pumba!), a cheetah, a cerval cat, Buffalos by the hundreds. Hippos,

crocodiles, bones and carcasses (oh yes) And yes Wildebeests...

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of Wildebeests. One heard was over a mile

long, with maybe 10,000 animals. The ground didn't rumble like I

expected (but they weren't running). It was 4 days of viewing,

scenery stretching to the horizon without a power line, cell tower,

paved road or house. Just miles and miles and miles of rolling hills

of grass and escarpments in the background.

We were 1 day at Lake Nakuru, a beautiful lake, (with monkeys!) and 3

at Masai Mara (the Kenyan extension of the great Serengeti Plain).

Sunsets, sunrises and stars galore. I even saw SCORPIO for the first

time that I'm aware.

I was with a very cool couple from Israel Ifat and Shaked who were on

their honeymoon. And Mark, an adventuresome pilot for Luftstansa from

Germany. The camp we staid at had Masai warriors with spears and

clubs and knives that guarded it against animal attacks at night and

wore their traditional clothes (and all had cell phones!).

A grand time.

and the new sport is Safari Surfing. You stand in the van as it

drives and don’t' hold onto the edge and try to stay on your feet.

Its' fun and a good challenge.

Tomorrow I actually go on ANOTHER safari, this one to the amazing

Ngorongoro crater. I had to navigate through the safari touts all

day. It was a lot of work, but the place seems good that I chose.

I’m' 3 weeks done. 2 weeks to go. Its going well. I'm definitely

slipping into the mid trip blues though. It always seems to happen at

some point. Where it isn't quite as fun. When little things become a

bit frustrating rather than amusing. When you stop and think about

how much money is being spent and if you will stay on budget. When

you get a bit lonely and tired of having the same "where are you

from?" conversations. That's slipping in now. I know it will pass in

a day or two and it's fine. It's here. It's hard to go go go go for

5 weeks straight! :) I'm hoping the 3 people on this safari tomorrow

are cool and that I can relax and still enjoy the adventure. After

all, Kilimanjaro is coming on friday... 6 days of hiking...

so hope you are all well and living it up. I'm still in search of

Karaoke and in fact going out. It's Africa and we are always asleep

by like 10pm or so. What the heck? :)

Gotta go, get ready to see more animals. But seriously, come to

Africa. You will be BLOWN AWAY WITH HOW AWESOME IT IS. Awesome.

just awesome.

Rock on

Craigo