Sunday, March 16, 2008

Safari: Episode 4

After so many different types of landscapes, from lava fields and deserts to lush rain forests and swampy lakes, to grassy plains, we were shocked at the beauty of the massive caldera. After a 600 meter decent down muddy roads, we emerged into the crater's emerald green landscape. The first thing we noticed was the dense pink line of flamingos that were arrayed along the edge of the lake. The green grasses make it easier to spot wildlife, and it wasn't long before we spotted one of the elusive 'big 5'-- a black rhino. We saw three rhinos that day of only nine that stay in the crater. We saw a solo male lion that was causing some disturbance among the grazing wildebeest and thompson's gazelle. And we saw some sacred ibis and hippos on land, as well as solo male elephants, a phenomenon that only happens in the crater.

We had a hair-raising drive out of the crater trying to beat the worst of the afternoon rains, with lots of sliding along the narrow and recently packed clay roads. Safaris are supposed to be an adventure, right?

On the drive back to Arusha safe and sound, we stopped at the world-famous archaeological site Oldavi, one of the most significant sites for tracing human evolution. Pretty cool. After all the excitement, we decided to rest for a couple of days before part two of our big African adventure--climbing Kilimanjaro. We start the six-day climb tomorrow--wish us luck!

-k & d

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hope y'all are having fun. Hope you can climb Kilimanjaro without getting that stupid Toto song stuck in your heads.

Hey, it's St. Patricks day. Remember to get your drink on.

Unknown said...

Kilimanjaro?!?!?!

We are jealous!!!

We just got back from Myanmar (yes still in Asia, we have a hard time getting out of here...but then we are not on a crazy "6 continents in one year"-mission like you guys) which was very nice. Now we are in Thailand resting a bit before moving on to Australia. :-)

Hope to hear about your adventures soon!

Love, Vera & JC