Into the Wild

The roads were mostly pitted dirt from here on out. But in contrast the camping was the most luxurious I have ever encountered. The Nyayo staff were such great people too – they enjoyed chatting with us and were very helpful. It was fun getting to know them really well throughout the six weeks of travel and research. They cooked great meals too!
Lake Manyara and Serengeti were the parks we traveled to before our stay at Tarangire. Manyara was stunning with the huge, mirror-like expanse of the alkaline lake as backdrop to our first giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, etc. I remember how overwhelming those first encounters were – little did we know, there was so much more to come! Animals give no regard to the presence of vehicles. Often during safari elephants would brush by close enough to reach out and touch! Serengeti exceeded all the hype and expectations I had. Plains as far as you can see with no fences, people, cows . . . and unbroken herds of zebra, gazelles, wildebeest, etc. We had many exciting close encounters with lions, and even saw several lion cubs. At night we camped in the heart of the park with no fence between us and the hyenas that stalked the camp at night. The night animal sounds were simultaneously hauntingly beautiful and absolutely terrifying. Hyenas calling, constantly, and you hope that you never hear them laugh because that means they are closing in on a kill. A pride of lions roared every night and I remember hearing lots of zebras too (probably being hunted). This may be a little melodramatic, but I was always relieved when the sun rose again, affirming that I had survived another night to drink chai while watching giraffes walk by our camp.