After Christmas, we set off on a long awaited adventure to Africa! Through Mama, Dada & my grandparents, I've heard about the magic of Africa for years. We have African art & jewelry at home, and it has always intrigued Keevah & I. After Covid delays, we finally set off to see if Africa was really as cool in person as it seemed on National Geographic.
We flew through Dubai and eventually made our way to Arusha, Tanzania. Mr. Andrew was our guide, the same man that Gran helped to become the first Tanzanian to own his own Safari Company decades ago. He has been on Safari with Gran, Mama, Dada, Grandpa & Gee...and now it was his turn to take the third generation! We stayed a few nights in Arusha to get our bearings - jet lag really wasn't too bad! The Ngare Sero Lodge was so lovely - just as Mama & Dada had remembered it. It's an old plantation style lodge, and we had our own courtyard to ourselves. The Colobus & Vervet Monkeys played in the trees - our first glimpse of real African wildlife...in the actual wild! The lodge also had horses, so Keevah got to keep up her riding skills!
Our first game drive was in Arusha National Park. We were immediately greeted with Water Buffalo, zebra, giraffe, wart hogs, baboons, and impalas galore! There are no natural predators in this park, so the animals were relaxed and unafraid. We got to do a 2 hour walk around and got really close to huge giraffe (Twiga in Swahili) and ended at a lovely refreshing waterfall. We saw a giraffe nursery and a lake covered with so many flamingos that the entire lake looked pink! It was a really fabulous way to start the trip.
We took a small plane to the Serengeti, staying at KubuKubo Lodge & then Lake Masek tented lodge, and met our friends from California there (Ernst, Rocio, Ana Sofia & Liam). We spent the next week going on game drives each morning, relaxing in the afternoons (playing games, swimming in the pools), and doing dusk game drives before dinner. Keevah and I were blown away at the beauty of the sky over the Serengeti, the incredible herds of animals, and the diversity of life.
Some memorable highlights:
1. A cheetah kill! We were the only car around for miles, and found a beautiful hungry cheetah searching for food. Soon enough, she darted off and caught a small antelope (a dik dik). We were so privileged to watch the whole process & circle of life - and she just left us be so close to her!
2. Adorable baby lions playing
3. A HUGE bull elephant brushing against our car
4. Herds and herds and herds of wildebeast & zebra migrating on the open plains.
5. A Leopard climbing up to a tree grab a gazelle she had stored previously
6. 30-40 hippo (including babies) making super loud snorting/honking noises in the water and splashing their poop everywhere!
7. Walking Safari in the Serengeti with a local ranger
8. Throwing spears with our Maasai guides
9. Playing Hearts with our friends every evening after dinner
10. Endless hot chocolates
After 10 days in Tanzania, we headed on to Zambia. We spent a few days at the beginning & end in Lusaka to meet some of Dada's colleagues. It was really neat to see what he's up to when he visits for work. There was a really big KoBold Metals reception at a fancy hotel, complete with red carpets - so we got to meet not only Kobold employees, but also a lot of important people in the Zambian government. We spent the rest of the time in Livingstone, near Victoria Falls...or as we prefer, the original name "Mosi oa Tunya" = "Smoke that Thunders". Don't you think that is such a better name than Victoria Falls? We spent four nights at the most lovely place I've ever seen - tucked inside the Mosi oa Tunya National Park (which houses 11 rhinos!), right on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River. Hippos swam by regularly - and the occasional crocodile too! We did some boat rides on the river, walked with the rhinos, and ate the best food of the entire trip. We even got to visit an Elephant Sanctuary & feed the Elephants!
The largest highlight was our time at the Falls. We did tours above the falls, and did a hike to the Boiling Point, at the bottom of the falls. Devil's Pool is a natural pool at the tippy top of the falls, right before the 400 foot drop - it's naturally deep, and though it doesn't look safe - it IS safe to swim there. Check out these insane photos & videos! Keevah wasn't quite old enough to do Devil's Pool, but we're already planning our return so she can participate!
After nearly 3 weeks away, and missing all that school, it was finally time to return home. We all missed our pets (especially Mama missed Spirit!), our own beds, home cooking, Napa wines, our friends...but mostly we all missed Mexican food! We were lucky to avoid much jet lag again, and settled right back into our normal routine. Keevah and I both kept up with our math, but all other homework was excused if we put together a report on our trip. I'm writing a paper on the scramble for Africa and we both are working on power point talks. Mine is going to be to all of 6th, 7th and 8th grade! Wish me luck!
And we end with a dung beetle - all part of the Circle of Life!
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