Eak & Shahn's Globetrotting Shenanigans

Friday, June 14, 2013

Safari to Serengeti

June 14th to 18th - Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater

The Outpost lodge in Arusha is where we stayed before and after the Safari tour, we were briefed by our guides and given the night to sort ourselves out - ensure we were Malaria tableted up, clean clothes for 5days, 4nights out in the wilderness and alone in the Serengeti with a fab bunch of friends!

Shahn, Jenna and Craig preparing for the amazing time we will have on Safari!

Caroline and Shahn, see the leopard in the tree?

Shahn and Michael

Saving some for later, I like this Elephants style!

Hippo Pool. We stopped here for lunch and it was pretty stinky!

Jenna and Caroline embracing the stink! (Image rights: Andrew and Caroline)

The newly weds (Image rights: Andrew and Caroline)

Mwanza Flat-headed Agama (Agama mwanzae) - this is a male all brightly coloured for mating season. He does push ups to show off to the ladies and showing his dominance to other males (Image rights: Andrew and Caroline)

Yip, I think it's happening... Oh yeah it's really really happening

We were so close to these two lions. This was the young male lion that had taken a female from a nearby pride. We were lucky enough to witness these two mating - once out of up to 60 times a day due to the lionesses poor fertility. Tough gig huh?

Last night at the Serengeti campsite, having a few beverages with the drivers while waiting for dinner. Mariki, Shahn, Jenna, Caroline, Andrew, Pete and Hurbert.

Our second dinner at the Serengeti Camp, they put on an impressive spread each meal was 3 courses and all cooked on hot coals. Amazing!!

All loved up with the honeymooners, enjoying the sight of the young lion and lioness

Relaxing

Panoramic view of the Serengeti Plains with a largely scattered herd of elephants

Hurbert, Shahn, Jenna, Pete, Caroline, Michael (kneeling), Andrew, Gareth, Craig and Mariki

Ngorongoro Crater Camp Site.

A lot of tents as it is the start of the safari season July is the busiest month and luckily we were there before this. As you can see we are all warmly dressed it was freezing! Ngorongoro is 2500 m above sea level - roughly the same height as our home town mountain, Mt Taranaki. We all kept saying, "we are camping at the height of Mt Taranaki, that's pretty crazy!!".

Rugged up, contemplating having a cold shower before dinner

The team waiting for dinner all rugged up, ready to party!

Part of the tour meant that we could have a fire built by the Safari staff, the firewood must be collected by the Massai people due to the National Park conservation area regulations. A lot of the tourists were trying to join in and our Tour guides would send them away, pretty classic!

Another nippy morning bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast .... everyone looks happy!

Part of this campsite is up on a ridge and the tour guides mentioned that elephants might climb up the banks so that they could drink out of the tank water and we got a glimpse of them when they came up to the camp to do this!

Final dinner at the crater camp - second to last to meal on Safari which we will then get back to Arusha so that we can continue onward to Zanzibar for the last part of the trip.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Kicking it in Kenya and Entry to Tanzania

June 12th - Durban to Nairobi (via Johannesburg)

A very early departure from Durban to Johannesburg, the Safari crew (Jenna & Pete, Caroline & Andrew, Shahn & Michael, Gareth and Craig) are pumped and ready to get into the real Africa.

Tailings from Diamond mines (I think) as we flew out of Johannesburg.

Crop circles as we headed towards the Mozambique Border.

This is the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Lake Malawi (It is bloody massive)

Just another Jet getting a little close for comfort...

Mountain from the air, still not sure which one it was so hazy.

'The Crew' kicking it in Nairobi, our luxury cruiser!

(Photography by Jenna and Pete)

The sweet transport of AFRICA, this is in Nairobi just heading into the city for the night... Crazy, crazy drivers. There only road rules are, if you can jam your vehicle in a small gap in traffic then you win the right to be in that gap.

Roadside stalls.

Africa possibly has the most efficient transport system every created, hey at least they are tied down and there isn't a person on top of the mattresses.

Scaffolding and concrete boxing.... it works?

June 13th - The Safari Begins...

We left Nairobi after a crazy, crazy night. We were told at the airport that we would only need Kenyan Shillings and Tanzanian Shillings, there would be no need for US Dollars. We literally walked 50meters in the airport through customs and needed USD$20/pp for a visa and they wouldn't take their own currency (I know), and we also needed USD$50/pp for the Tanzanian visa the following day so we needed to get USD in Nairobi city at night with no currency exchanges open so we met a nice fellow called George in the back of a blacked out taxi, whom kindly exchanged eight US$100 notes for about $80,000 Kenyan Shillings (a huge wad of notes I might add). We made it out alive, albeit a bit shaken and wide eyed!

(Photography by Jenna and Pete)

I think all the girls were a bit on edge but we survived the traffic and headed out of Nairobi for the Tanzanian border.

Kenyan Maasai with their stock

Making some buns for selling

Coffee Plantations. MMmmmm

More impressive transport!

Maasai bee hives, off the ground to reduce animal interference

Fresh food, with low carbon emissions in transportation

(Photography by Jenna and Pete)

Arts and crafts, really expensive

The first baobab tree

Shops all painted up with advertisement so they get money from companies (ie Fortune Butto and Vodacom)

Baboon baby watching us, so cute.

Pete trading his watch for a Maasai blanket, should have got the jandals too (they are motorbike tyres, due to their longevity for the huge distances these dudes walk).