safari weekend

This one’s long and picture-heavy:
Thursday afternoon we left placement a little early to get a good start on safari. We split into two cars and drove for maybe 3-4 hours toward the Ngorongoro Crater to set up camp for the night. I didn’t know it then, but that was a really nice camp site. There were actual beds and toilets that worked. I was told the showers didn’t work, but I didn’t try. We ate dinner pretty late on Thursday and went to bed early. On Friday morning we woke up to find some people watching Christmas carols in Swahili on TV. We had some breakfast and set out for our first day.

Check out how clean and happy we all are!

the Mzungu Maasai truck

Look-out Point

Best safari tent EVER

Our First Campground

Christmas Eve Dinner

Our Dinner Chandelier... luckily you can't see all the bugs it brought

Friday morning was rainy and freezing.. not what you’d expect on safari in Africa. I was wearing my sweats and winter coat and was still cold! At the gate to the Ngorongoro we were greeted by a group of baboons on the road. We stopped at the edge of the crater to take pictures, but they didn’t come out well thanks to the weather/altitude.

Baboons

Gate to the Crater

At the Gate

Freezing at the Crater

Group Shot

We drove down into the Serengeti and it was amazing. We saw 100′s of zebra and wildebeest, 6 adult elephants and 2 babies, 6 giraffe, and 10 female lions with two cubs. We visited a Maasai village and got a tour of their huts and schools, and bought some of their crafts. We were welcomed with a song and dancing, which is mostly jumping. It started pouring near sunset, and we had difficulty driving to camp. The menfolk set up our tents in the rain, which was so heavy it caused flooding that covered our ankles. Sleeping wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be, but it was definitely wet and cold.