Serengeti Expedition

 The day a baboon attacked our truck….

               Today was  our first day of expedition, spent traveling across northern Tanzania to the heart of the Serengeti, a large expanse of protected grassland and woodland home to thousands of animals and part of the 8^th wonder of the world(im pretty sure), the great migration. We(or I) woke up bright and early at 6am, already packed and ready to go. Car assignments were set so there was no need to rush to get all the group(my 5 good friends and I) in the same car, we had been separated. I ate breakfast and packed my lunch for the day and headed to the truck to get a good seat in my assigned car. Soon we were on our way, and spirits were high. Camping in the Serengeti, what an amazing experience! About 10 minutes into a 6 hour drive, Neuro(the mechanic who was the driver of our car) pulls over. If it’s a problem with the car, it must be something he can handle, right? I mean, he’s the mechanic! The staff has been planning this trip since, well, before the program even began for us, you’d think they would make sure everything was good to go. But…as it turned out, our car was really, truly broken. Neuro couldn’t fix this on the side of the road. All the cars were radioed to come back and meet us, and the professors and drivers got out to have a pow-wow. Watching them talking intensely with brows furrowed in thought on how to handle the situation, we sat in silence watching and trying to read their lips to understand what was happening.

                Soon we were told we were to gather our things and get out of the broken truck and squeeze into the other 3 trucks, with seats completely full and all the other students gear already packed in. okay…we were hesitant but were able to squeeze 4 in the back of one truck, and the others took the front passengers seats next to the drivers that had previously sat the professors. So we now had about 9 people in each safari car. Were we going to ride like this the entire trip? We had no idea. A common theme here in Africa is we rarely really know what is going on. We are told a tidbit of what is happening but are mostly left in the dark, waiting until we reach our destination or until we can begin moving again. Then we headed off to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater, as we have to drive through the park to get to the gate of the Serengeti. We arrive shortly to the gate, where on our last visit people watching was almost more entertaining then seeing the animals themselves, and the displaced car riders are told once again we need to switch cars. The next one was a small, tan rented vehicle we were taking along in case any of our trucks got stuck in the mud while were were camping and needed to be pulled out. We have to move the stuff packed into that little car to the big white storage vehicle and then 5 of us piled into tan truck. Then we waited, unsure what we were waiting on, to be able to enter the park.

                Our driver was out and about, possibly taking care of paperwork, and had left the window open. Not a problem, it was hot, and the air circulation was needed. Meanwhile a troop of baboons wandered into the parking lot. These baboons are very, very used to people and in fact expect you to feed them, as many tourists feed them against the wishes of the tourist companies and drivers. Meandering over in our direction is a large, dominant adult male baboon. With what can only be described as swag, he walks up to our car and suddenly jumps to the open driver’s seat window, clutches the side of the door, and thrusts his head, teeth bared, violently into our small, packed car. Screams, yelps, and tensed muscles ensue, as we are legitimately frightened this bold male will attack us. I yell instinctively for help as I contemplate how I could maneuver my body from the back seat to the front window in a way in which my leg would be free enough to kick him, hard, in his chest or crazed monkey face. Meanwhile, Meghan opens the door to run out, and Emma in the passenger’s seat, is paralyzed with fear as he stares directly into her face, teeth bared. Just as suddenly as he came, he jumps off and casually struts away from the car. We let out a collective sigh of relief and then look at each other, suddenly bursting into fits of laughter. Did that really just happen? I think so.

                Soon we are on our way once again, onto the bumpy, steep road through Ngorongoro. I pop on my headphones and take in the sights while listening to Royskopp, Beyonce, and Aer. After a long ride we stop at Oldupai Gorge, the cradle of mankind. You may be thinking to yourself, isn’t it Olduvai gorge? Nope, Its actually Oldupai, which is a maasai term for the sisal plants that are so common there. It had been changed because people couldn’t pronounce oldupai as well or something of that nature, so it got twisted around. Our tour guide there was charming and very intelligent, but felt the need to express just how up with American culture he was by throwing out names like Rhianna(not sure how to spell that), Jay-Z, Chris Brown, and Oprah constantly. (Everyone is from Oldupai, Even Michael Jackson!). The small museum was informative and interesting, and the sight of the large stratified butte was truly epic.

                Then we were on our way again, and I fell asleep pretty soon after. I opened my eyes, half asleep from my nap, to the sight of literally thousands of wildebeest across the expanse of the grassland landscape as far as the eye could see. The great migration. Every year animals like wildebeest and zebra make a long circular journey from Kenya to Tanzania and back to Kenya for breeding and feeding purposes. In fact, wildebeest are always on the move. They don’t stay in one place for very long. We arrived at the gate of the Serengeti where we are informed, yet again, that we have to switch cars. At this point I am hot, tired, a bit carsick from the bumpy roads, and getting irritable. I took some deep breaths, reminding myself that this was hardly a big deal in retrospect, as I am about to be camping in the Serengeti and I just saw the great migration. Life is so, so good. We then started the 2.5 hour game drive through the Serengeti grasslands to get to our campsite. The grassland was endless, dotted with acacia trees, and as far as you could see were swaying, undulating pains of tall grass. We saw a bunch of animals, including lions lazily sleeping on kopjes, these rock formations that actually looked like pride rock. It rained lightly, minimizing the dust being kicked up and making the air cool and sweet. Rays of light broke through the toy-story like clouds and I put my hands out, imaging I was flying through the air over the grasslands. My truck didn’t have a roof, you see, and it felt amazing.

We got to our campsite, a large open area with a bathroom and covered structure where we set up our kitchen. Tents were pitched, a fire was started, and food was prepared as we sat exhaustively but excitedly talked about plans for the next few days. Sleeping was fitful as I often woke up to hyenas and lions growling and yelping around the campsite. Our guard, Bura, is simply amazing. Walking the perimeter of the campsite with a chair leg he uses as a weapon, he makes sure the hyena don’t bother us and the lions stay away from the camp. He proudly shows off the hyena teeth marks on it. At night if we had to go to the bathroom, we were to flash our flashlights to signal him to come over. If he didn’t come, it meant that we were not safe to be out of our tents as animals were around, and would have to wait till the coast was clear. I woke up in the middle night and flashed my light. Bura didn’t come. I really had to pee. Like, badly. But bura wasn’t coming!! Did he just not see me? I didn't hear any animals, where was he! I hopped around waiting for what seemed like 15 minutes but was surely only about 5. I made the decision I had to go, so I listened intently for any movement, heard nothing, and then quickly dashed over to a nearby tree to take care of business. Within 45 seconds I was back at the tent, safe, and much much more comfortable. I learned the next morning that he had not come because he had his eye on a lion that was around the perimeter of the camp. There had been 3 hyenas that night also. Oops…..

The day I watched a Lion take down a baby wildebeest….

                It’s the second full day in the Serengeti. Yesterday and today we spent the morning on an early game drive to catch the animals when they are most active. We then came back for breakfast at 930am, then sat around camp reading and such till lunch at 1245, and then had guest lectures. Unfortunately, after the first night we slept in the tents, one of the students, Emma, got extremely sick. We all felt so bad that there was nothing we could do. I gave her some of a drink mix I had that helps rehydrate, but other than that she had to just suffer in her tent while we went out and did game drives. We also weren’t sure if it was contagious, so that caused me some anxiety but no one else got sick and she thinks it was a bacterial thing from something she ate, or perhaps water she drank that wasn’t safe. For our first game drive we spent most of the time observing and recording the behavior or giraffes, which was really interesting. The next day we went birding and identified so many different species of absolutely beautiful birds. My favorite was the lilac-breasted roller, ill try to post a picture. During our birding exercise our car decided to not want to start, so we had to get out and push it to get the ignition to catch, so I can say I was really, truly, outside in the middle of the Serengeti! But it actually got pretty annoying because we could either leave the car running and chase away all the birds, or turn it off, be able to see birds, but have to push it to get it started again. Also later on we were parked watching two female lions posing for us against a stunning backdrop and all the sudden we were “PSHHHHHHHHHH”, our back right tire was deflating. We hadn’t even been moving….

 This is a picture of the Lilac Breasted Roller, Stunning, no?

                After driving around for a few hours and seeing little more than some impala, gazelles, and warthogs(which we have decided would have British accents if they were to talk, and would always be on their way to an appointment or engagement because they always seem to have places to go) we were getting frustrated we weren’t seeing anything exciting. We decided to follow a tourist safari truck on the move and came upon a cluster of trucks around a rock kopje. There in the grass next to the massive boulders were two lions, a male and a female, sleeping and cuddling. They were gorgeous. Up on the rocks were two more females and a younger male, also sleeping. That’s all you really ever see lions do. Except that day. We were about to pull away to cruise around when we saw something running towards the rocks in the far distance. What is that? We asked each other. An impala? No. a gazelle? No. As it came closer we saw it was a baby wildebeest, entirely lost and alone. It was running directly towards the rocks, into the lions den, if you will. We screamed at it to “run, run away baby!” but alas, it did not heed our warnings. Before we knew it the wildebeest was running directly to the patch of grass between the tourist cars and the lions sleeping. One female on the rock saw it, stood up, but seemed to be confused as to how to approach the situation, prey running directly at it. It was too easy. Then the two on the ground saw it and within seconds the lady was on top of it as it let out its final cry of life, breaking its neck. The male then swooped in to take the kill as his own, and walked to a different area farther away from the trucks to keep the kill safe. At this point we were freaking out, and could NOT believe we just saw that entire thing happen. Suddenly, the 10 cars around the rocks kicked into gear and surrounded the lions. Two even ran into each other, denting their trucks, and one got so close to the lion that he actually almost hit it. Everyone was fighting to get a spot to see the lion with the kill, and the tour guide drivers were going to do whatever they could to supply their clients with the best view. It was a disgusting example of the fundamental issues with the tourism industry, as the lions were basically trapped as people fervently snapped pictures and made the animals extremely anxious. We did not want to be in the situation anymore and drove away, but it was the most exciting series of events I have ever experienced! Later that day we saw not one, but two leopards(two separate instances) napping in a tree. They were far, but with binoculars you could see their stunning pattern and beautiful face.

The day there was cheese…

                The final full day we were in the Serengeti we had another game drive in the morning, and went to experience what may be the most memorable part of the entire trip. The buffet. We were dropped of at a tourist lodge in the park, luxurious and clean. We had been told in advance of the buffet there, and were salivating at the mere thought of the food possibilities. Many didn’t eat breakfast so they could really stuff their bellies with as much as possible. We walked in and my attention as instantly drawn to the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. Cheese. Cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Garlic something, oh my GOD, I tried them all and went back for seconds, thirds, fourths... Spread on a ridiculously fresh French baguette that was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I could barely handle the love I was feeling towards this edible aged delicacy. There was also FRESH vegetables. What? Veggies not fried in a cup of oil and butter? Those exist?! I had a large, fresh salad, some delicious grilled pork, a pasta dish in which I picked everything I wanted in it(even the spices!!) and a slice of apple pie for desert. I died. Basically. Then we swam, looking pregnant basically, in the infinity pool overlooking the Serengeti. Unreal.

That day we saw giraffes sparring, tons of hippoes, a race between mongoose and warthog, a cheetah meandering through the field, a ton of elephants(one of which was missing about half of its trunk), lots of lions, and a ton of gorgeous birds. Whew, what a great day. We got back to the camp and that night after dinner, as I was chatting with my ecology professor, my management professor ran towards Bura and said loud and clear “Bura. Simba. Hapa” (Bura. Lion. Here.) We suddenly heard a deep, rumbling growl. Then we heard it again. Close and loud. I looked at him, “is that really a lion?” I asked and searched his face for fear to decide if I should be scared too, as he casually replied “yes. It is at camp.” With his typical slow and wise cadence. Everyone had a bit of a freak out then. Other tourists were camping at the site now, we had about 50 people at the site. Immediately Bura ran over towards the growl and we heard another tourist guide turn on their vehicle, often a tactic to scare the animals away. People ran into the kitchen structure and our group ‘mom,’ whitney, sternly said (with a definite quiver in her voice) “get in your tents. Now.” People scurried to the tents and stared out the netting, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening. We heard more cars turning on and driving, as they herded the lions away from camp. In a few minutes we were able to come back out and we all excitedly shared stories of what we were doing when it happened, if we saw it, what we knew about why it was at camp. My management professor, who wrote a thesis on lion calls, hypothesized that it was just curious and came to check out the area. There was a male and a female, both adults. The male had come to the campsite clearing and walked between some of the other tourists’ tents close to the bathroom. They herded them away with three vehicles. Despite the excitement, I was exhausted and I slept well that night, let me tell you. Still had to pee though, but Bura escorted me this time and made sure the lions didn’t attack, as it turns out they came back and were wandering around the site. Thank god for that guy.

The day with the dust…

                It was the day to pack up and leave, after an amazing and eventful trip. We loaded up the cars, packed up the tents, and were on our way. We did a last game drive with tops of the cars off to take in the Serengeti for the last time. I popped in my headphones and listened to the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack while gazing out at the passing grasslands, peppered with gazelle grazing and buffalo staring out into the distance. The wind whipped through our hair as the dust was kicked up behind our trucks. This place is truly amazing. We then were on the bumpy ngorongoro roads and I decided I had to sleep a bit. With the window open I napped for an hour, as did the rest of the car. We woke up and looked at each others faces and burst out laughing. We all looked like we had a five o’clock shadow across our entire face. Some of us looked straight up Indian, others had dust mustaches and dark, dark circles around their eyes. The dust had been coating us through the open windows as we slept, and it was hilarious to see the difference in skin color as we washed it off when we got home. Overall it was an amazing trip that I will NEVER forget. Ever.

I hope you have enjoyed this lengthy blog post, I can only hope it was interesting enough to read to the end. If not, hey, totally understandable. I leave for Kenya in two days. Very excited.

Baadaye(Later)

Natalie