Unlike our suitcases we got back from Africa last Saturday. The suitcases followed five days later after deciding to stay in Dubai a little longer than us.
We had an amazing trip starting with three days in Dubai before meeting the other 12 family members in Kenya on July 2. All travel went smoothly and Olivia and John both breathed a sigh of relief once it was clear all that was mapped out on the white board at home over the last nine months actually worked.
We spent six days in Kenya at the Masai Mara at Bateleur Camp owned by AndBeyond. The kids loved the rangers and it was a treat to spend the morning on the terrace watching the sun rise over the plains. Elephants, zebras and giraffes waking up as well as the occasional hyena walking by to look for coffee.
Of the Kenyan highlights was a day trip to the Tanzanian border. A smaller group that set out in the morning to find the front runners of the Great Migration. It was good to be able to relax and stop and whatever interesting sights we saw. Once more we were amazed by the rangers eyesight as our driver Wilson spotted a cheetah just short of one mile away. We followed along as the cheetah seemed to be hunting, but after waiting more than an hour the whole thing blew up by a couple of hyenas that undoubtedly was waiting to take over once the cheetah had made its kill. Cheetah decided to lay low instead while we headed north again.
We transferred from Kenya to Tanzania on Saturday July 7. First stop was Klein’s Camp just outside the Serengeti. We had hoped to see the Great Migration but were greeted only by front runners although in much larger numbers than was we had seen previously. We decided to fill up a vehicle and drive the five hours to find the thousands if not millions of wildebeest and zebras despite the risk that we might actually miss them. We were rewarded for the dusty endeavor and all of a sudden found ourselves severely outnumbered. Most impressive was a lion family that had taken down a wildebeest but realized they were so full from a previous kill that they had to let it go. Ater 10 min. of starring contest the lions walked off leaving a severely injured animal behind.
The safari portion of the trip ended at the Ngorongoro Crater. UNESCO declared the crater a World Heritage Site in 1979 due to its uniqueness. While animals are free to leave the crater, most decide to stay in the little oasis. Wildlife is everywhere and as a result the crater hosts the largest concentration of lions… The lodge was spectacular and the entertainment a whole chapter to itself, but at the end of the days the crater itself wasn’t all we had expected it to be. We seem to be more fond of the open plains and certainly less vehicles. We experienced more than 20 vehicles at one sighting and was warned that there could be as many as 40 cars around an animal or group of animals on a “good” day.
As always we’re happy to be back, but we’re ready to go again and this morning Olivia was spotted looking through a travel catalog. It’s going to have to wait but the girls handled the 30 hours return flight superbly which was a big relief and something that will make our appetite for exploring the world even bigger.
A big, big THANK YOU to Adrian and Penny for inviting us. We can’t say enough about their generosity and we feel very blessed by the invitation to celebrate their birthdays and anniversary in Africa!
The pictures are not quite ready. We’ll update you when there are photos to share.
