After a day of rest, we were off again! This time we were going to drive through Arusha on our way to Tarangire National Park. And while in Arusha, why not look for the gemstone found only in this country?! After all, a girl wants to look her best while traveling in a land cruiser!!!
And with that, we drove past Mt. Meru and onward to Tarangire National Park ~
I know, I know - "Another safari?" But first, there is no way to see "enough" of these magnificent animals!! We tried to capture that excitement and wonder in our photographs, but no camera can really match the feelings we experienced as we watched zebras and wildebeest migrate, lions lounge on the savanna, elephants lead their babies across the national parks..... And so yes, we embarked on another safari. This time, though, there was a little twist: We would be driving our own vehicle!!!!! That's right - for the other two safaris we were required to hire a licensed guide and rode in a land cruiser with a pop-top that gave us a real open-air experience. This time we would be riding (bouncing???) along in David's Rav-4!! Woo hoo!!!
Driving through Tarangire was an adventure that sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still feel - my insides tumbling around, bumping, jumbling, tossing..... well, you get the idea! The "roads" we followed were not exactly well-maintained, and subject to the damage caused by rainfall. Kelly, David, and I were bounced around like jelly beans!!! But, oh, was it fun!!!!
Oh, and we saw lots of animals, too ;)
And sometimes we were watched as well!
Twiga! (That's Swahili for giraffe) Man, I never got tired of seeing these graceful yet awkward creatures!
He he ~ See what I mean? Gloriously goofy ~
And then, just when we thought we would simply be seeing more of the same beautiful animals - we saw a giraffe family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But not only a momma and a baby, but a momma with TWINS!!!! (Dang Kelly for being in the front seat!!!!!!!!!)
Interestingly, there are always new creatures to be found out here. These little critters were living in a termite mound. There actions were sort of like the meerkats!
And then, out of the bushes trotted another pumba and babies!!! Hysterical!! I am not sure they even have knee joints!
Peek-a-boo!
More babies!
This beauty is a Lilac-breasted Roller
Not sure what these are, but they are funny looking!!!
Zebra butts!!!
Wildebeest butts!! (You can see where this is going....) By the end of our African Adventure, the three of us had enough animal butt pics to open a decent sized exhibit!!!
And of no butt album would be complete without the pièce de ré·sis·tance: hippo butt!
Our second "carcass" -
Spot the babboons!!!
Here is a great view of the zebra & wildebeest migration. And by "view", I mean they were crossing right in front of us!
Everybody poops. Just not everyone get captured on film! lol
I told you - it just never gets old!!!!!
The elusive dik dik ~
Here's a zebra with a little hitchhiker ~
In the middle of the Tarangire National Park is a lodge with a balcony that affords us a panoramic view. From here we could spot elephants, deer....
And the zebra & wildebeest migration with a stop-over at the water ~
And some animals were right there next to us, like these crested birds ~
See the giraffe???
Soon we were back on our way, though -
Hee hee!!!
Giant!!!!
We saw lots of these spotted, goofy Guineafowl! They were so frantic as they scrambled along!
I mentioned before how respectful all the visitors to the park were. We used soft voices ad turned our vehicles off as we approached animals. But there was this one time..... We were rounding a corner and plunged into a giant, gaping rut. The clunk of David's Rav-4, along with Kelly and my yelps, startled a family of water buffalo sharing a mud bath! I'm pretty sure they had never moved that quickly before in their lives!
Throughout this blog I have shared my impressions about the different animals we saw, in particular the size of the elephants. But you know how a photograph doesn't really give you any information about size without that quarter laying next to the object? Well, we kept trying to capture an elephant next to some kind of "quarter". And finally, as our trip began to come to a close, we finally captured this shot of an elephant crossing paths with a land cruiser.
See?!
And with that, our final safari together was over. I did make it back to the park later in the visit, but I have included some of those photos here since this trip really felt like goodbye to the safari part of my African Adventure. There was more to come, but these trips really touched my heart, and I will treasure the memories of every gorgeous creature I saw!
And with that, we drove past Mt. Meru and onward to Tarangire National Park ~
I know, I know - "Another safari?" But first, there is no way to see "enough" of these magnificent animals!! We tried to capture that excitement and wonder in our photographs, but no camera can really match the feelings we experienced as we watched zebras and wildebeest migrate, lions lounge on the savanna, elephants lead their babies across the national parks..... And so yes, we embarked on another safari. This time, though, there was a little twist: We would be driving our own vehicle!!!!! That's right - for the other two safaris we were required to hire a licensed guide and rode in a land cruiser with a pop-top that gave us a real open-air experience. This time we would be riding (bouncing???) along in David's Rav-4!! Woo hoo!!!
Driving through Tarangire was an adventure that sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still feel - my insides tumbling around, bumping, jumbling, tossing..... well, you get the idea! The "roads" we followed were not exactly well-maintained, and subject to the damage caused by rainfall. Kelly, David, and I were bounced around like jelly beans!!! But, oh, was it fun!!!!
Oh, and we saw lots of animals, too ;)
And sometimes we were watched as well!
Twiga! (That's Swahili for giraffe) Man, I never got tired of seeing these graceful yet awkward creatures!
He he ~ See what I mean? Gloriously goofy ~
And then, just when we thought we would simply be seeing more of the same beautiful animals - we saw a giraffe family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But not only a momma and a baby, but a momma with TWINS!!!! (Dang Kelly for being in the front seat!!!!!!!!!)
OMG - Cuteness overload!!!!!!!!!!!
Interestingly, there are always new creatures to be found out here. These little critters were living in a termite mound. There actions were sort of like the meerkats!
And then, out of the bushes trotted another pumba and babies!!! Hysterical!! I am not sure they even have knee joints!
Peek-a-boo!
More babies!
This beauty is a Lilac-breasted Roller
Not sure what these are, but they are funny looking!!!
Zebra butts!!!
Wildebeest butts!! (You can see where this is going....) By the end of our African Adventure, the three of us had enough animal butt pics to open a decent sized exhibit!!!
And of no butt album would be complete without the pièce de ré·sis·tance: hippo butt!
Hahahahahaa!!!
Our second "carcass" -
Spot the babboons!!!
Here is a great view of the zebra & wildebeest migration. And by "view", I mean they were crossing right in front of us!
Everybody poops. Just not everyone get captured on film! lol
I told you - it just never gets old!!!!!
The elusive dik dik ~
Here's a zebra with a little hitchhiker ~
In the middle of the Tarangire National Park is a lodge with a balcony that affords us a panoramic view. From here we could spot elephants, deer....
And the zebra & wildebeest migration with a stop-over at the water ~
And some animals were right there next to us, like these crested birds ~
See the giraffe???
Soon we were back on our way, though -
Hee hee!!!
Giant!!!!
I mentioned before how respectful all the visitors to the park were. We used soft voices ad turned our vehicles off as we approached animals. But there was this one time..... We were rounding a corner and plunged into a giant, gaping rut. The clunk of David's Rav-4, along with Kelly and my yelps, startled a family of water buffalo sharing a mud bath! I'm pretty sure they had never moved that quickly before in their lives!
Throughout this blog I have shared my impressions about the different animals we saw, in particular the size of the elephants. But you know how a photograph doesn't really give you any information about size without that quarter laying next to the object? Well, we kept trying to capture an elephant next to some kind of "quarter". And finally, as our trip began to come to a close, we finally captured this shot of an elephant crossing paths with a land cruiser.
See?!
And with that, our final safari together was over. I did make it back to the park later in the visit, but I have included some of those photos here since this trip really felt like goodbye to the safari part of my African Adventure. There was more to come, but these trips really touched my heart, and I will treasure the memories of every gorgeous creature I saw!
