We took an afternoon bus-ride from Moshi to the North-Western city of Arusha. The road was fully paved and the lack of bumps was quite welcomed by our hungover heads.
Although Moshi and Arusha were only separated by 80km of tarmac, the two cities could not have been more different. The pole pole lifestyle of Moshi was replaced by honking horns, traffic jams and persistent hawkers. Our leisurely strolls in Moshi became obstacle courses of fruit vendors and ditches.
Chris and I would be staying with our German friend Stefan, who we had traveled extensively with in Mozambique. Stefan not only taught at an international school just outside the city, but he also lived on campus in a gated refuge, away from the noisy city-center.
Because we had arrived the first week of school, Stefan would be quite occupied with lesson plans and new students. This allowed Chris and I the opportunity to recover from our Kilimanjaro voyage and recharge our batteries.
Arusha serves as the international law hub of East Africa and we had the opportunity to spend an afternoon attending the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR). Although most of it was legal jargon and technicalities, we still actually got to see a witness take the stand.
It was incredible to hear the first-hand accounts of the days following the infamous plane blowing-up that ignited the Genocide and the referencing of Romeo Dallaire. The witness also spoke of how he hid in his roof for several days as gunfire erupted all around him. I was humbled by this man's words and the fact that although the Genocide happened in 1994, the criminal tribunal was still going on 16 years later.
Arusha is also the major jumping-off point for Tanzania's northern safari circuit. Erik (AKA the birdman) took the reins in finding the most economical safaris, while Chris and I sat back and let him work. These pics are for the birdman.
I would be joining Erik, Katy, a German education student; and Jules, a teacher from the UK; on a 5-day safari to four of Tanzania's beautiful National Parks. Chris had opted for a 2-day safari and would be leaving a day before I did. This would be the first time Chris and I would be separated for more than a few hours and consequentially, a part of me died inside (hahaha).
Our first stop was the incredible Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti picked up where Kruger left off. Actually the Serengeti completely blew Kruger out of the water. The landscape, vegetation, animal concentrations and visibility far overshadowed that of South Africa's largest National Park.
The elusive leopard that evaded my hopeful eyes for so long was finally spotted in the Serengeti and my how beautiful those spots were! I can now officially say I have seen the coveted big five of African wildlife and place myself among the fortunate few who have lived out their childhood fantasies and been on Safari and witnessed Africa's incredible beasts without the help of National Geographic or the Discovery Channel.
To add to the magnificence, I even saw the swift cheetah enjoying a mid-morning feast as well as mighty lions hunting for food and engaging in other activities (cough).
Upon leaving the Serengeti, I achieved a giddiness and youthful excitement that I have not felt since...well, since youth.The following Park we visited was the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, also a UNESCO world heritage site. The crater itself is the world's largest caldera or collapsed volcano, containing the highest concentrations of wildlife on earth. As Tanzania's most visited wildlife sanctuary, you cannot help but be enthralled by the incredible spectacle that mother nature is performing on a 20 km sunken stage.
While we had seen all the same animals in the Serengeti, except the flamingo, wildebeest and the rare black rhino (the latter unfortunately only seen through binoculars); what the crater gave us was a narrative that even National Geographic could not have portrayed any better.
A buffalo had just given birth to a new calf. This fragile newborn and weak mother were the perfect prey for a threesome of young, opportunistic male lions. As they moved in for the kill, the mother tries in vain to protect her defenseless, immobile calf. Due to her postpartum weakness, she could not put up much of a fight and is chased away by one of the lions while the other two toy and torture the calf in front of hundreds of onlooking buffalo. An adult female lion grows tired of the young males' immature games and and puts the calf out of its misery.
If this wasn't enough, an injured old bull enters the scene trying to reach his herd. The lions now have their sights on a larger meal and leave the calf where it was killed. What happens next is a fight and chase, the attempted mauling and subsequent sound of ripping buffalo hide; culminating in the buffalo escaping into the protective radius of 2 onlooking elephants.
Holy crap, did that really just happen? Yeah, it did. Lion King, eat your heart out!
Your photos look like postcards!
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