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Hakuna Matata, it's an actual phrase (Serengeti, Tanzania)

7/20/2014

6 Comments

 

By Jed

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Yes, they actually use that phrase in Tanzania, and apparently not just for tourists.  I was constantly repeating it in my head when I arrived at the tiny "airport" in Arusha for our flight to the Serengeti. It was my first time on a small plane. I am a bit of a nervous flyer, so the 12-seater, single-engine propeller plane without a co-pilot made me uneasy. I felt even worse when the pilot began shooting pics outside the window with his iPad before we left. Then, right before we took off, he failed to mention our stop as part of the flight's itinerary! Risking a big eye roll from my significant other, I raised my hand and asked the pilot about the oversight. After some conversations with the ground crew and a double check of his schedule, he realized he was looking at the wrong date. Despite the precarious start, we made it to the Serengeti. These are the risks we take to see animals in one of the most famous parks in the world.

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Fortunately, we arrived without a hitch and our stay in the Serengeti was quite a memorable event.  We expected this experience would be different from the game reserve in South Africa. but we weren't sure how. In addition to seeing different animals that we had not seen at all during our first safari (e.g. leopards, zebras, elephants, hyenas, buffalo, alligators, hippos out of the water, etc.), the wildlife was just much more abundant here (we saw herds of 50 elephant, hundreds of buffalo and thousands of zebra). The wide-open plain of the Serengeti landscape was also vastly different from the thick brush in South Africa. This was both an advantage and disadvantage. As an advantage, we were able to spot much more wildlife and a lot quicker in the Serengeti due to the wide-open spaces, but sometimes it was nice in South Africa to be rewarded with a view of lions after a 3 hour, boring trek to find them instead of just stumbling upon a pride. 

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Highlights of our trip would include having giraffes stumble onto our campsite, rolling up to 5 ton elephants mating and then having others in the heard give us nasty looks and noises while they passed within feet of the car, a lion mother playing daycare leader for 11 cubs, giraffes fighting by lazily throwing their giant necks at each other and getting to check out a pair of cheetahs with some fresh kill. The variety of animals, density of the wildlife and giant herds I think truly sets the Serengeti apart from anywhere else in the world. Definitely an unforgettable experience. 




And for the best part, some pictures! Let us know which is your favorite animal...we love receiving comments on our blog! (BTW, mine is probably the Zebra. I was amazed at how distinct and impressive they look in person). 

Click here or on the picture below to see our full album!

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6 Comments
Jamie
7/29/2014 02:55:50 am

LOL, the elephants mating don't seem too into it. Once again, your pictures are amazing! Also, that plane looks terrifying.

Reply
Jed
7/29/2014 09:38:58 pm

Thanks, Jamie. The plane was terrifying, though our flight to Uganda ended up being even scarier! Despite it being a nice, big jet, it was the bumpiest ride either of us have ever been on. The flight attendant actually banged her head on the ceiling due to the turbulence!

Reply
Dan G. link
8/15/2014 02:44:08 pm

NSFW!! Haha

Incredible photos.

Reply
Jed
8/15/2014 07:53:08 pm

Haha. That would be very awkward if you were at work and your boss came in to see you looking at pictures of elephant sex.

Reply
Huda
9/15/2014 03:37:52 am

LOL wow I'm a little late in reading these.... those elephants sure caught my attention. I have a lot more to catch up on but first let me just agree with what Jamie said: you take some great photos!!

Reply
Jed
9/24/2014 06:07:38 am

Ha, yeah, a bit behind, but better late than never! Glad we have a new reader!

Reply



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