Safari

Thanks to a gift from my parents, I was able to do a safari while I am here. We went on safari last weekend ~ a real one! Let me tell you, Disney does a fantastic job of recreating reality. It took a long while until I could come to terms with the idea that I was not on a stage. The safari (Kiswahili for journey) started Friday night. We got in our safari trucks and started driving and made a pit stop to a local grocery store. This was a nice treat for me! The exchange rate is 1,500 Tanzania Shillings to $1.

My Safari Girls: Rakhee, Alex, Yvette, Ari, & Di

The Safari Truck

We went to the Ngorongoron Crater. It was the top of a volcano that had sunken in, and, over time, the Lion King was born. It is actually the Elephant Graveyard. Elephants walk over to this crater when they become old and live the rest of their years there. I like to think of it as the elephant retirement village. As long as I did not think about the fact that we were on top of a volcano (active or not, it still scares me), it was an awesome place to be. 

Sunday morning I wake up to rain outside our tent, so of course it was only natural to have Toto in my head and the thought of my sister who loves the song. We went off to Lake Manyara for our last visit before heading home. I learned something new about myself: I don't like giraffes. I have seen giraffe's at zoo's and Great Adventure's drive-through safari and always thought they were cute, but I have never seen them in their natural habitat. They look very much like dinosaurs. It looked eerily like Jurassic Park at some points, especially the giraffe's popping out of the trees. Ya'll, I know it sounds silly, but they scared the crap out of me. 

A REAL Baobob Tree!

And for the finale, we did a camel ride on the way home.
That's right Bean! A real African camel!