On the highway leading to Tarangire National Park our safari guide, Gerald, was driving slower than most of the rest of the traffic. Safari jeeps filled with excited looking tourists kept passing us. When Gerald sauntered into the building to get our park permits, I could feel my toes impatiently wanting to start tapping. But I soon learned that Gerald’s calm and patience are ideal attributes in a safari guide. Several times we would be looking at animals amongst a group of safari jeeps. The others would drive off looking for the next animal sighting, while we would wait and keep watching. The majority of the time, this paid off, allowing us to see things that were likely missed by the others.
I guess it’s a lot like life. If we rushed through, checking off animal sightings like items on a grocery list, we would have seen lots of animals and birds, but missed the rich experiences: two impala males rutting, the 7 day old baby elephant hiding under the legs of it’s mom, the baby warthogs playing in the mud, and the 2 lionesses in the tall grass.
On a scale of ‘0 to Birthday’, RobO scored day one a solid 40/40. Tired and dusty, we settled into our impressive lodge for the night. We enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool, an outdoor shower with views of the park, and Maasai men accompanying us to our room after dark to ensure we were not a lion’s next meal.
This morning we watched the sunrise from our patio in the company of 2 dik diks, which are very tiny deer that are a surprisingly strong contender for my fave animal. Next up: Serengeti!
