Well, There It Is

Linda Lou Burton posting from Zanzibar Serena Hotel, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania – I’m not just looking at the Indian Ocean right now. I am smelling it, hearing it, and within inches of touching it. Which happens to be the next part of my plan. You see, there are five oceans in the world, and they cover 70% of the Earth’s surface. So if you plan to See The World, you’re going to have to swim, cruise, or fly over a lot of water! And naturally, you’ll want to get your foot in it. I may have come in contact with Atlantic waters when I was 5 and Dad and Mom took me swimming in Virginia’s York River. But that’s a stretch, although salt water does come inland that far. Certainly during the 60s and 70s I spent time on the Atlantic seaboard with my kids, wading and splashing from Florida all the way to Maine. In 1978 my sons and I went plowing into the Pacific waters at Santa Monica Beach, after a long drive cross-country to California. Then I had 25 years of living on the West Coast and enjoying the Pacific waters from California to Washington state. It was 2005 when I did the quirky thing of going NORTH of the Artic Circle and SOUTH of the Antarctic on the first day of summer at each. So, June 2005 I put a boot into the Arctic Ocean, and December 2005, a boot into the Southern Ocean. Yes, for both of those, I was surrounded by snow; a guide had his rifle ready on Artic Ocean day and barely agreed to let me out of the Hummer. “If a polar bear is coming, I can’t see him until he’s close,” he warned. In Antarctica, the penguins were much less a threat; the idea there was to protect THEM from US; my boots were sanitized before going ashore. It’s 2022 now, and here I am, FINALLY, at Ocean #5 – there it is – the bluest, warmest, and 3^rd largest ocean in the world. Pardon me while I sit on my porch just 20 feet away from it. I’ll do the touching thing tomorrow, but right now I’m going to look at it until it’s pitch plum dark. Room service, please?

Know Your Oceans

• Pacific Ocean: 104,800,000 sq miles between Asia and Australasia and the Americas. 
• Atlantic Ocean: 52,899,000 sq miles between the Americas and Europe and Africa.
• Indian Ocean: 43,844,000 sq miles between southern Asia, Africa and Australia. 
• Southern Ocean: 13,645,000 sq miles between Antarctica and the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. 
• Arctic Ocean: 9,667,000 sq miles between northern North America and Eurasia in the Arctic.

Zanzibar Serena Hotel https://www.serenahotels.com/zanzibar

Next Post: The Pause Button

A Story of Water

Linda Lou Burton posting from Zanzibar Serena Hotel, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania – This is the prettiest drink ever! And I promise, the most welcomed. We arrived at our exotic Serena-By-The-Sea (Kingdom by the sea? Poe) just after 3 PM, with a poet’s bag of stories (I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence.” Frost). There’s the story of Ben’s flight-booking surprise, that turned into turmoil for everyone. There’s the story of our strange pilot (Santa?) who “spoke not a word but went straight to his work” for the entire two-hour flight. There’s the story of Immigrations (Give me your tired… Lazarus) where, even though Zanzibar is IN Tanzania, and we were IN Tanzania on a Tanzanian visa as evidenced in our passports, we had to fill out paperwork for Zanzibar. And then there’s the story of water.

I was the last person on the plane (slowly, slowly; pole, pole) being pushed and pulled up the tiny steps and squeezed into the last seat. The person carrying my backpack threw it into the pile of luggage secured behind a cloth curtain at the back. As the plane taxied down the runway, my seatmate began recording our flight, his camera-on-a-stick held to the window, technology capturing his dull monotone voice. I looked around, surveying my surroundings; the plane had 1-2 seating with me in the aisle seat. Friedrich (I decided to name him) was on my right and his traveling partner Frieda (as I named her) had the single window seat to the left of me (yes, they had grabbed both windows). About 30 minutes into the flight, Friedrich reached into his backpack and pulled out two water bottles. He leaned over me and handed one across the aisle to Frieda, then tucked one into his seat pocket, unopened. This set off the “thirst command” in my head, and I realized that MY water bottle was in my backpack, and my backpack was way beyond my reach, oh criminy! After 30 minutes of staring at those two unopened water bottles, I nudged Friedrich’s arm and said, in gesturing English, “I need some water badly but mine is in the back. I’ll be glad to pay you for your water bottle.” He shook his head and frowned. “No. This is my water.” Then I started coughing. I didn’t MEAN to, I swear! But I couldn’t stop coughing! My mouth was completely dry; I was reminded of those poor zebras in Amboseli, dying of thirst. My throat hurt. I was thinking evil thoughts. Friedrich never looked my way, nor did he ever open his water bottle. Frieda didn’t either.

This beautiful drink I’m sipping now, in the lobby of my Serena-by-the-Indian Ocean, isn’t the much-craved water I needed so badly on the plane, but bungo juice, which is found only in Zanzibar; it tastes of pineapple, mango, and orange; refreshing but not too sweet. The flower is hibiscus; red and orange blooms surround the hotel. A poet would have a word for a place like this, I’m thinking, as I looked past the massive hand-carved doors to the lively street scene out front.  “Friedrich and Frieda will probably hate it here” is the best line I’ve got.

A record of our day, so far, beginning at Seronera Airstrip. See, I had water with me!

Zanzibar Serena Hotel https://www.serenahotels.com/zanzibar

Even Safaris End

Linda Lou Burton posting from Seronera Airstrip, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania–Some things you never want to forget. I’ll remember my gripes about this fast-paced-energy-charged safari for a long time. It’s been exhausting! But I’ll remember the giraffes forever. That very first day, when I gently placed a pellet on the gray velvet tongue of a giraffe and looked straight into those eyes with their Hollywood lashes, I was forever taken in. They look amazing in the wild too; in every photo I took, zooming across the grasslands, those beautiful long lashes stand out. I’ll remember the neat-looking zebras, and their unlikely best buds, the scraggly wildebeests, what an odd, but wildly successful, relationship! I’ll remember the pudgy hippos with their sublime mudpuddle grins and the rhinos with those not very attractive outgrowths stuck to the top of their faces that make them a desirable target for mean money makers. I’ll remember the elephants, going at life full-force, pushing over trees and slinging dust every which way, but so tender hearted they grieve when they lose a loved one. I’ll remember the many species of antelope, with their dainty, pretty, sometimes fairytale swirls of horns, and the big broad sweep of the buffalo’s “boss” stretching across the top of his head. I’ll remember the land plover, fearlessly guarding her two tiny eggs laying among the rocks at the side of the road. As for the lions, well sure, I know they have teeth and jaw powerful enough to bite off my arm, but what I’ll remember is all that sleeping, and stretching, and sleeping, just like my sweet little Katy cat. Overall in my memories, however, is the land, the landscape, the home for these animals. The acacia trees dotted across the open plains are planted firmly in my dreams. What a fitting place to end our safari today – the Serengeti. Even the name is beautiful – “serengeti” is an approximation of the word “siringet” used by the Maasai meaning “the place where the land runs on forever.”

Early morning packing (don’t forget that hustle!) to taking pictures of each other, just before boarding our plane. The first animals of the day were two cape buffalo by our front porch (yes, I called security). The last animal (surprise!) was the long awaited “tree-climbing lion.” I reminded Willy of our fruitless search at Lake Manyara, saying “Willy, don’t let us leave forever without seeing a lion in a tree.” By golly, he found one. Do you see a lion in that nice shady tree? Willy did! He moved the 4×4 so we could see both back and front.

Serengeti National Park is a World Heritage Site covering 5,700 square miles of grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, and woodlands. It lies in northwestern Tanzania, bordered to the north by Kenya, where it adjoins the Maasai Mara National Reserve. To the southeast is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, to the southwest the Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, and to the northeast and east the Loliondo Game Control Area. This space teems with wildlife – over 2 million ungulates, 4,000 lions, 1,000 leopards, 550 cheetahs, and some 500 bird species. The Serengeti is well known for the largest annual animal migration in the world of over 1.5 million blue wildebeest and 250,000 zebra along with smaller herds of Thomas’ Gazelle and eland. The Park is also home to the largest lion population in Africa.

The park is divided into three regions:

• Serengeti plains: The best-known feature of the Serengeti is the almost treeless grassland in the south. It has kopjes, granite formations that serve as observation posts for predators.
• Western corridor: The Grumeti and Mbalageti. Rivers, big groups of riverine forest, and small mountain ranges stretch to Lake Victoria. The great migration passes through the corridor from May to July.
• Northern Serengeti: This remote and relatively inaccessible area is dominated by open woodlands and hills, ranging from Seronera in the south to the Mara River on the Kenyan border.

Human habitation is forbidden in the Park except for the Tanzania National Parks Authority staff, researchers and staff of the various lodges, campsites, and hotels. The main settlement is Seronera with its primary airstrip.

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: A Story Of Water

Crossing My Fingers

Linda Lou Burton posting from Seronera Airstrip, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania– “He never helped with pictures.” This was the complaint every member of the gang was voicing, as we sat in the airstrip terminal this morning. Ben (remember, not his real name) was running here and there, supposedly getting tickets, supposedly for the right people, going to the right places. I sat terrorized, my confidence level in the “right thing” being done for the “right time” at a good minus-ten. (That’s -10.) Fond memories of Abdi, our guide in Kenya, and our drivers in both countries (Daniel and Willy for our 4×4), all expert photographers, were recalled; how they’d take any one of our cameras (if asked, and sometimes, even if not); make the correct adjustments for the circumstances, and “get the shot.” Anyone on the wrong side of the 4×4, no matter, they were always willing to take our camera and help. Ben (remember, working on his Masters in Tourism) had his own fancy-schmancy camera with lens that could zoom to the moon, and he concentrated on his own photos at every stop. He said he was “collecting information” for a project. I wasn’t as bothered by THAT as much as his inability to get us anywhere on time, to listen to anything we might ask, and, most especially, to follow through on the trip itinerary. Promises by Globus, not carried out by Ben. Here are two:

DAY 12, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2022. NGORONGORO. Full-day game drive in the crater includes a picnic lunch. (Remember the 4:30 AM departure and boiled-egg in a box?)

DAY 14, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2022. SERENGETI. Special farewell dinner in the bush includes a traditional Maasai dance performance. (Guess what.)

I was still stinging over his double-cross about the day in the Crater, which caused me to miss one of my prime objectives of the trip. I strongly suspect he simply failed to book the lunch in advance, and then the Lodge couldn’t accommodate us. Or maybe he thought he’d get more photos for his project earlier in the morning. I’ll never know. But the missing Maasai dance at last night’s farewell dinner was the last straw! We did have a dinner on outdoor tables, but we were seated in the dark with a spotlight in our faces (not lanterns in the trees); and the entertainment was Ben making speeches about tourism in Tanzania. Remember our “last night” with Abdi at Amboseli? Sundowners as the gang  sat together around the fire, talking and reminiscing? When I asked Ben “where are our dancers?” he shrugged. “No dancers,” was all he said. I asked him to come to our tent afterwards. He did, wearing a distracted look. I put “tomorrow’s itinerary” in front of him, pointing to the arrangements, already paid for, that were critical for the next day. Rick and I were to move forward on our own, still as Globus customers, but sans a guide familiar with the territory to take care of potential goof-ups.

DAY 15, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2022. SERENGETI–STONE TOWN, ZANZIBAR. Morning game drive. Fly (via Arusha) to Stone Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). STONE TOWN Free time in the late afternoon and evening.

“Do you have our plane tickets to Zanzibar?” “Do you have transport booked to get us from the airport to our hotel there?” “Is everything confirmed?” “Oh sure,” was his answer. Based on past experience, I am crossing my fingers.

Last night’s farewell dinner. A night-hunting lion strolling through, or some klipspringers dancing might have livened things up! It ended with everyone straggling off to their tent.

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: Even Safaris End

Let Sleeping Lions

Linda Lou Burton posting from Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania–Almost time to go. Our gang disperses today. We’ve hung together, for better or worse, since Monday morning, September 12; twelve days of breathing the same air, eating the same food, and bumping our butts all day long in the same 4x4s. Some head home today. Rick and I are headed for Zanzibar, a few days added as part of the overall tour. Maureen and Ed are going to Zanzibar too, after more time in Arusha on their own. Ben and Willy head home to Arusha to begin another tour. Will the animals miss us? Gawking TOURISTS with our cameras pointing every which way at them as they try to eat, and sleep, WOW-ing even when they fart? Yes, that was Rick’s story from yesterday’s game drive – several male lions were spotted in the grasses so of course all vehicles in the area parked within view, and every safarian raised their cameras. People in the States WARNED me to “Be careful in Africa, those lions will eat you up!” These lions, however, simply noted that the 4×4 created some shade, so walked over to begin napping in the SHADE for a while. One lion was so contented, he rolled over and farted, the sound reverberating through the 4×4; then nodded off to sleep again. I guess that’s telling them, Leo! I share Rick’s photos of the Lazy Lions, plus more lions and a few other good shots he got yesterday, like the striking kopjes he saw near a museum, while I was sitting on the porch gazing at our camp kopjes.

Sorry about the last photo. Rick tells me it is a leopard, and it certainly has its spots. Don’t know why the color is off, but maybe it was excitement — the leopard sighting rounded out the Big 5 for Rick — elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, and leopard. He was elated!

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: Crossing My Fingers

You’ll Never Guess

Linda Lou Burton posting from Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania–Now I know about kopjes. Big rocks, jutting up in the wide-open savannah. Big rocks where lions like to nap. So I’m thinking – just how safe is my tent, really? It’s just canvas, with a zippered flap. And those kopjes aren’t only in front of my tent, they are behind it too; in fact, Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp is clustered around the base of some rather marvelous looking kopjes. A very, very long way from the Walmart, or, well, anything. Here’s an aerial view of the camp – buildings snuggled against kopjes, and then, savannah. I’m pretty sure our tent is in the middle, snuggled in the trees just right of the triangle sidewalks and facing the grasses; the large lounge and dining tents are left of the triangle.

Here’s what they say about themselves: Discover a refined retreat within the natural beauty of Serengeti National Park. Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp’s 16 canvas tents offer spacious style and home-like comforts. Reachable by a winding stone path, our tents are dotted through the rocky glades of the camp; they stand on a stone platform. The expansive main bedroom has two queen beds, covered by mosquito nets. A seating area offers comfortable chairs and stylish lamps; unwind and read a book. The bathroom opens off the bedroom and includes a flushing WC, twin basins, and a shower with 24-hour hot water. Each tent has a private outdoor terrace with safari chairs and sun loungers; have a seat and admire the panoramic views. Tucked within the center of Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp, our tented dining room offers a welcoming atmosphere, as well as an expansive terrace with sweeping views of the plains. Located within the camp’s central lounge area, our stylish bar is a welcome spot for a cocktail with friends after a successful day on safari.

I have found the above to be basically true, although one detail is omitted – we are not to wander around after dark unaccompanied! Be inside our tent, flap zipped, after dark. Call security for an escort if we want to walk around. Yes, we have a phone in our tent. We’re to call for security, or room service, anytime we feel uneasy, or hungry. A big difference in this tented camp and our first two, as well as all the Lodges – they were FENCED IN. Although we were staying inside the Parks, the Park’s animals couldn’t roam around our tents/rooms. Until here. Have we seen a lion lurking? Well, not yet.

My curious self wanted to know more about this particular camp. What does Mbuzi Mawe mean? You’ll never guess, unless you’ve been studying your Swahili/Afrikaans/Dutch. Mbuzi Mawe translates to “klipspringer.” Which means: rock jumper, which is a very small antelope that lives on kopjes (also a Swahili/Afrikaans/Dutch word). Have I seen any klipspringer’s today, as I gazed at my kopjes? Well, not yet. These little fellows are tiny – less than two feet tall at the shoulder, weighing less than 40 pounds. Their yellowish-gray coat is great camouflage, and (like the lions) they mostly sleep during the day. I wish I’d seen them, or could tonight – it’s said the romantically inclined monogamous critters like to dance on the rocks in the moonlight. Imagine that, with their tiny odd hooves, Designed by Nature for ease of rock climbing. And yes, I said monogamous. Dad looks after Mom, and the kids. Something’s working for the klipspringer’s way of life: they are classified Least Concern by the IUCN with no major threats to their survival.

Note how they feed – one on lookout while the other eats. They’re so pretty, they almost look like painted dolls. Mbuzi Mawe! More pictures below (not mine) of the Mbuzi Mwae Tented Camp and the kopjes where both lions and klipspringers hang out.

The above is our tent, note the yellow dining/lounge tent through the trees. Least walking!

Memories of my morning massage, as good as the kopjes for taking a nap.

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: Let Sleeping Lions

There’s An Elephant In My Yard

Linda Lou Burton posting from Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania–There’s an elephant in my yard. That’s one thing I never expected to say. Live long enough and things you never knew you’d enjoy just show up. It happened today. I sat on my lovely little tent porch and watched an elephant grazing in my front yard. By the end of the afternoon, I’d also watched buffalo, zebra, antelope, and an orange-shirted jogger out there between me and the kopjes. The hyraxes scampered around my porch while this was going on. Who needs to go on a game drive looking for animals!

I was practically catatonic this morning when the gang headed for the 4x4s and a full day on the Serengeti. Rick promised to share his photos with me, so I slept. And slept. New Star, the lovely lady who had welcomed me in yesterday, brought me tea and breakfast, inquiring about my welfare (I suppose she’d been consigned to do so). She also offered her services for a massage, and we agreed on a time. Now, between a massage, a grassy lawn, and a slow munching elephant, a person is about as relaxed as a person can ever hope to be. So, totally relaxed, I give you your lessons for the day – about elephants, and kopjes.

My elephant today – I named him Fred – was a young male. Males leave their family groups when they reach puberty and live alone, or with other males, interacting with female family groups only when looking for a mate. Fred didn’t appear to be looking for anything today other than the next bite of grass; he was relaxed, contented, and unbothered (like me). Fred was a nice elephant! He was the first young male I’d spotted; I’d seen the matriarchal family units at Ol Pejeta, Maasai Mara, and Amboseli, either a female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The girls stick together, kicking the male calves out around the age of three. Some elephant factoids:

• Elephants are the largest existing land animals and can live up to 70 years.
• Elephant species existing today are the African bush, the African forest, and the Asian.
• Elephant trunks are used for breathing, bringing food and water to their mouth, and grasping things.
• Elephant tusks are used as weapons, and as tools for moving things and digging.
• Elephants communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound, using infrasound and seismic communication over long distances.
• Elephants have self-awareness and appear to show empathy for dying and dead family members.

I already knew most of that about elephants, but I had never heard of kopjes (hoping my geology professor isn’t reading this, maybe I forgot!). Kopjes (pronounced KOP EES), are the rock formations making the backdrop for Fred across my grassy yard this afternoon. Massive rocks! Ancient rocks! They originally formed and cooled under the surface of the earth from volcanic activity; over millions of years the surrounding softer rocks eroded, leaving these incredible, beautiful “mountain islands.” Gneiss.

Why do lions, and leopards, hang out on the kopjes? What is nicer than a warm rock for a nap? Or what better vantage point for spotting dinner? A few more things make kopjes an interesting (and unique) environment.

• Water: hollows and cracks in the rocks store water for a long time, so mammals, birds, and plants can survive even if it’s completely dry all around.
• Plants: kopjes protect certain plants from mega-herbivores such as elephants and giraffe who can’t climb there; kopjes also protect plants from fires on the savannah.
• Nutrients: leaf litter and animal dung collect in the cracks of kopjes; lions and eagles bring their prey to the kopjes; all resulting in a flow of nutrients on a grand scale.

Pretty cool, these kopjes. But one thing I can’t puzzle out: it makes sense that my little rock hyraxes (I named them Ethel and Lucy) thrive on the kopjes and scamper every which way all day long. But why, I wondered, were the zebras, antelope, and even buffalo grazing peacefully beneath the kopjes this afternoon, possibly within view of a hungry lion? And why young Fred? And lord help us, why the orange-shirted jogger! See all below.

PS I tried my darndest to spot a tusk or flat nails on the hyraxes today, and even asked them if they were related to Fred, but they refused to comment. Be sure to note Lucy on top of the tent pole above my lounge chair. Ethel preferred to hang out on the bottom rail, watching Fred perhaps? Wondering?

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: You’ll Never Guess

Tea And Slippers

Linda Lou Burton posting from Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania– This time, a photo first! I stopped at the door (flap) of our tent for a picture before I even stepped inside. I wanted to remember what it looked like before we mucked it up with all our stuff. This was our third tent camp – remember Sweetwaters on the Ol Pejeta, overlooking the Water Hole? And Sarova in the Maasai Mara, with the monkey on the porch that overlooked a creek? I dearly loved both; for all the pretense of being a “rugged safari camp” while providing 24-hour room service, 24-hour hot water in a luxury shower, permanent rooftops and floors, they still managed to create a sense of wilderness privacy with a real-life soundtrack of the animal world. The tea and slippers? A touch of home.

It was 4 PM when we reached our tent; our day began before dawn. Packing, luggage out, breakfast, checking out. An hour for the traffic jam, an hour for the wildebeest watch. A few brief stops for quickie animal shots or random things such as paperwork at the airstrip, and helping someone with a flat tire. Two hours late for lunch, we were rushed into the dining room on arrival (they wheelchaired me in through the staff’s quarters where the only sidewalk exists). And so we ate, ordering from a menu no less, a menu encased in leather; courses served, slowly and politely. Finally, our tent! The rest of the gang was hurrying, yep, get back in the 4x4s for a game drive before dark! Basically everything I’d seen so far today was from third row back in a 4×4.  People! Crowded! Blocked views! Blurry photos! The rest of my day was an easy choice to make: tea and slippers, on my porch. See my unhindered view of the kopjes across my grassy yard? See the little hyrax, asleep on the other side of the rail? Now, there’s an idea, I’m thinking. I have a giant lounge chair to stretch out on for a nap of my own. Why would anyone be anywhere else in the world? Progressions of the day below.

The scoop on the rock hyrax, which lives on the rock outcroppings all around our camp. They resemble pikas, or marmots, but design-wise, are more closely related to elephants!

• They are furry and rotund, with short tails.
• They weigh 5-10 pounds and are 12-28 inches long.
• Their tusks develop from incisor teeth as do the tusks of elephants; most mammalian tusks develop from the canines.
• Their nails are flat, as they are on elephants, rather than curved and elongated as on most mammals.
• There are several complex body arrangements regarding reproduction that are similar in hyraxes, elephants, and manatees (sea cows).

We were advised to keep the tent flap zipped at all times, as the little fellows are very curious by nature!

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Next Post: There’s An Elephant In My Yard

Animals, Yes

Linda Lou Burton posting from Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania– Believe it or not! We actually spotted animals today once we really got going. Lots of them, in fact. Yes, we saw lions (sleeping). Yes, we saw hippos (sleeping). And boy oh boy did we see wildebeests (definitely NOT sleeping), the number of which surprised even our guide. The day began with pretty giraffes, closeup; giraffes have been on my Top 5 List since that day in Nairobi when I fed them, face to face. They are so graceful, and easy-going. Zebras are also on my Top 5. Have you noticed in photos – a zebra looks good from any angle. Their faces are nicely proportioned; turn them around and their rumps are too! Their tails cover what tails do not cover on baboons (ach!) and are nicely braided at the tip. And a side view of a zebra is pleasant to look at too; a nice black and white stripe; they’re always neatly dressed and easy to spot in a crowd. Now, here is your Animal Question of the Day: WHY, as we observed clearly this afternoon, do zebras and wildebeests hang out together? Wildebeests, aka gnus, are of the antelope family (I learned today) and though they may be good partners with zebras, share no resemblance whatsoever. Their manes and tails are dark and shaggy; they have broad muzzles, Roman noses, and curving horns. What makes them such good partners, especially during migration times?

One simple reason, as they both go hunting for fresh grasslands: zebras love the taller grasses; wildebeest prefer short grasses. Like Jack Sprat and his wife, they are perfect partners when it comes to dinnertime. But there’s more: zebras have great eyesight and wildebeests have a good sense of smell. All helpful to each other for predator alerts (zebra eyesight) and finding water (wildebeest smell). Wildebeests also have “swarm intelligence” which means they are good at solving problems as a group. It was a thrill to watch this partnership in action today! The pictures below are NOT of the same wildebeests over and over; many were moving, over the period of an hour; watch for zebras in the crowd. Wow! as some might say. The sleeping lion was just as we entered the Park; the sleeping hippos were before we reached the wildebeests; the last animal I saw in this busy animal day was a hyrax, sleeping beside the porch of my tent. A hyrax looks much like a pika, or marmot, but guess what, boys and girls – it is more closely related to the elephant! And that is a story for the next post.

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

Next Post: Tea and Slippers

Damn! That Traffic Jam

Linda Lou Burton posting from Serengeti National Park, Tanzania– “Looking in my rear-view mirror I saw myself in the next car back.” My entertainment was observing what everybody else was doing, as I hummed a tune from way back in my James Taylor days. Damn! that traffic jam. This time it wasn’t Ben’s fault that we were running late. In fact, Ben, (at least he claims) is responsible for resolving the middle-of-nowhere traffic jam we found ourselves in at Checkpoint Serengeti. “I called the President’s Office!” he declared, face contorted in anger. “The President of Tanzania?” we asked, unbelieving. “You bet!” was his answer. “This is no way to promote tourism in Tanzania!” Ben paced back and forth between our two 4x4s, ranting a bit as he told his story.

There is no fence around the Serengeti, no guarded gate as at many national parks to monitor who goes in and out. But there is a checkpoint on the road, where every vehicle is stopped to pay fees and register. All this information is then fed into a computer. Today, however, the computer was DOWN. So, the “data collector” PIC (person in charge) simply disallowed entry any further into the Park! Trucks were backed up; buses were backed up; and worst of all (for the tourism industry) SAFARI vehicles were backed up! Ben (remember, he’s working on his Masters in Tourism) suggested, over and over to today’s PIC “Just write the information on PAPER! You can enter it into the computer LATER.” Said PIC was too scared to go against protocol UNTIL – Ben made his phone call to the President’s Office. Ben declared that the President himself made the phone call back that unplugged our traffic jam.

Following are photos I took from my seat in the 4×4 as I watched what people do in times like this. Some folks, I noted, just say “pole, pole,” an attitude it’s often useful to adopt.

Serengeti National Park https://www.serengeti.com/

 Mbuzi Mawe Serena Tented Camp https://www.serenahotels.com/mbuzi-mawe

 Next Post: Animals, Yes