We were up bright and early, to enjoy the sunrise, and literally watching and hearing the world come alive. We were ready to go promptly after breakfast (and picking up our boxed lunches for the road). Most of the day was spent driving to get to the furthest away point of our journey, passing most of the places that we would be stopping at as we worked our way back. I have never been so happy to just sit back and ride, taking in a new ecological landscape, and its surprisingly broad variation, and enjoying the time with Adam. Honestly, I think we all needed it, because all of us, including the driver, were quiet and enjoying the day.
One of the stops was passing over the rim of Ngorogoro Crater, where we would be spending two full days later in the week. It was a wonderful teaser of things to come!
 |
| Ngorogoro Crater Rim |
 |
| We made some pretty friends at lunch. They could catch tossed bread mid-flight. I may have tested this...a few times... |
 |
| One of the MANY stops of the trip (not just this day) for massive animal crossings! |
 |
| Need a wildebeest? They have a few...million. |
 |
| Happy Safari-ing!!! |
One of the things that we noticed, and I did not feel comfortable taking pictures of (out of respect), was the number of people walking with water basins. Many of the locals spend the majority of their time seeking out, collecting, and transporting water. Every single day. This is their full time job. Just to keep their families alive. Can you imagine? To get up every day, cook with the water you collected yesterday, and then head out to collect water again for drinking/cooking/cleaning/existence. They are walking great distances to achieve this. So why don't they live closer? They can't. It really makes you realize how deep our good fortune goes. We have water readily available, all of the time. Faucets in our homes, stores filled with bottled water, and public buildings have water fountains. We never have to even think about where to get water or if there is going to be any when we get there. Cheers to privilege.
 |
| The sole leopard sighting of the trip |
 |
| Not the most friendly of trees |
 |
| Ngorogoro Crater view from the Rim |
 |
| The Serengeti |
 |
| The Serengeti |
 |
| The Serengeti |
 |
| The Serengeti |
 |
| The Serengeti |
 |
| Momma love |
 |
| I would have waited and let them block the road all day! <3 |
 |
| The Serengeti |
Our accommodations for the next two nights:
Kubu Kubu Tented Camp
OH. DEAR. GOD.
This place was perfect.
 |
| View from our "tent" |
 |
| View from our "tent" |
 |
| View from our "tent" |
 |
| View from the main pavilion deck. Enjoyed the view with a nice glass of wine! |
After our nice glasses of wine while enjoying the sunset, we enjoyed dinner. For the first time, I tried ostrich and gazelle. Guess what? Both are delicious! I
really enjoyed the ostrich actually. If you ever get the opportunity, PLEASE do yourself a favor and seize it!
This place. Amazing. And the SHOWER! Seriously, this is the best shower that I have ever experienced. First, it was outdoors insofar as there was no roof, but totally private thanks to the gorgeous rock walls. Second, it had a water temperature range from arctic to bone-melting. Third, the water pressure. Eco-friendly??! Absolutely NOT. The true amazingness of the shower was not truly appreciated until the next morning when we had to shower an hour before the sun even thought about rising....the night sky. Oh. My. God. There was no moon, it was pitch black, and the sky was practically white and glittering with the sheer number of stars. I think we all pretty much know what a star freak/fanatic I am by this point, and I have never seen a sky like this before. It was breath-taking and absolutely captivating. And made me waste a ridiculous amount of water because I never wanted the moment to end. Fortunately, we stayed here twice, so I got to repeat the experience.
