Tanzania Day 2: Lion Thrills and Lion Kills

We both slept really well even though we had to get up at 5a. We stored our luggage at the front desk of the hotel to be picked up after safari. The hotel restaurant was open so we had some made-to-order omelets before leaving.

Our driver took us to the airport but dropped us off at the wrong terminal. We had to pay an extra $20 to find someone to take us to domestic flights where our Safari Link charter would depart. We waited for our 10:30a flight in a separate waiting area where we met Charles and Katie from England. They kept us entertained throughout the day. Even though we had a small plane, we had plenty of room to spread out.

Our pilot, Henry.

We stopped off in Zanzibar and picked up another couple.

We also stopped in Selous and Mikumi, where we had a bathroom break with elephants. A little after 1p we landed in Ruaha and were met at the strip by our guide, Jimmy, and driver, Sudi. The guides had brought us lunch so we headed off to a nearby picnic area. On the way, we ran into some elephants.

Some impala.

And a giraffe.

We arrived at the picnic site and while the guides were setting things up, I looked out over what I assume was a dry, river bottom.

There was an assortment of giraffe, elephants, and baboons coming through for a drink.

After a pasta salad lunch (with Coke Zero for Brenda which she was very excited about), we continued our afternoon game drive.

The guides stopped to show us a sausage tree and its poisonous fruit, which generated a few bad jokes and laughs.

Next we came upon a pair of mating lions taking a short break. Both looked pretty young to be becoming parents.

A self-driver pulled up and apparently oblivious to the lions who were just a few yards away, got out of his vehicle for some reason. Jimmy yelled "Simba" to him to warn him of the lions. He got back in pretty fast.

The lions got tired of us watching them, I guess, so they wandered off for more privacy.

After leaving the lions, we found another herd of elephant with babies.

It would be dark soon and we hadn't checked into camp yet so we decided to head that way. That morning, lions killed a giraffe about 100 yards from camp so we drove by the carcass on the way in. A jackal was scouting it.

But he wasn't going to get anything because one of the lions was hiding in the bushes.

The carcass was not far away.

Jimmy, our guide, on the left and Sudi, our driver, on the right.

We made it back to camp just before dark and were shown to our tent.

Brenda immediately began re-arranging.

Just behind the zipped curtain was our bathroom.

Dinner of chicken, curry green beans, purple cabbage, potatoes, and chocolate raisin cake was served at 8p. We dined outside, by candlelight, at a long table. We could hear the lions roaring and the impala snorting around the giraffe carcass not far away. After dinner, we took our showers and went to bed with hot water bottles at our feet to keep us warm.