From Ngoro Ngoro to the Serengeti!

Friends,

Happy sneaking-in-under-the-wire Canada Day! 🎉🇨🇦🎉

Apologies for the ever-growing length between posts! I really want to get them done because I have so many great phots and adventures left to share but June was BUSY! I left my job as a Case Manager on an inner-city mental health team and joined the Adult Protection team at Vancouver Coast Health (VCH) as an Adult Protection Lead working with the mental health teams in Vancouver. This change came in the midst of twice weekly paddling sessions with a novice outrigger team. Further adding to the busyness, was back-to-back weekend travel in May to Chilliwack, Victoria and California. So, its been hard to sit still and focus but I’m doing it!

Now, because these posts are opened more frequently if I add a pic of an animal at the top, I place this gorgeous giraffe from our Serengetti adventure here for your viewing (and my click-baiting) pleasure.

(I was so excited to be close enough to get a great shot and that s/he wasn't under a tree so you can even see their head! They are so incredible! 😍)

Then, and I hope this brief switch in content is OK, I also want to share this video from our novice outrigger teams recent “huli” (capsize recovery) drill from Thurs June 22. (Fun fact, “huli” is the Hawaiian word for “turn”, people who have been to Hawaii will be familiar with the “huli huli” chicken which is turned on a spit.) Due to the positioning of the camera on the ‘iako (arms holding the pontoon or ama), and me being in seat three, I feature rather prominently in the first third of the video. I am glad I look mostly capable and didn't do anything embarrassing like pick my nose!

I thought it would be fun to share to give a little window into what I have been up to but also because Vancouver looks spectacular from the water!

Aside from being generally fun and great excersise, one of the women on the team is someone I worked at Camp Squamish with about 28 years ago! Her name is Slinder and you’ll see her in the later 2/3rds of the video b/c she gets in seat three after the drill. You will hear our camp-y cheerfulness throught the video and, it turns out she is a Social Worker too!

Here we are on our final paddle of the June Novice program,

And our fearless coach Ron,

So fun!

Anyways, back to Tanzania!

…

After our amazing time in the Ngoro Ngoro caldera we headed up and over the rim and out towards the flat plains of the Serengeti where we camped for two nights, saw more amazing animals and really started getting on each other's nerves. 😒 BUT, I also got to fly in a hot air balloon and you know, ANIMALS so it was still an amazing part of the trip.

On the long, dusty, bumpy drive to our campsite in the Serengetti. We passed the entrance to the Oldovai Gorge on the way but only stopped for a pic and the bathrooms because of time.

(Now, be honest, would you be reading this if I lead with that pic?? 😁)

At the gate to the Serengetti Park we stopped for some more pics and some young Maasai kids came to say hi and ask for donations. For this trip I decided I wasn't going to give people money when asked but would support local community development initiatives. Intrepid also donates to various groups along its travels. The kids were ok with pictures though so you see them below.

It was hard to say no when people asked for money but I felt like a) relying on random donations from tourists isn't sustainable funding for communities and b) giving money to everyone isn't sustainable for me. I have the same approach in Vancouver and figure I am supporting marginalized communities through my work. Its obviously not a perfect arrangement but it is one I am (fairly) comfortable with.

Just to the left of those kids was the gate to the Serengetti! It's a bit boring but , um, SERENGETTI!

It is FLAT and there are lots of different kinds of antelope.

Starting to green up in some spots!

And a giraffe just cruising thru!

The quality of the video is so poor on YouTube. Well, maybe my camera's video translates to poor quality on Youtube. 😔 If you want to see this lovely creature in better detail just send me a msg and I can share it with you.

And an elephant!

Then we came across a hippo pond.

They are super stinky but they DO NOT care. They are very happy floating around in their usually fairly sludgey ponds all day. It keeps their sensitive skin safe from the sun and then they go out and look for food at night. I don't think I have a good video with their wiggly little ears but come on, they are just too much!

We saw this snaggle toothed character in another pond (possibly the following day, I may be getting some of these out of order!),

And how we viewed them,

And I finally saw a Secretary Bird! I saw them in my Etosha guide book but hadn't seen any at any point even tho they are very common. Apparently they are *all* in the Serengetti because8 I saw quite a few there. You can read more about how they got the common, English name here.

The San Diego zoo link also has *much* prettier pictures. If mine leaves you confused please check that link out.

This isn't a great pic but it's evidence!

You can just barely make out the Secretary’s “pencil” feathers tucked behind its ears here. Again, see the San Diego zoo pic for more cclarity.For some reason I just think these birds are really cool!

OMG and then we found a sleeping lion!! 😍😍😍

She looks so content. ❤️❤️❤️

And look at her big feet in this one!

Apparently if you see a lion sleeping like that in a tree if always female. When I asked why, one of my male travel colleagues looked confused and said, “Um, if you have balls you can't lie like that!” I thought surely that couldn't be true. I mean, couldn't male lions enjoy a good tree perch just by sort of, arranging their boys to be pushed to the back between their legs so they could lie flat? My male colleague looked mildy alarmed and assured me that I was incorrect. I mean, obvsiouly it would be hard for a male human but a male lion? Apparently. Who knew!?

Topi antelope as we headed for our camp,

Some more antelope and the plains at sunset.

😍

That night we were lucky and didn't have to set up our tents. The kind support staff with the guides had gone ahead and set up for us. We were tucked in quite close to each other to ensure that the animals knew we were there in kind of a pack. We got a safety briefing that night about making sure to check the bush with our flashlights or headlamps before venturing out for a pee. If we saw eyes shining back we were supposed to go back in our tents, wait ten minutes and then come out and scan again. As a person who usually lies in her tent trying to talk herself out of having to get up to pee for about 45 minutes only to emerge with a bursting bladder to run to the bathroom, this was not good news. 😬

I also have a bad habit of drinking a large glass of water before bed so I avoided that and decided to go to the bathroom one more time before really settling in. As I started to climb out of my tent I saw a pair of eyes shining back at me in the bush (shiiiiit) but there were still people up and a big campfire burning so I thought it was probably still safe. As I passed by the fire some of the guides said,

"Hyenas. There. *points right* And there. *points left*"

"Yep! Thanks!" 😲

I was happy to be safely back in my tent in no time and happily I slept right through.

The next day it was a VERY early, pre-dawn start as I was being picked up for a HOT AIR BALLON RIDE! Wooohoooo! I was excited b/c I've never done one before and was looking forward to the vistas, the animals and the fancy, champagne breakfast afterwards. Unfortunately, the day started in a much less glamorous way when the door of the bathroom I was in fell off its hinges with a big crash. It would have scared the crap out of me if, well, you know. That was already sorted.

Then off to catch my pre-dawn jeep ride to the launching spot for the balloon.

We drank tea and had our safety briefing as the sun neared the horizon. Overall we were an interesting mix of one Canadian, some Americans, Germans and people from Dubai(? ) and we were all excited (the Germans in a very reserved, German way) to get this adventure started.

I am not sure that all balloon rides start the same way but we climbed in while the basket lay on its side! (As above.) This was a bit tricky as my side slot was now more like a top bunk with a divider (seat) about half way down the “bunk”. I had step up and in, slide my legs into the space where I would eventually stand, put my bum on a seat that was now perpendicular to the ground, put my seat belt on and lean back on the centre divider which was parallel to the ground and acting as a back rest. Imagine lying on the floor with your knees bent at a 45° angle so they lay flat on the seat of a chair. (This is to hard to imagine if you have a grumpy back like me!) It felt a bit like being a steam punk astronaut climbing in for a float into outer space! After alot of fussing around we were all in and the captain started to inflate the balloon in earnest.

(This is mostly just a funny picture of me b/c it really does nothing to explain the angles!)

But this was the view w/o my face in it,

And looking over to the captain,

After had lurched up to a vertical position and we had our feet on the bottom of the basket and my bum firmly on a seat. We got the all clear to stand up,

After a bit more hot air rose into the balloon, we all pulled away from the ground.

Magic!

Zebras!

Some (very hard to see) annoyed antelope,

I assumed that the flight would be silent and we would glide above the land watching animals who barely noticed us. What I didn't realize was that the burners were actually fairly loud and obviously we were quite a large physical presence in the sky so, about 50% of the time the animals started to run when they saw us.

Our flight was in shoulder season so we didn't see a ton of wildlife. It was cool enough just to be up in a balloon and seeing the hyenas, antelope, zebras and giraffes we did see but I bet it would have been spectacular during the Great Migration. Perhaps it would have been less disruptive then too because so many animals would have been focused on migrating or hunting. I guess I'll just have to go back and find out.

Eventually we drifted to a clear spot for landing and our captain put us down safely.

Then it was a pic with the captain (a Canadian!) and a quick mimosa before heading off to our fancy breakfast.

Along the way we saw a lion and some hyenas just relaxing.

And a little kiss,

Some scrappy antelope,

And finally our table!

Amazing.

After breakfast the balloon safari guides took us back to a central drop off point and the rest of my crew came and picked me up. They were all so excited because they had finally seen a leopard! Now, I know I had just spent the morning in a balloon and then eating at a very fancy table but man, I was jealous!

Luckily for me, but perhaps a bit annoyingly for my travel buddies, our guide drove around for at least another hour trying to find it again. And he did!! 😍

I didn't even bother trying to take a pic b/c she was up in a tree a fair distance away but she was clear to me and beautiful. I was so happy. ❤️😍❤️

After that success we went back to camp for some brunch, to nap in any cool spots we could find and recharge our devices. Unfortunately, around this time people's tempers started fraying. Some interpersonal drama developed which put a damper on the final couple days of the tour but happily the animals didn't disappoint.

Because we were outside in the park we had all been given clear instructions/reminder on how to keep a camp clean to avoid interest from animals. But, no matter how hard you try some critters are good at finding scraps (and full plates!) so we spent a good deal of time waving off pretty birds and keeping an eye out for mongoose. Luckily for them all the scraps went into a garbage can (collected regularly) and dirty dishes went to the outside wash station so some good bits could still be found!

Unfortunately the quality of my video doesn't come through on Youtube (does it get compressed? It must. I'll have to learn more for better sharing on future adventures!) but these yahoos were working hard trying to crack some mango pits left over from lunch.

There was quite a crew of them and they were especially interested in this garbage can.

It's hard work foraging for scraps so there was also intermittent napping!

The birds were also quite interested in the cooking pots.

The next day we packed up while a Marabou stork cruised through our camp site!

After breakfast we drove back out the way we came and looked for animals as we went. We passed the hippos again and saw this guy rolling happily in his mucky pond,

Some giraffes having a snack,

And a gorgeous male lion to see us off!

Then it was back on the BuUuUuUmMmMmMmPpPpPpPpYyYyYyYyY rRrRrRoOoOoDdDdD through the Serengetti plains, past the gorgeous Ngoro Ngoro crater (where it seemed the grasses might have even been a bit *more* green then when we had passed two days ago) and back down the outside of the caldera wall and into the small town of Mto wa Mbu.

We enjoyed the pool, survived the showers and shared one last dinner together before heading to bed for the final drive to Nairobi where we would end our tour.