This is the official entrance to the Serengeti. The idea of having an entrance to a 57,000 square miles area of land is a little strange to me. The park's name, Serengeti, means 'endless plains' and in the Maasai language. The Maasai is a very large tribe that lives at the base of Kilimanjaro, throughout the Serengeti, and large portions of Kenya. We seemed to see Maasai poeple everywhere...in the cities, in the bush, and in the farmlands.
The Tanzanian people are very proud and protective of their land and wildlife. For a country that's dealing with poverty, land shortage, and over population, they are very committed to preserving thier wildlife sanctuaries. By the way, they are also very good to their tourists. They have mastered tourism. They cater to every need of their tourists. Every lodge, every camp we stayed at was very comfortable, very high class, and had excellent service.
Molly doing a little advertising for Platinum Solutions. It's all about ad placement, people.
...taken with my iPhone...
I learned that elephants and humans have a lot in common. Elephants always stayed with their families. All of the adults seemed to look after the little ones (not just one mother). The fathers had bad tempers, the mothers were picking up after the kids, and the kids were
rambunctious and always making a mess.
Elephants are such amazing animals....they really are.
We saw many trees that had recently been pushed down (and even uprooted) by elephants. You might think - what heck? But they know what they're doing. They're making habitat for other animals and at the same time taking care a horrible itch in their back or taking out their aggressions.
This bull elephant got a little annoyed with our jeep and started to fan his ears at us and trumpeting a little.
This is the thorny tree the shrike use to impale it's victims. Look closely at the picture and you'll see there is also a honey bee hive. According to our driver, the honey is edible and very tasty and "a little sour" he added. Sour honey...
Molly and I enjoying breakfast before going out for the game drive. Just think of it....a hot breakfast with amazing tea (or coffee for Molly) served with fresh fruit, cereals, and oh yeah toast made on a grill...'cause where would they plug in toaster in the middle of the Serengeti?
I have no idea what this animals is but we saw him at a rest stop...probably the only rest stop in the Serengeti.
Strange plant life...these things were cactus on top but the trunk looked like any old maple tree.
I was very impressed with this very fancy rest stop. I mean, this is not a rich country. Why would they spend so much on a
stinkin' rest stop? Oh yeah, tourism is big business in Tanzania and us tourist expect the best.
I'd like this in my backyard.
Here he is again. He even followed me to the bathroom.
A giraffe! What a cool animal. They move in slow motion. They are graceful and confident in their
demeanor. We'd pull the jeep up right next to them and they could care less. Not even lions mess with the giraffes. Their necks are so strong they could knock a lion clear off his paws.
Aiden has always been into into bears and fox.
Sky on the other hand has always been into lions and giraffes.
Zebras getting a drink of water. Notice the four zebras lined up in a row. They are all drinking and keeping an eye on the crocodile. If you look closely (click on the picture) you can see the crock resting and contemplating his next meal.
I like this picture because the zebra facing me looked a little strange...sort of cartoon-ish.
A typical traffic jam in the Serengeti....these giraffes are so inconsiderate!
This is a flat top acacia tree --
the tree of the Serengeti.
