Africa Galleries

Kenya: Sweetwaters : I boarded the plane in Seattle at 2pm, flew 9hrs to Amsterdam & another 9hrs from Amsterdam to Nairobi & arrived at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi at 11pm the next day. Can you say jet lag?! I had to be ready to go the next morning at 8am (holy crap!) for my first stop at Sweetwaters, a private reserve which is about a 3 hour drive north of Nairobi. There's a Chimpanzee sanctuary & was also home to Morani, the orphaned Black Rhino (who recently passed away of old age.) Since it's a private reserve, I was able to go on a night drive to see lions hunt (they didn't catch anything.) This is a place I'd like to stay for a few more days.

Kenya: Sweetwaters

I boarded the plane in Seattle at 2pm, flew 9hrs to Amsterdam & anothe ...

Updated: Oct 20, 2009 1:34am PST

Kenya: Lake Nakuru : Second stop - Lake Nakuru. This lake became famous from the thousands of flamingos which feed on the shores of this soda lake. It was quite smelly too. I stayed here for one night, so my one game drive was pretty uneventful. However, I was fortunate to see both black & white rhinos here. Only a small handful of reserves have both.

Kenya: Lake Nakuru

Second stop - Lake Nakuru. This lake became famous from the thousands ...

Updated: Oct 20, 2009 1:06am PST

Kenya: Maasai Mara : By far, this was my favorite stop in Kenya. It was here I saw my first Cheetah & w/a cub no less! I also witnessed my first cheetah hunt, which was breathtaking & nearly moved me to tears. Watching this animal go from 0-60 on TV doesn't hold a candle to seeing it happen right in front of your eyes! She was unsuccessful & had a hungry cub. The next morning we stumbled upon them & spent an hour just watching them be a mom & cub. It was one of the best moments of my life. I was charged by an elephant, which scared & thrilled me at the same time. And I ate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches while watching a mother lion nurse her cubs. We also visited a primary school & Maasai village. The kids & people were so friendly & photogenic. I'll definitely be going back to this place.

Kenya: Maasai Mara

By far, this was my favorite stop in Kenya. It was here I saw my first ...

Updated: Oct 20, 2009 12:22am PST

Tanzania: Tarangire : I met up w/Yun in Arusha, Tanzania (she climbed Kilamanjero while I toured around Kenya.) Our first stop was Tarangire National Park. Here I was bitten by a Tsetse fly, had a tick-infested tent (one of which found it's way into my shorts) & I walked into a thorny acacia tree. So needless to say, this wasn't my favorite stop on the African tour. However, we did see some very different landscape, Baobob trees, Palm trees, red soil & a very old giraffe.

Tanzania: Tarangire

I met up w/Yun in Arusha, Tanzania (she climbed Kilamanjero while I to ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 10:39pm PST

Tanzania: Mbugwe Village : Visiting this village was pleasant break from all the animals. We visited a school where they sang some songs for us. I recorded the audio, so it's a wonderful treat to be able to listen to it & be transported back. Afterwards, we went to the town center to watch a performance of songs and dances. I even participated in one of the dances. The downside... I think I might be married to the older gentlemen who was my partner. The townspeople had a good laugh watching me try & dance. Me too!

Tanzania: Mbugwe Village

Visiting this village was pleasant break from all the animals. We visi ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 10:17pm PST

Tanzania: Hadzabe & Datoga Tribes : We had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the local tribes. The Hadzabe are a hunting/gathering nomadic tribe. We went with them on a hunt (luckily, for me, they didn't catch anything.) We stopped about ever 30min so they could start a fire to have a quick smoke. Watching them start a fire with sticks was so surreal & primative. We all tried to shoot their bow & arrows, but it was near impossible. I couldn't even pull the bow back, but to them it was like a rubberband. I traded my Univ. of Washington purple bandana for a hand-made necklace w/one of the women & also paid $2 for a couple arrows. Then we met people from the Datoga Tribe. He had 11 wives & couldn't believe that the only man in our group only had ONE wife! When we all showed up, he thought we were all his wives. The scars on the women's faces are from a right-of-passage ceremony. I showed them the tattoo on my back & they loved it. They asked why I got it, but I don't think they understood that I paid to have it done.

Tanzania: Hadzabe & Datoga Tribes

We had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the local tribes. The H ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 7:25pm PST

Tanzania: Ngorongoro : I was so excited to the Ngorongoro Crater! I had seen lots of programs on TV about it, so to finally see it with my own eyes was such a blessing! We camped in the park & had an armed guard just in case a buffalo or elephant decided to walk thru (luckily only a wild boar ventured thru!) The weather was weird... it was sunny in one section, then we'd drive 2 miles & it'd be pouring rain. It was like having different seasons at the same time. Another beauttiful place checked off my list.

Tanzania: Ngorongoro

I was so excited to the Ngorongoro Crater! I had seen lots of programs ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 7:20pm PST

Tanzania: Serengeti & Home : On this leg of the trip, we visited Olduvai Gorge, which is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world & is commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind." We drove on to our last national park to visit... The Serengeti. It was just as vast, beautiful and full of life, just like I saw on TV. We were there for the gathering of the Great Migration, where millions of wildebeast & zebras make their way north to the Maasai Mara. Everywhere you looked, there was an animal waiting to start its journey. I someday hope to see what the Serengeti looks like when the millions are already gathered & ready to go!

Tanzania: Serengeti & Home

On this leg of the trip, we visited Olduvai Gorge, which is one of the ...

Updated: Oct 19, 2009 5:16pm PST