Safi!

Safi is the Swahili word for awesome! It sums up the first day viewing animals. 

Coming into this trip with zero expectations I was blown away the first day on safari at Arusha National Park.  This park is a jumping off point for many Tanzanian safaris because it is not far from the airport and has a wide variety of mammals and birds in a "small" area. Our first sighting was an olive baboon troop. They were all ages from small children to older adults.  Seeing them interact with each other from such a close distance was amazing.  We were only a few feet away. One small baby was crawling up a downed log, trying to reach a female.  It had rained early in the day which made the log slippery.  One step forward, two back, as this little one somehow didn't fall, his tiny hands holding on.  

 

We saw so many animals today including 2 very rare albino baboons. You know the animal is rare when your guides get excited because they have never seen one! We have two guides: Steve Taylor, former director of the Cleveland Zoo, and Tumaini owner of Next African Safaris.  Including them, there are 6 of us on this safari. It is really nice having a small group.

We spent quite a bit of time looking for the colobus monkeys.  These monkeys are black and white with long strands of fur hanging off their arms, like fringe.  They also  have long fluffy tails.  We were so grateful when Tumaini spotted one!  Also,we saw blue monkeys.

Driving through the park, we had no idea what we would see at the next turn. It could be Masai giraffe, zebra, banded mongoose, warthog, Cape buffalo, the list goes on. 

The most impressive site was the lakes full of thousands of lesser flamingos. They boarder the edges like picture frames.  We spent a chunk of time watching them fish, fly, and listening them "talk".  Steve was obsessively looking for a greater flamingo.  They are a little larger, and have a black tip on their beak.  We eventually found them! 

I designated my friend and traveling companion, Jackie, official photographer on this trip so don't expect many pics from me.  She invested in some awesome camera equipment.  Her blog is http://perchja.blogspot.com and she is posting her thoughts and pictures there.  

At the end of the day, driving back to the lodge, I was overwhelmed by what I saw in the park.  I couldn't imagine a better day, and then we had dinner with Derek Lee and Monica Pond...that experience deserves its own post and will be coming soon...

  

We have left Arusha and are driving now through the plains, our destination is Tarangire. The view out the window are the Masai indiginous people driving heards of goats, donkeys, and cows...