Running Late, Flying High, Getting Close to Death

Today is a special day, with a lot of convincing from me, the parents have agreed to a hot air balloon ride this morning, an extravagant day trip but one I myself am extremely excited about. However, what I am not so excited about is the early start time to the day, we are setting off so early in fact that the driver is spending the night at our camp. So we drag ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour of 3am to head to the dining area for a cup of tea to kick start tour engines, but what really gets us going is seeing our driver take off without us! Luckily I spot it in time and after being chased down by some of the staff and flashed with their torches he returns. How a driver who had spent the night in a place for the sole purpose of taking us with him in the morning ends up forgetting us is beyond me, but hey, it was early and we did have a couple more people to pick up in a camp on the away, Even Jabshir, our guide, admits to being dumbfounded.

I would love to say that the driver got better from there on in, but tbh he was pretty bad. On the way to picking up the others, after coming back for us, he gets lost in the forest for at least a couple hours.We were lost for so long and he was so sure of himself that I actually got to the point that I was worried he was doing this on purpose and that me and the parents were about to wake up in the middle of the Serengeti with our livers removed and left to the lions! But everything happens for a reason and during this night safari we do actually see some cool stuff. A leopard darts right in front of the jeep, the closest we see one all trip. Later, having passed hyena, impala and even a hare we come to a junction where we are greeted by two lionesses with two incredibly cute cubs, a sight you are very unlikely to see in daylight. Eventually we reach the next camp and the two woman we are picking up are woken up, having been told by the staff to go back to bed as the car was so late it must not be coming.

Once we are all in the car it is a race against the clock you see, this isn’t just a hot air balloon ride, this is supposed to be a sunrise hot air balloon ride and the horizon is looking suspiciously beautiful with those deep purples, oranges and reds that tell you sunrise is well on its way. After a few phone calls, from what we can only assume is our driver’s boss asking were in hell we are, he puts his foot through the floor. The rest of our hour or so journey is spent with the jeep constantly beeping rather loudly telling us we are speeding. Unfortunately, we do have to watch the sunrise from our jeep but we see a hippo up close and personal along the way and make it just in time for lift off as some of the other balloons have left already. Another reason it is so time sensitive is that after the sunrise the thermal waves in the air change in a way which stops the balloon from being able to fly.

As some of you may know the original plan had been for my parents to meet up with me in New Zealand at the end of my time in Australia but, due to flight costs and dog logistics that plan fell through, so instead we are fulfilling a life time dream of my mum’s and mine and going on a Safari!!! What’s great for me is my parents have arranged everything, I am just along for the ride and excited to play with my new camera. Our destination is Tanzania – over the following days we are exploring the natural beauty of Lake Manyara and its surrounding wilderness, camping in the Serengeti, and delving into the depths of the Ngorongoro Crater.

A late start

Hot Air

Flying over some of the 30,000 square kilometers of the Serengeti

Looking down on a lioness

Unsurprisingly throughout the night my parents and I are woken multiple times as the elephants spend hours around camp. I am woken in the middle of the night by a high pitched squeal and the sound of an elephant running full pelt which left me just hoping it wasn’t heading for me as I was pretty confident the canvas between me and it wouldn’t stop a charging elephant. Luckily waking me from my slumber was the worst I got of it. It was an interesting night’s sleep to say the least, not a full one, but an interesting one!

The kill

A tower of giraffes

It's over in minutes

Selfie with my guest

I've brought my own grub

Hippo – congregating

Crocodile – patiently waiting

Look who's coming to dinner

We then meet up with Jabshir and the rest of our day is spent on another game drive which is pretty impressive itself. Along with seeing lionesses, crocodiles, gazelles, zebra, wildebeest and a hippo pool, we also see a leopard chilling in a tree with a fresh kill. If that wasn’t awesome enough later in the day we come to a watering hole were a massive herd of zebra are having a little drink. But, as we pull up to the road leading away from the watering hole, we notice something pretty spectacular, a lioness crouched and stalking. So we sit and wait and watch as this beautiful powerful creature slowly but surely inches closer to the herd using whatever she can to hide, bushes, trees, even a few of the jeeps until finally she is ready to strike. Once in position she takes off with speed and power setting the herd into panic as zebra scatter in every direction most not even knowing why. Most get away but for one poor soul who, in the confusion, gets pushed into the water. The lioness, seeing this slows back into stalking mode watching this lone zebra desperately swim to the other bank but, as soon as that zebra has two feet on land the lioness is off and frankly the zebra didn’t stand a chance. It is a powerful thing to witness a kill in the wild, but it is quick. The lioness breaks the zebras back with one swift paw strike paralysing it and then is straight to the neck, closing the airways for an extremely efficient and quick kill. The zebra is dead within minutes. After the hunt the lioness slowly walks to the water, blood staining the fur around her mouth and gracefully, exuding no signs of the effort just put in, has a few sips of water and then finds a perch for herself where she can rest and keep an eye on the prize. Jabshir says she won’t eat for hours, her job for her pride is to hunt for everyone so, although alone out here and successful, she will now wait guarding the meal until night when she can safely call her family and share the feast with all, in the world of the lion it’s the female who always puts the food on the table for the family!

Zebra – blissfully unaware

The stalking begins

Mum and I get ready for vertical lift-off

So after what is an extremely brief safety briefing we are loaded into a sideways basket and are off. Seeing the Serengeti from above is a pretty awesome experience, seeing herds of deer run across the plains, a few families of lions meandering along enjoying the morning sun after a night of roaming, warthogs and zebra and Thomson’s starting their days. The flight lasts about an hour and ends with ours essentially crash landing into a field of termite hills and getting dragged through them. After the flight we are are given a brief history of the hot air ballon industry which is rather interesting and find out our balloon was actually made in Bristol. After the talk and champagne toast, apparently part of the history and tradition following a successful flight, we head to a breakfast in the Serengeti. It is a nice fry up in the middle of the Serengeti plains surrounded by wildlife and accompanied by a family of dwarf mongoose. Not a bad way to start your day. At the end as an apology for our delayed journey our jeep is given a couple of freebies including some caps, water bottles, key rings and a bottle of bubbly. Which would have been great if we hadn’t just bought some caps and water bottles, but appreciated none the less, and saves us some gift shopping at least.

Hyena – alert

Death comes quickly

Wildebeest gathering for the great migration

Cape buffalo

I'm totally relaxed... really!

The rest of the drive is captivating, albeit less exciting. We see another leopard just down the road from our resting lioness and then sightings of Cape buffalo, giraffes, elephants and more. Once back to camp dinner is a nice surprise as it is our final night at the camp along with a few other patrons and the staff have created a lovely little secluded spot with a little fire and lots of candles. Tell you what, if I wasn’t sharing the meal with my parents I would say it was one of the most romantic experiences of my life. A nice way to unwind after what has been a very exciting day. However, after dinner we learn that the wild of the Serengeti wasn’t done with us yet. A herd of elephants I had seen on the horizon from my balcony earlier are making their way to camp. I spot the direction and go and tell my parents, what happens next is both one of the scariest and best moments of my life. As my parents and I chill on my tent’s sort of veranda a herd of elephants decide to make their way straight through camp. We and others in the camp stay very still and watch in wonder as they make their way mere meters away from us. I don’t think you ever really appreciated the size of an elephant until they are within trunks reach of you. After spending some time with my mum and me swooning over a baby elephant struggling to pull out a little stick from the ground whilst all its grown up family members effortlessly break down whole trees for a couple of mouthfuls of leaves, I sit on the other edge of my veranda as another elephant passes. I take photos on my phone doing my best to not move too much. However, as this young male wild elephant is at its closest to me, probably two meters, I catch its eye as I slowly try and pick up my camera. The startled elephant then does something that still sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it. He slowly turns himself to be staring directly at me and then fake charges, I promise you I have never moved quicker. I sprinted to behind my tent, only to realise he was just testing me with a fake out.

A sense of the Serengeti

I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog.
If you'd like to make contact, please email: thomashutton@duck.com