Thursday October 2, 2003
This morning, we slept late, until 8:30 am or so, and then went for breakfast, where we were the only ones present. We lounged by the pool and Chad even swam for a bit, even though it was cloudy and cool. We met Raphael at 11 am and drove to Tarangire National Park. We passed many Maasai people along the way, including a cattle auction, where crowds were gathered.
On the first hour of our game drive through the park, we did not see anything too exciting – how easily giraffes and elephants have become commonplace! – but the landscape here is quite different than in the Serengeti, with baobabs everywhere.
We stopped by a riverbank for our packed lunch:
Steak sandwich, cheese sandwich, piece of chicken, hard boiled egg, yogurt, apple, 2 bananas, juice box, wedge of cheese, crackers, slice of pound cake, bag of chips, peanuts, and a chocolate bar. We hardly made a dent in it, of course. Raphael told us that the leftovers from the lunches go to the car washers at the lodges at the end of each day and I’m glad to know that all that food is not wasted.
We continued our game drive in the afternoon, seeing mostly elephants and impalas, until the very end of the day, when we saw four female lions very close up.
Around 4 pm, we arrived at the Tarangire Safari Lodge. Although not as nice as the Serena lodges, it was close, and still very comfortable. It has a large stone terrace sitting on a hill overlooking the park. We sat there and relaxed in the sun for a few hours, reading and watching the animals come and go.
We were upgraded from a tent to a bungalow because the resort was fully booked.
As we left our bungalow for dinner, we saw several dik-diks and water bucks grazing around the buildings.
Dinner was very good, although also not up to the Serena standards that we have been spoiled by. We had mushroom soup, cabbage rolls, rice, carrots, green beans and plantains, before a night cap and an early bedtime.
Cook Family Travels 