Pre-Safari Post

Pre-Safari
Update 16 Feb 2014 Mount Meru Game Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
0630 hrs 680F, heavy rain overnight turning to light showers by mid morning.

I arrived yesterday afternoon after a killer long trip to Tanzania due to the weather in Washington DC and all of the related flight cancellations and rerouting. After two trips to the airport over two days and being routed via Frankfurt and Dubai, I made it. At the lodge by 2pm and while my room was being prepared, I headed to the bar for a Serengeti beer. Half way through my beer my room was ready and off I went. I thought I was ready for a quick nap and then a nice non-airplane food dinner. Funny thing happen, I took my boots off and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out and did not wake again until a huge lightening and thunder storm passed thru, around 0400 the next morning. The rain continued all morning and it looks like it will continue for most of the day and well into the next few days with intermittent showers. A quick look at the weather, indicates it has been raining for two or three days in the Serengeti, with a forecast to end Monday. This is perfect timing for our safari in that the animals could be on the move from Ndutu toward the Serengeti. This will give us two chances to hit the large herds, once (two days) in Ndutu and another in the southern Serengeti as we move to the central Serengeti.

After breakfast, I went to my lead guides house for banana soup. I’ve had Kelio as my senior guide since 2006 and he and his family have become my extended family. The visit to Kelios’ house and taking lunch with his family has become a tradition on each of my trips and most certainly something that I always look forward to. Kelios’ ethics and family values are typical of the guides at Thomson Safaris; warm hearts, open arms, and experts in their field of professional guiding.

After a killer lunch by Moma Peter, it was time to head to River Trees County Inn to link up with the early safari arrivers and the rest of the crew tonight. Even thought the flights were a challenge in getting here, I am excited about getting into Ndutu and the Serengeti once again. Early reports from the guides who just came in from the bush, lead me to believe that this will be another exciting trip.

Cheers and happy photo’ing