SAFARI - July 25-28

Safari… Based on a true story.

It’s been two days since we arrived back in Arusha after a very “interesting” safari and we’re still laughing at everything that happened. We hope you enjoy…


Day 10: Wednesday July 25th 2007:
(soundtrack: Beautiful Day – U2)

Our first day of the safari - it couldn’t have been any better. It was full of great talks, life stories from one another, unbelievable snacks at the lodge, awesome views of the Ngorongoro Crater and the first sighting of the 93 birds species that Mark D eventually saw throughout the trip.

Day 11: Thursday July 26th 2007
(soundtrack: Old McDonald Had a Safari)

We left early in the morning and headed down into the crater. We saw many giraffes, (which our guide – Edward – referred to as “geeloffs”), zebras, hippos, ostriches, warthogs, hyenas, flamingos, lions, birds, wildebeests, cape buffalo, more birds, gazelles, antelopes, monkeys, and even more birds. I think the bird count is now at 18. Lunch at the hippo pool was pretty cool. We just had to watch out for the hawks.

Now the real fun begins…

(soundtrack: Highway to Hell – maybe the Eagles sing that but we’re not sure – if you know, let us know. Respond to the blog.)

After lunch one of our cars broke down and it had to be taken to a nearby (well, maybe it wasn’t so nearby) garage to be fixed. After a couple of hours we finally hit the road only to find out that the car was still broken and had to return to the garage. The other car, Eddie’s Minibus, decided that it would continue on to the next lodge. Eddie and his cargo (Mark D., Christin, Ashley, Ansley, Lindsey, Mebbie, and Flora) headed off for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. After one long, straight, boring, bumpy, animal-less road we realize that we have missed the one and only turn to our lodge and that we are lost. A ranger tells us that we need to make a u-turn. Eddie apparently didn’t take the same Driver’s Ed that we all did. It was here that he made a 17 point u-turn where he rammed the front and the back of our minibus into the banks of the road. Later on we learned that he also didn’t know how to reverse. His method was to look straight ahead and swerve at random intervals. After 2 hours of backtracking we find the turn! On this road, Eddie took an unsolicited turn and we found ourselves in a swamp (no worries parents, it was very shallow. In fact we drove right through it.) In a matter of 10 minutes we made another u-turn, a passenger got sick, we violently and highly illegally ran over an innocent gazelle (one point goes to team Eddie Minibus.) After realizing that the lights we thought to be our lodge were actually smoke stacks we got back on the right track and made it the hotel around 9:30.
The other car (Stephanie, Christy, Lorie, Matthew, Ellie, Rebecca and Audrey) arrived at the hotel around 10 after a very long wait at the garage, a stand-off with a cape buffalo and a rescue mission from the bottom of a hill. We called the company to ask for a new car which they promised would be there at 8 am. We all went to bed with hopes that the next day would go a little bit smoother. We were wrong.

Day 12: Friday July 27th 2007
(soundtrack: Danger Zone – once again, we don’t know who sings this song. Please respond)

8:00 – no car
9:00 – no car
10:00 – no car

Our new car, with our new driver Isaac (the chosen one) finally arrives only to break down 10 minutes after we got into the desert. Isaac goes back to the lodge leaving us with Eddie’s minibus yet again. We decide that it might be time to roll 14-deep in the minibus and head back to the lodge as well. Just as we’re about to go back, Isaac returns and we head off. The desert is again animal-less because it is now the middle of the day. After lunch we leave Serengeti not knowing that we cannot get back in. So we head to the next lodge. Although the reservations were wrong we still had a great time.

Day 13: Saturday July 28th 2007
(soundtrack: a great medley of “I Will Survive,” “On the Road Again,” and “Bad Day.”)

We leave early in the morning for our Sunrise Safari. One might think that this would include seeing lots of animals, but it dosen’t. We saw lots of gee-loffs. That was about it. At this point we’re exhausted and ready to head home. On the road it starts to rain, a downpour you might say. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but when your luggage is on top of the car without a tarp the 8 passengers turn into a 3-ring circus, trying to get the luggage down. Mark D., not even one of the 8, somehow managed to become the dirtiest. The luggage ends up in the back of the car, which has conveniently been empty the entire time. We get back in, soaking wet, and head to a lunch at Gibb’s Farm. After a scrumptious lunch we’re finally headed home. However, our car doesn’t think its time for us to leave and the battery dies… while driving… does that really happen? Yes. We wait, yet again, for an hour and half. We get back on the road and in a short distance the tire blows out. At this point it’s not even a surprise.

We get back to the hostel around 7:30 (oh, you know, 4 hours after the time we thought we were getting home) to the welcoming arms of Alexis, Jackie and Heath.

Throughout the crazy 4 days we saw God at His greatest. With all of the animals, the mountains, the laughter, the fellowship and even the mishaps we realize that there is purpose in everything and His plan is much bigger than anything we could have ever expected.

“Touche my friend. Touche.”

Final Bird Count: 93
Score: Team Safari – 1 (the gazelle), Africa – 928
The Fellowship – Priceless


- Written by Team Safari