Our last night in Africa happened to coincide with a supermoon. The hosts at Bologonja Under Canvas had lit a campfire, and the full moon rose up out of the Serengeti, past a very old tree that may or may not have sheltered a family of leopards. In South Africa, they had referred to sitting … Continue reading African Adventure Epilogue
The name Serengeti is said to have been derived from the Maasai word for "endless plains". There is something wonderful about being in a place that is essentially unchanged for thousands of years, apart from the modes of transportation we use to cross it. I can only imagine what Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas would be … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Serengeti Part II
Serengeti National Park was the final stop on our 2016 African adventure. Our guide Rick, who had been with us since we arrived in Tanzania, drove the Land Cruiser from Ngorongoro while we flew from the Lake Mayara airport to the Lobo airstrip. The drive from Lobo to the Bologonja tent camp was a safari … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Bologonja, Serengeti National Park
Two million years ago, give or take, a giant volcano exploded and collapsed into itself. Ngorongoro is the resulting caldera, the walls of which rise up 2,000 feet from the crater floor. It is claimed to be the largest intact, unfilled caldera on earth. Having spent the last summer around Yellowstone, which is also a … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Ngorongoro Crater
The morning of November 10, we drove away from the Maramboi Camp on towards Lake Manyara National Park. The drive passed through a small town, and there was much activity along the road. People at work, moving produce for sale. A bicycle loaded with a hundred pounds of bananas. A gas station with a thousand … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania
We flew into Kilimanjaro Airport on Monday, November 7 and were picked up by Astarick "Rick" Buchafu, who would be our guide through Tanzania, for the remainder of our time in Africa. A time that was coming to an end soon. We would have a week in Tanzania before having to go home to an … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Maramboi Camp, Tanzania
We departed Chobe National Park via bus on Friday, November 4. A two hour ride that ended at the welcome sign of the Kazungula border post. Possibly the only real hassle of our entire trip, the border post was either understaffed or badly managed, a very long line of people jammed up in the heat. … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
On November 2, we flew out of the small airstrip at Kadizora Camp to the city of Kasane, and from there drove to our next stop at Chobe National Park. Ngoma Safari Lodge was perched on a hillside overlooking the Chobe River, with virtually every seat in the house getting a premium view. Five years … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Ngoma Safari Lodge, Chobe National Park
Monwana Lodge at Thornybush was a great way to start our safari adventure. They had all of the big five African game animals, and we had closeup experiences with them all. That's the benefit of a game reserve that's relatively compact in size. The Okavango Delta, our next stop, is much more vast and open. … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Kadizora Camp
For a long time, my favorite fishing hat was a black ball cap with the California Republic bear on it that I bought at the Laguna Seca racetrack sometime in the mid-2000s. I'd forgotten to bring a hat to work, you see, so was forced to pay track-side concession prices to keep my pale bald … Continue reading 5 Years Ago: Monwana Lodge
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