There is nothing more exciting than standing up in a safari truck with an open roof as it races across the Serengeti. The air is warm * not hot * and dry; sand sits in my laugh lines and hair. The landscape is flat for as far as the eyes can see, with small umbrella-shaped trees dotting here and there. I never thought I would make it to Africa, but somehow I am here, and it is glorious.
We are looking for a cheetah – the world’s fastest animal on land, capable of reaching up to 70 mph. When you come to the Serengeti, there is talk of the BIG FIVE: rhino, leopard, Cape buffalo, lion, and the elephant. These are the “goal” animals to spot. Then there are animals like zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, baboons, and giraffes; which are guaranteed and take over the landscape by the millions. But cheetahs, serval cats, and various other mammals and birds are generally harder to find. Cheetahs are allusive and tend to stay hidden. But our driver was paying close attention to the radio and kept his foot heavy on the pedal. We raced across this vast landscape with its bright blue sky and dotted cumuliform clouds, like globs of cotton in the sky and the opening credits of the Simpson’s cartoon. We sped past rock formations where we had previously watched a lady lion sleep, we zoomed through a giant herd of zebras and wildebeests, and then our driver screeched a quick turn towards some small hills. Just before the hills were several vehicles (maybe 5) looking at a tree in a giant field just before the hills. Under that tree were two cheetahs laying down in the tall grass, occasionally sitting up and changing positions. We had done it. We had seen the great, allusive cheetah in its natural environment.
This was how our trip went. We came with particular goals in mind of the different animals we wanted to see, mentioned them to our driver and guide Ali, and then he would do his best to make our goals a reality. When I landed in Tanzania, my goal was to see a giraffe. Once that happened, I set my sights on hippos, then a hyena, then flamingoes, and so forth and so on.
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I left Beijing in the late evening of Friday, March 29th, bound for Tanzania to visit friends from Cambodia. In January, I went back and forth and back again, on whether to cancel this trip. Teaching was hectic, I was giving a presentation in Suzhou that needed preparation, the travel VISA requirements seemed tricky, and putting the dog into overnight care is always stressful. But I kept coming back to this: whenever would I have this opportunity again? To visit friends in Africa? Maybe never. The time is now.
I flew into Kilimanjaro International Airport from Doha, Qatar. It’s about a 12-hour flight from Beijing, split: Beijing to Doha and then Doha to Kilimanjaro. I had this fantasy that when I landed in Tanzania, a group of giraffes would be running along the runway as the plane skidded to a stop. That did not happen. But I was surrounded by mountains: Mount Meru was on my left as we began our descent, with Mount Kilimanjaro on my right. But I was most surprised that we were the only airplane at the airport. It literally taxied to the front door of the airport and let us out. Amazing! For United States citizens traveling to Tanzania, the VISA fee is $100. I was told that I would need the Yellow Fever vaccination. But, when I went to the hospital in Beijing to get it, they told me that the World Health Organization had banished that requirement in November of 2023. So, I was a bit nervous walking into the airport, thinking that this would affect my ability to get the VISA. But I paid the fee and got my VISA nearly immediately, and was well on my way.
Jamie and Will, friends from my previous school in Cambodia, met me outside and we went to brunch at a nearby restaurant. Fresh fruits and juice, bacon, and bread – what could be better? We were already en route to Arusha where we would stay the night before our big safari adventure. After brunch and a little bit of shopping at the gift store, we drove another several hours before reaching Arusha. Once in Arusha, we bought some burgers and went to a brewery for Twiga beer. (Twiga means giraffe in Swahili.) Then we went to the hotel and checked in.
The safari outfitter put us up at a specific hotel so that they could easily pick us up early in the morning. The hotel itself was a bit sketchy, but okay for the night – it was free after all. I showered and laid on the bed with a rattling ac unit above me. Two of Jamie and Will’s colleagues were joining us for the safari and began arriving. I stayed at the hotel to rest while everyone else went out for Greek food. As I fell asleep, I had great fun dreaming up various movie scenes that could be filmed at this hotel. My bed was draped in pink mosquito (“mozies”) nets. The pink was so pink, like bubblegum pink. And the lighting was dim at best, with the netting casting a pink glow on the entire room. I kept thinking of all of the low-budget movies I set-designed for in my mid-20’s in Austin. This hotel and my room reminded me of those movies. Around 3am, a rooster started crowing outside as people started singing and laughing. I woke up and stayed awake until our breakfast at 7am. I was so happy to be on this great adventure, even if it was only for a week. And so thankful for my friends.
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The safari outfitter arrived just as we were finishing up breakfast. The 5 of us piled into a safari jeep, which looks roughly like an army vehicle. There were three rows of seats plus the front seats. Rachel and I sat in the first row, Jamie and Will in the second row, and Leenster in the third row. Our chef Matthew sat in the passenger seat, while our guide Ali drove. Out of habit or maybe because we are all teachers, we stayed in these same seats for the entire four days. The top of the jeep pops up so you can stand and walk around while the vehicle is stopped or have a better view by looking out the top; and there was a refrigerator running on a generator in the third row. It was filled with beers and Cokes and Stoney Tangawizi (an East African ginger soda). And we could help ourselves as we liked. It took about 5 hours to get to the gates of the Serengeti from Arusha.
The landscape changes during the drive were fascinating to me. Much like driving across the State of Texas. It went from tropical and green to green and brushy to brushy and sandy. Occasionally a dust devil would pop up and I would just watch it go round and round, kicking up dust everywhere. The air is very dry in Beijing, and it rivaled the dryness felt in the Serengeti. The difference, though, was the heat. It was a dry heat. A Texas heat. Not humid and uncomfortable like Southeast Asia. Just a dry heat. I remarked over and over again how much the landscape and weather reminded me of Texas.
When we arrived at the Serengeti, we all jumped out and took a group picture together. It made me laugh that there was this ginormous land before us and huge sky, and this little seemingly dwarfed gate and sign that read: Serengeti National Park, Serengeti Shall Never Die. I mean the landscape was so vast and went on forever! It was overwhelming! We drove about 30 more minutes down the road before we can to a big rest stop. There was a shop, a place to eat, and a big map and pictures of the animals we would see. Matthew spread out a meal of rice and curried meat for us and we shared our first meal. It was nice to sit down and eat together, especially since we were all excited about what we would see. Already, we had seen some giraffes in the distance, a few zebras, and some wildebeests. I had heard of wildebeests, but had never seen them in real life. They were cowish, but also deerish, if that makes any sense. And they get a bit “kicky” when they run. Ali kind of scoffed at us excitedly pointing out the giraffes and the zebras, but only because he knew we would see so many more up ahead.
***
I made a list of the animals we saw each day we were in the Serengeti. Our first day yielded a large list that included: wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, gazelles, ostriches, deer, donkeys, goats, sheep, a couple of Kori Bustards (the heaviest flying bird), warthogs (the cutest!!!), topi antelope, a leopard (up close and personal), a couple of elands, a jackal en route to a lone male elephant, a few male lions soaking up the sun, a few cape buffalos, several hippos (the filthiest), and a smattering of baboons. The Serengeti is a whopping 12,000 square miles. In layman’s terms, that’s enormous! Even with the several days that we were there, we only covered a small portion of the park.
This was my first time seeing hippos in their natural environment. This was one of the animals that I wanted to see the most! I love them! But when they were right in front of me, I began to question their existence. Here’s what I wrote in my notes on the day of: “Hippos are gross, mean, and farty – which is kind of a disappointment. I question their evolutionary necessity.”
Hippos are stinky and dangerous and sit in poopy water all day. They fight with each other and grunt a lot. I kept staring at them and wondering why. Just why?? The babies are still super cute. But I really had a hard time coming to terms with the grossness of the hippos and wanted to know why they existed and how they influenced the food chain. I was questioning them so much so that my friend Will made me use ChatGPT at dinner one night to help convince me of their worth and usefulness for society. Turns out hippos help to widen river beds and create access to water (albeit stinky water), they are used heavily in African folklore, and they help to fertilize soil and enable things to grow.
Our first overnight in the Serengeti, we ate dinner around 8:30pm and then retired to our cabins. The cabins were like little duplexes and there were about 5 in total. Leenster and I were paired next to each other. In true Lindsey fashion, I went to bed at 9:15pm or so. And, Leenster said around midnight, she started knocking on my wall and loud-whispering my name. She was about to open her door to go outside and stargaze for a bit when she was stopped short by three large shadows chomping on grass. Right outside our doors were three giant hippos eating their weight in grass. I never did wake up, but that visual has stayed with me.
We were so far out in the middle of the park that there was no light pollution and the electricity ran only during the daytime off of a generator. So, when it was dark, it was DARK. You could see stars for miles. So many stars that the sky looked like it was bathed in glitter. I took a picture of our meal portico before dinner because you could see how light the portico was compared to how dark the night was. Blurry, but you get the idea. It was SUPER dark!!
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On our second day we saw impalas, fruit bats, hippos, dik-diks, mongoose, egrets, herons, oxpeckers, warthogs, lilac-breasted rollers, several secretary birds, marsh eagle, guinea fowl (beautiful feathers), ostriches (“I want to ride one!”), wildebeests, zebras, the infamous and allusive cheetah (two!), marabou storks, crocodiles (very pale in color), a leopard, hartebeest, male and female lions, giraffes, and elephants (way off in the distance).
The fruit bats came out early in the morning, and I suspect, had been out all night. They were tiny and flew around the trees and lights looking for bugs. We also saw the mongoose early on, during breakfast. It was the funniest thing: they smelled the food cooking and they came in droves! Running straight for that outdoor kitchen. We were eating breakfast at the time, and Matthew wasn’t around, so Will got up to guard the open-air kitchen. Once the mongoose saw Will standing at the door of the kitchen, they all ran around the building to the other side and tried to get in. They were relentless in their attempts. It was hilarious to watch.
What I liked about this trip so much was the time spent with friends. We were able to really be around each other a lot. We were riding in the jeep all day, had all of our meals together, woke up at the same time with each other every day, all the things, everything! I am only speaking for myself here, but I had an absolute blast!!! We laughed all the time and experienced earthly magic together.
More notes from the field: “Giraffes seem shy about safari trucks, big cats do not care. There are millions of zebras and wildebeests in the park. The big cats are seemingly quite lazy because they do not need to work so hard to get food – it literally comes to them. Giraffes run in towers and they are majestic and interesting to watch.”
***
Our third day we had to wake up super early to be out as the sun was coming up. We were told to be out to the portico for coffee and tea around 5:30am. I was up, because early mornings are my jam. But a sign in my room said: “Beware! Animals are dangerous. You are not allowed to ever walk unescorted for your own safety.” So, I was waiting to see human movement and sound before coming out of the cabin to walk over to the meal portico. Once I saw one of the guides with his phone out and music on, I made the move.
I was the only person outside for a bit before Leenster came out and joined me. And, as we were drinking coffee and waiting for everyone else, this giraffe walked right up to the tree next to us and just started chomping down. I just froze and looked up at him with awe. When these types of experiences happen, I think it’s really important to be respectful of the animal and not invade his space or bother him or take pictures. This was his breakfast time, and he paid no attention to us. We just watched him, all 15 feet of him. Then everyone else started showing up from our group and the other groups and some people from the other group started taking pictures of him with a flash. He didn’t seem to mind, but it did kind of ruin the moment. Oh well, it was peaceful and amazing when we were alone with him. Such an incredible moment. Giraffes are truly special creatures!
We all piled into our “assigned” seats around 5:45am and off we took. We drove for a while and it was chilly out. Finally we turned down a road towards some hills in the distance. We came to a stop and on the right was this beautiful, misty sunrise with all of the colors and on the left were three sets of lions. One set was right in front of us, sometimes mating/sometimes relaxing, another set was off in the distance a bit walking around, and a third set was sort of on the other side the couple right in front of us. The three sets of lions made a triangle, with the couple directly in front of us being the central point. We stayed with these lions for a long while. We watched the couple in front of us mate for a while, growl for a while, and rest for a while. Apparently during mating season, lions will mate every 15 minutes. We watched a herd of wildebeests walk between the three sets of lions and lose their littlest wildebeest. We thought for sure that littlest guy would be a goner in the middle of these three triangulated couples of lions. But, no, he ran off and found the herd again. According to our driver, big cats like lions only think of one thing at a time. If they are mating, they are not thinking about hunting and if they are hunting, they are not thinking about mating.
Once the sun came up, we turned around and drove back down the road a ways where we found two female lions and two teenaged cubs. They crossed the path in front of our car, and one of the lady lions jumped up into a tree and made a few loud calls to her traveling companions and then jumped down out of the tree again. We continued driving.
This time we drove for a long time. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and the driver was going fast. I stood up and stuck my head out the top of the truck and relished in the warm sun and the wind on my face. We came to a rest stop and piled out to go to the restroom. Across from the rest stop was a hippo pond. You could tell from the smell, which was not unlike the smell of a toilet. Although these hippos seemed to smell far less than the last hippos we saw, and there were twice as many of them. We watched the hippos for a long while. I kept pondering their existence and asking myself the same questions I had asked before about hippos: why? We watched them fight with each other, stand up, turn around, poop in the water, go underwater for long spells, and repeat. It was amazing to me how large these animals were and really they only eat grass. One girl from the other car was standing on the wrong side of the fence. We kept thinking that she would get charged, but it never happened. I don’t like it when people don’t follow directions around animals. Alas . . .
Down the road a bit, we saw a baby tortoise crossing the road. And, a little bit past the tortoise, we found a lone elephant taking a mud bath. I think this was my favorite part of the day. I loved seeing the lions and giraffe. But, there was something about this giant elephant and being so close to him. He was right next to the road standing in a large mud puddle. He used his trunk to splash water on his belly and then up onto his back, over and over again. Every once in a while, he would aim the nostril part of his trunk towards us, smell us a little bit, and then go back to splashing his body with mud water. Sometimes he would rest his trunk on his tusk and it would just hang there. Towards the end of his bath, before he turned and walked away from us and over to a tree, he crossed his back legs, almost as if he was going to pull out a cane and a top hat and do a little side shuffle for us. It was such a special moment to spend time with him. His eyelashes were giant. And, he was so funny about us being there. He knew we were there but purposely ignored us and refused to look our way.
Around 2pm on our third day, we packed up after our stay in the Serengeti and headed to where we would camp for the night: Ngorongoro. As we left the Serengeti, we ended up getting two flat tires. We noticed each one while we were stopped, so that made for an easy fix. As I was making my daily animal list, I realized we had seen nearly 20 lions that day. Several on the way out of the Serengeti.
So for day three, we saw: impalas, lions, wildebeests, maribu storks, hippos, giraffes, lilac-breasted rollers, dik-diks, elephants, two very pale crocodiles, warthogs, a secretary bird, a few ostriches, lots of sheep and goats, and several cows being farmed by children. I have decided that baby warthogs are the cutest baby animals on the planet. They are like fully grown warthogs, only miniature-sized. I kept singing to myself: “When I was a young warthog . . . “
At the campground, our tents were prepared for us with a bed roll and a sleeping bag. There were two large shared bathrooms outfitted with showers and toilets, and a large dining hall. There were probably 40 people sleeping there, and maybe 20 tents. We arrived around 5pm and changed and cleaned up for dinner. At dinner, our driver finally sat with us and told us some stories. His most exciting story involved a solo road trip across Namibia. On the Atlantic side, Namibia is mostly covered by desert and various ghost towns throughout. Legend tells of ghost horses, in fact. Our driver was saying that he was driving across the country and felt a bit sleepy, so he pulled over to take a nap. As he was sleeping, he began dreaming he was in water, rocking back and forth in the waves. He woke up to find out that he was not in water, but surrounded by elephants that were rubbing up against the car, making the car rock back and forth. Once he started the vehicle, the elephants moved away. But, can you imagine being woken up to a rocking car surrounded by elephants? MAGIC!
We went to bed around 9pm, ready for the early day tomorrow. I couldn’t sleep because it was raining outside and I was too excited. Animals were all around us in the night and chomping grass in and between the tents. So I just laid there in wonderment, appreciating this incredible trip I was on.
***
I finally made the sprint to the bathroom at 4:45am. I had been holding my pee since about 11pm the night before. We were told not to leave our tents in the night because we were where the wild things are . . .The options? Hold it or risk attack. So, once I heard the kitchen staff up and at it, I made a run for it. Coffee and tea would be served at 5:30am, so it was perfect timing. Giant beetles the size of an egg were in the bathroom, plus a few small spiders. The beetles were flying rhino beetles, and they joined us for breakfast as well. Additionally, a man in uniform with a giant rifle joined us for breakfast. Apparently men with rifles are always nearby, we just hadn’t noticed. They are there for our protection in case an animal goes rogue and begins chasing or attacking a person. I hadn’t thought about that really, about what would happen if the animals decided to go after us. Will kept reminding us that if a water buffalo came at us, the best response is to lie down. They are looking to gore you with their horns and if you lay down they can’t do that. But, I am not sure that being stepped on is any better. I was stepped on by a horse once and I’ve never been the same.
We left for the caldera and we were all freezing cold. The clouds had settled onto our campground, so there were droplets of water on everything: our tents, my glasses, our jeep windshield. The sun was just coming up as we made our descent into the caldera. Our first sighting was of a serval cat and her kittens. She was crossing the path in front us and then hopped into the grass. She was beautiful in all of her spots!
I was captivated by the landscape down in the caldera. It was quiet and filled with nothing but wildness, animals roaming freely and beautiful plants and waterways. We saw a lot of the same animals we had seen before in the Serengeti, but the landscape was drastically different. Cold, damp, and green! The animals we saw in addition to the serval cats were a bat-eared fox, 2 male lions, 4 female lions, 3 lion cubs, lots of flamingos, water buffalo, wildebeests, zebras, kori bustards, gazelles, crowned cranes, ostriches, lots of elephants, a bishop bird, an Egyptian goose, hyenas, a clover bird, an elan, a topi, a very allusive black rhinoceros, and a community of baboons.
The flamingos were overwhelming. I put them on my list to see because I thought we might see one or two here and there. But, there were zillions of flamingos along all of the waterways. So many that I remarked that they looked like beautiful pink fluffs of cotton candy lining the waterways. There were different kinds of flamingos, too. Some were taller, some shorter, some had black, some were light pink, some were dark pink. All the variations!
We saw heaps of elephants, both far away and some up close. There were about 9 bull elephants who walked between our parked jeep and another jeep in front of us. They were massive elephants. So much bigger than the elephants in Thailand or Cambodia. One got so close to the jeep in front of us that I thought he was going to bump it or rub on it. He very easily could have tipped it over. One of the males had urine running all down his legs. That’s when our guide decided to pull away. When male elephants have urine coming out, they are in an aggressive mode and sending their scent out. It’s called musth. “Musth is characterized by increased testosterone production, heightened aggression and sexual behavior, and temporal gland secretion. During musth, male elephants can lose up to 300 liters of urine per day. The urine has a strong odor that can be detected downwind from the elephant.
One of the last big animals we saw for the day was a black rhinoceros. He was standing very far out in a field, alone. I could only see him through binoculars. Thank goodness two in our group brought binoculars. What a treat! If I were a big animal in Africa, I would be a rhinoceros. They spend a large amount of time alone, which I also love to do. Rhinos are so interesting. Their horns jutting out of their faces remind me of dinosaurs, like triceratops. And their skin is thick and wrinkly, like armor. “The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is home to a small but significant population of black rhinos, which are critically endangered and globally threatened. The rhinos live in most regions of the crater, but are often spotted east of Lerai Forest, between Lerai and Gorigor Swamp. They spend the night in the forest and then scatter to other parts of the crater in the morning.”
We left the parks and started our drive back to Arusha after lunch. We ended up staying in the most gorgeous little hotel spot in Arusha. It was called the Meru View Lodge. There was a pool, beautiful gardens, excellent food, and a spacious room and bathroom. We only stayed for a night, but it was worth it after the camping and cabins in the national parks. We went out for Greek food and stuffed ourselves, then we went to bed and had a nice sleep before the drive to Moshi.
We left for Moshi – where my friends live and teach – the next morning, just before lunch. When we arrived in town, we stopped off at a little joint and had the most delicious pork and plantains with avocado salad. I ordered a cold glass bottle Coca-Cola to go with. We went to their school, I took a tour around, we unpacked, and then we got ready to go to a painting class.
Jamie and Will had received a sip and paint class at an auction recently, so I joined them. It was in this big white house just down the street from their school. It was a massive house on a big piece of property. I think they were turning it into a bar/activity place. We were set to have the painting class outdoors, but then they moved everything inside because it started pouring like crazy. We had the greatest weather while we were in the national parks, but now it was raining down cats and dogs! Once the tables were moved in, everyone got a drink and we sat in front of our little canvases. We were instructed to draw a sunflower coming through the clouds. It was nothing that I would necessarily ever paint on my own, but it was fun and a good memory to share with friends. Following our art class, we went shopping for souvenirs and bought Oreo milkshakes at a coffee shop. Everyone I knew was getting a present from Tanzania!!
The next morning, we got up and headed over to a coffee shop. We got some chai/coffee and a delicious breakfast. Then we all piled back in the car and left for our next adventure, a mini-adventure the day before my flight back to Beijing.
It was a smaller park, managed by the local community, where visitors could come and drive their own cars around on safaris. It was right at the border of Kenya. We had a great view of Mount Kilimanjaro and exceptional giraffe sightings. No one else was really there. Around dusk, we made our way up the side of a hill to the most beautiful glamping spot. True glamping as I have never seen before. We had beautiful and spacious tents covered with thatch huts. The tent itself was doubled canvas with a screen available for the front door. You zipped in and out. There was a fully Western toilet and a sink that led to an outdoor shower area. Outside the front area, there was a little porch with two chairs. There were dresser drawers for clothes and lanterns all around for nighttime. It was gorgeous! We were the only people at the campsite! So, Jamie and Will had their own tent and I had mine. For meals, we all met at this larger structure where there was all you could eat and drink. So, they fixed us dinner, breakfast and lunch. In that order. During the nighttime, tiny little owls would fly around inside the structure. A large chandelier attracted little flying bugs, which also attracted the tiny flying owls. It was awesome!
After lunch, Will and Jamie loaded me up and took me to the airport. I was sad, but it was time to go. Tanzania was the most incredible place I have been in years. With Mongolia coming in at a close second. I really enjoy being somewhere where there are more animals than people, and there is still an element of nature being in control of the space. I like the unpredictability of it, the quietness because there are less people, and the slow(er) pace.
I hope I can get to Africa again one of these days, but if not, I had a hell of a time with Jamie and Will and their friends. It really was the best trip it could possibly be. There was so much laughing and interesting conversations. Huge thanks to Jamie and Will for making this happen!
