The Killer B's of the Serengeti

Back in Dar Es Salaam after 4 great nights on the Seregeti plains. A quick recap of our test of stamina, which the Elders passed gloriously.

Travelling to our destination was an adventure in itself. We woke up at 5am to get to a local regional ariport instead of Dar's international airport. It was chaotic. Mr. Weynand saw our bags being loaded on a plain going elsewhere while some random airport employees were wheeling Grandma and Bea like they were a couple of wheelchair basketball all-stars. Somehow, someway, we got there. It took a 3 hour flight on a little 12 seater airplane to a regional airport in Arusha. This was followed by an hour delay, and then another hour flight aboard an 8 seater to a small air strip in a place I couldn't possibly find on a map. Rand McNally himself couldn't find this place. After another brief delay, we made one last flight to a small dirt airstrip. If the last airport was in the middle of nowhere, than this one was just a few miles to the west of nowhere. A suburb of the Middle of Nowhere if you will. On the approach, we saw some enormously plump hippos sun bathing by a watering hole and a string of wildebeests making the great migration that looked like an auntline from 10,000 feet. A small herd of elephants was the capper. This little taste of the wildlife helped grandma and Bea shake off the travel fatigue and reminded them of why they had come so far. Our pilot, a seasoned bush flier, alleviated the bordom of his routine route by dive bombing the dirt runway with a low pass to chase of the gazelle that were loitering it. With the runway clear, he took us in for a bumpy landing as Wildebeest seemed to play "chicken" amongst themselves - trying to cross the runway just before getting caught in the propeller blade. Welcome to the bush grandma!

Our guide, Muhamed, greeted us on the strip and fixed us some drinks. I had the Kilamanjaro lager. We loaded into our Land Cruiser. We did a game drive on the way back to the lodge, and saw some small game. Bea was estatic while Grandma was wide-eyed. Grandma was quickly dubbed "BiBi", prounounced Bee-Bee, which is Swahili for Grandma. Together, we joking called Bea and BiBi, the two long time friends from Falls City, TX, the "Killer B's". Its a ridiculous nickname for two of the gentlest souls you'll ever meet.

An hour or so later we arrived at our lodge. As I mentioned to some of you, the first leg of our trip was through a lodge called "Serengeti under Canvas" - the lodge itself was a tent. We were shown to our rooms, which were also tents. They were nice spacious tents to be sure - luxurious tents if there is such a thing - but they were tents nonetheless and had tent drawbacks. Like rocky uneven floors, a challenge for an uncoordinated bohemoth like me, so you can imagine the challenge for Grandma and Bea. The tents had some toilets that used a make shift septic system, but there was no running water otherwise. No A/C and no fans obviously.

I will admit, we were all worried about the situation. With respect to grandma and Bea, I never feared the animals. Having been on safari once before, I knew they posed no threat as long as we were smart. As for sickness, we were vaccinated for everything, so those worries were addressed. We had enough insect repellent that I'll be pissing deet for weeks. My worries were about exhaustion first, and the uneven terrain second. We took some creative steps to address our concerns, such as re-grading the ground underneath Grandma and Bea's bathroom and having Tree stay in their tent in case of late night emergencies. We also took turns sitting out the afternoon game drives to accompany Grandma and/or Bea for games of cards. To be honest, there was no shortage of volunteers as we were all a bit cashed.

These measures worked out well, and the risks Bibi and Bea assumed were rewarded with some amazing experiences, such as:

*A battle royal among a handful of hippos jockeying for position in a watering hole.
*Two crocs fighting for a fallen wildebeest - a fight that featured a classic Discovery Channel style Chomp 'n Roll by one of the crocs.
*Two cheetahs making an unsuccessful sprint for a baby wildebeest that just made it back to the heard in the nick of time.
*A male lion that rose on its paws and roared a warning at Theresa after she rose suddenly from her seat.
* We walked across the Gremeti River on a rope bridge to take pics of the crocs below.
* We drank gin and tonics in the middle of the plains while watching the sun set over the flattop acacia trees in the distance.
* The sound of wildebeests and hyennas within yards of our tents each night.
* a group of 15 or so giraffes walking single file accross a dusk sky backdrop.
* Eating breakfast on the plain with herds of zebra migrating past us on each side.
* Sipping beers recounting the days events while hanging by the campfire.
* Hanging out for an evening watching a lioness tend to her three cubs, about as rare of a scene as you will see in the bush given how overprotective female lions can be.

So yes, Grandma and Aunt Bea were roughing it. And the payoff was the sort of scenery that few will ever experience. They made it despite the exhaustive travel, bumpy game rides, and the midday heat that was stiffling even by their San Antonio standards. As they say back in their home town of Falls City, TX, these two old birds are tougher than green onions.

And it doesn't let up just yet. We wake up early tomorrow to fly to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Yes, the same Zimbabwe that had its highly contested (and very violent) run-off election today. So we'll be arriving right about the time a state of emergency is declared. Guess thats why the travel agent gave us such a great deal? Thankfully, we'll be far removed from the capital where much of the destruction, terror, and mayhem will be going down. We'll regroup there and get some rest before taking our second safari in South Africa.

Stay tuned for some pics from the Serengeti, as well as some Spirit Awards. Also, I owe everyone an explanation why Theresa is now known among the locals as "Munajiwa BuiBui", or in English "The Killer of Turantulas". No joke. Stay tuned for an update, hopefully tomorrow once we arrive in Zim.