Serengeti Under Canvas — June 23

We've just finished three nights "camping" in the western Serengeti. Check out these pictures and judge for yourself the degree of camping we had to do!

There was also an amazing bucket shower attached to the back...we both agreed it was the best shower of the trip. Our ranger Mohammed called ahead at the end of each game drive and it was filled with the perfect temperature water waiting for us.

The cool thing about this lodge is that they move around and try to locate near the Great Migration. So it's amazing that they can set up such a nice abode and keep it mobile. The slightly less cool thing is that they didn't really know where the wildebeest were, because they can't drive off road in the Serengeti, and the lack of rain this year made them move out of the western region more quickly than usual. Sometimes they even have to rely on pilots to know where they are! That being said, we were still able to drive a bit and catch some of the straggling herds. They run around in single file, wherever they smell the rain. We saw a couple instances of thundering hooves, but mostly they just mill around and eat. We were hoping to get to see some of them cross the Grumetti River, but weren't so lucky. Maybe just as well, since the river banks are very steep and many break their legs going down and are at the mercy of their predators. One of the neat / unfortunate things about being at the tail end of the migration is that you see the ones that were left behind and not going to make it. Definitely sad, but a true glimpse of the circle of life...and of lots of very ugly vultures eating.

On a more positive note we also saw some very cute lion cubs playing and fighting, snapping thorny branches into each other's faces, wrestling, etc. We watched them until we had to go meet up with the other guests for a surprise drink and snack in the middle of the Serengeti. Today we also got very close to two very large male lions. I'm talking like 4 or 5 meters. When the one by my window started doing these very large yawns and got up, my fear of elephants was almost eclipsed. But not quite!

We escaped unharmed and left the beauty of the Serengeti, the amazing food, and the fantastic service of our two butlers Osman and Josephat for our two flights that brought us to Zanzibar. AE got to sit up front in the copilot seat which she really enjoyed, for the first flight. The second flight had a (very strange) group of 6 also from Toronto! And at the same airport we saw a lady wearing the Disney Princess Half Marathon shirt we both have. AND while I'm on the topic, I forgot to mention that the last time we were in the Arusha airport a week ago we ran into two of my friends from HBS (Joey and Julia) on their honeymoon! That was pretty cool!

Anyways, we are in Stone Town now staying at a lovely hotel overlooking the ocean and with a great pool. We strolled around a bit today and each managed to find a useful souvenir with our favorite animal on it - zebras for ae and giraffes for me. Tomorrow we are heading to the northern part of the island after a guided tour of Stone Town! In the meantime we are enjoying some live music from our amazing balcony (free upgrade!)