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Tanzania The first step of my safari was to go with my host, Caroline, and her family to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. I gave my passport to the air hostess and she gave me my ticket and wished me a nice trip. |
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| The flight attendant was so nice that she introduced me to the pilot, who was very handsome. He let me fly the plane for a while - what an experience! |
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| In Arusha National Park, I saw some distant relatives of mine. They were stuffed, like me, but they had to sit on a shelf all day in a museum in the middle of the park. I took them out on the porch in the sun, where we could have a nice chat. It wasn't for long, because our guide said we had to get back before dark. |
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| Here I am at one of the lodges. This was the restaurant. It had breathtaking views! |
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| We went on a game drive and I got to see live animals out in the wild. The giraffe was a bit shy and walked away from us. |
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| The baboons, however, were very cheeky. They just sat there, grooming each other, eating, and playing. |
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| I saw lots of elephants! They are so big! I was sometimes frightened by the sounds they make. |
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| Here I am with Caroline. Her t-shirt says "Only elephants should wear ivory." |
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| At one point, I got to drive the Landcruiser! |
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| We left early in the morning every day, because it is better to see the animals before the heat of the day. We witnessed a lioness kill a zebra baby right in front of us; it happened too quickly for us to get any pictures, but I'm kinda glad. Predators are scary! By midday we were ready for our picnic lunch, which was not baby zebra, I'm glad to say. |
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| I think this cheetah was frightened of me. She was a lovely sight, sitting there with her two cubs. |
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| We went to a Masai Village. We were welcomed by all the village people and they sang a song for us. We wre invited into their small village and we had to sing and dance along - here you can see me in Caroline's arms. To the left is Caroline's sister. The Masai showed us around their village. The people couldn't quite understand what I was; they looked at me in the strangest way and they all wanted to touch me. When they did, they'd smile. |
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I fell in love with the chief's son right away - isn't he
gorgeous? I must have looked at him longingly enough because he
came over and asked to hold me. I wouldn't be the first to fall
in love with a Masai. A Swiss woman did and wrote a bestselling
book about it - The White Masai
by Corinne Hofmann. Unfortunately, the book doesn't seem to have
been translated into English yet. A movie is being made of
Corinne's story. Caroline did not let me stay with the Masai, though. She thought I'd be too homesick in the end, and I'd miss traveling, too. |
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| I was almost attacked by a mongoose while my host family was having lunch, but they rescued me in time. Whew! |
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Here I am on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Brrr....it was
cold! The altitude was 2400 meters In the mornings, we were
in the clouds and couldn't see anything. See the beer cans? It's Safari Beer. I had a sip. It tasted better than the beer in Spain and I didn't fall down this time. |
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Here I am on top of the Landcruiser looking out at a hippo pool.
These animals make strange noises and when they roll over on their
backsides they have the cutest pink bellies and short legs that stick
out of the water! Seeing Tanzania was an unforgettable experience. Next I'll take a short trip back to my homeland before embarking on a wild European adventure! |
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