Editor's note: You might as well just dig out your Paul Simon Graceland album now and have a listen because I don't seem to be able to stop myself referencing the songs.
I come from a land of beautiful scenery - the rugged mountains and rolling prairies of Alberta will always take my breath away. I'll admit that sometimes I'm guilty of being a "scenery snob" and judging the sights of the planet always against my home: but the sight of the full moon gleaming over the vast Serengeti plain while the sun rose behind me, will always be seared on my mind as one of the most beautiful images on earth.
I wanted to post pictures of my four days on safari in Tanzania's Serengeti... but alas the computers here have failed me again. Oh well, you can all just wait in eager anticipation... I know I am also guilty of being a photo snob, but I assure you, I have some pretty amazing shots. For now you will have to be content with my writings, which pale in comparison to the real thing.
The whole concept of being "on safari" is somewhat of a throwback to colonialism with a definite tourist bent. In all honesty I was slightly ashamed to be riding around such beautiful terrain in a polluting four-by-four, holstering my camera instead of a rifle... but apparently not too ashamed because I still did it. I try to console myself with the fact that we have hired a local company with local guides and so at least my money is supporting the local economy.
The Serengeti plain is just that - a vast plain that at times looked like it could be actually be anywhere in Alberta, until a giraffe would walk by with that oddly graceful gait of theirs. Or the sight of the wildebeest migration - literally thousand and thousands of braying beasts dotting the plains until the dots merge together and become one solid black mass - would quickly snap me back to my African reality. Wildebeest have got to be one of the ugliest creatures around, with their awkward necks and bleach blond curtain of chin hair. Yet for all that ugliness, the sight of the migration is still nothing short of amazing.
All those wildebeest, having up to 8000 calves per day I'm told, create a veritable buffet for the predators of the Serengeti. The lions, leopards, cheetah and hyenas hardly need to work to pick off an assumably tasty little snack. The hyenas of course, are a dime a dozen, they waddle around like they own the place. We would even hear them cackling in the distance at night as we (tried) to rest in our tents. Also, we were luck enough to spot lions and even a beautiful leopard sulking in a tree. But the real treat, the best luck ever, was when we saw the cheetah make a kill.
Except for the lack of the serene British man narrating it, the whole thing was like watching animal planet - except way better because the smell and feel of the Serengeti was all around me. It was amazing too that it was all over so fast. The cheetah has lazed about for a while sitting up, watching the gazelles grazing, laying back down and rolling over. Finally, I suppose when he was hungry enough, he stood bolt upright and began stalking the herd. They had sensed his presence once earlier, but luckily gazelles have a rather short memory... within minutes of their tense alertness, they had completely forgotten what was over the ridge and "oh look... grass!" So this time when the cheetah burst from his hiding point, they seemed genuinely surprised.
I say burst but in actuality, it started out much slower than I expected. Not the burst of energy after the shotgun, but more a gentle gathering of speed with muscles rippling. Of course once he was in full flight is was beautiful and amazing to watch. His eye was set on a tiny little gazelle and every dart the gazelle made the cheetah was right on his tail. He finally pounced on the gazelle and the two of them spun out in a cloud of dust, from which the cheetah emerged, the little body dangling in his jaws. He marched proudly off into the buses to enjoy his meal. Like I said, very animal planet, very amazing. I saved my rendition of "Circle of Life" for the evening when the mood had subdued a bit and I was no longer speechless with the brilliance of the world we live in.
The Serengeti was amazing, I could have stayed there for weeks. But Tanzania of course had more interesting places for me in store. After the Serengeti it was off to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar island... but that is for another time.
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