Our first stop along the route was at an overlook to the Great Rift Valley. Which was INCREDIBLE.
The valley spans over 6,000 km, all the way into Mozambique. It was beyond breathtaking.
After 3 1/2 hours of driving James informed us that we had 100km to go (about 60 miles) ... and that it was going to take another 2 1/2 hours to get there because we needed to have "African back massages" (read: travel non-paved African roads).
The next 2 1/2 hours (because yes it DID take that long) were like nothing either of us had ever experienced before. The roads dipped and bent, we got stuck several times but fortunately James is quite a skilled stick shift driver and got us out of several jams! It was certainly an interesting ride to say the least and gave us a small glimpse of what we can expect over the next 3 1/2 weeks!
We are staying at a "campsite" run by two lovely expats from Ireland and the UK, Ken and his wife Marie, called Fisi Camp (which means Hyena Camp - it is named that because you can hear hyenas around the area, although we didn't see them on site). I put "campsite" in quotes because while it is definitely a tent, it also has a cement foundation and an attached bathroom with running hot water! Pretty swanky ;-)
After settling in, we ate a delicious lunch of rice and mystery meat (yet delicious) and veggies before heading on our first game drive!
The drive was amazing, although definitely different than we expected. First, it was MUCH greener than we were thinking. This is mostly due to the fact that it is the end of the rainy season so vegetation has been blossoming for a few months. Also, unlike on tv, not all animals are running around all the time. In fact, most of the time they're just chillin with their homies trying get some grub. In addition, there aren't animals everywhere all the time. And lastly, not all the animals are bff. Some of them, like gazells and wildebeests will hang out together, but for the most part, herds are separate from one another and you'll see one species at a time.
When we arrived on the drive, we immediately ran into zebras. Ok, didn't run into per se, but they were in our way on the road! Along the way we saw TONS of animals, and every one was more surprising than the last. We saw.... zebras, gazelles (TONS of them), wildebeests, giraffes (only at the very end far away - hoping to see them more up close tomorrow!), ostriches, anddddd LIONS, A CHEETAH, AND ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you know what happened the moment I saw my first wild elephant? I cried. Hard. It was beautiful. And I loved everything about it. And wanted to roam free with them. Did I mention it was great?
AND we saw a cheetah just chillin. She even struck several poses for the camera! (Sorry - pics taken on my Nikon camera, not my iPhone!)It was a LOOOOOOOONNNGGGG and exhausting day, which is why, when we returned to our tent from our game drive, we immediately ate dinner and got into bed (I'm writing this from bed at 8:40 at night and I couldn't be happier to be headed for Dream Land: Population, The Capozzolas)
Another fabulous day in Africa in the books :).
Jess' highlight of the day: WILD ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!
Jon's highlight of the day: seeing the lionesses and their cubs
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