03.09.2011 Arusha National Park Safari.
When I went to spend a weekend with Kelvin in Moshi, I met a guy from England in one of the bars. His name is Joe and he is here for a year long internship, working for a coffee business. I invited him to come to Arusha for a weekend, and he took me up on my offer today. Kelvin and I decided last night that we would take him to Arusha National Park for a day long safari. There are no lions or wildebeest there, but Kelvin said that there is an abundance of giraffe, elephants, and flamingo, and an assortment of other animals. I invited Ashlee to join us as well. The four of us had lunch, and then left for the park. We paid 35 USD each (with the exception of Kelvin, who gets into all national parks free of charge). Our car battery died while we were paying for our entrance. We got a jump. His jumper cables are just that: cables with frayed ends. No pincher clips. After that, we entered the park, worried that the car would die again, but willing to take the chance. As soon as we entered, we saw two giraffes laying on the ground next to each other. Even though I saw giraffes in Ngorogoro, Lake Manyara, and the Serengeti, I was just as excited to see these ones. We drove a little farther, and saw about twenty giraffes, and a few zebra. They were so close and so many! Without there being lions in Arusha National Park, the giraffes just feed, lie around, and multiply. They were beautiful. They were crossing the road right in front of us, and grazing on the bushes and trees right by us.
We left the giraffes to go to the salt water lakes. On our way, Kelvin asked me if I wanted to drive. He has been trying to convince me to drive in Arusha town since we met. I always say no, because they drive on the left side of the road and even though there are only supposed to be two lanes, it sometimes turns into four or five lanes. Also, with the bota botas and dalas, I would end up killing somebody (and then by gang justice would I die too.) I told him I would drive in his Maasai village (because the most I’d hit there would be cattle), but Arusha National Park seemed like a slightly more dangerous, but satisfying second. I hopped into the driver’s seat, and started driving. It was strange. I kept veering to the left. The roads were narrow and unpaved, and there were a lot of hills and curves. While I was driving, I met a car coming in the opposite direction. He stopped to let me pass, but it didn’t look like there was enough room. Kelvin said there was, so I started slowly creeping up, steering as far to the left as I could. Kelvin grabbed the wheel and started turning it to the right. I yelled to him that he was getting to close to the car. We were like two inches from the car, but Kelvin knew that. I need like a foot to know that I’m not going to hit something. It’s not just Kelvin either, it’s everybody here. They all drive at fast speeds, within inches of each other (yet another reason I couldn’t drive in Arusha town). We got past the car, and I kept driving slowly. The radio was on, and at this moment, the DJ played a police siren noise. I found myself pulling over and looking in my mirrors for the police car. Ashlee was like, “What are you doing?” Then she realized what I was doing, laughed at me, and said, “Those are on the radio!” I started laughing at myself, but that’s when I decided I should not be the one driving. I was too nervous! I switched seats with Kelvin, and he continued driving like a madman.
We made it to the salt lakes, and saw the flamingos. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. There were thousands eating, flying, and swimming. Their long legs were a bright pink, their bodies a pinkish off-white, and the underside of their wings were black. When they put their heads under water to feed, their legs would dangle in the air. It was cute. I wish I was able to get better photos of them!
We drove on to see more. Unfortunately, we did not see any elephants. We did see defesa water bucks, red duckers, buffalo, baboons, blue monkeys, sequir, and makowa ducks. We also had the opportunity to go on a walking safari to a waterfall. We decided against it because it cost an extra 20 USD and Ashlee’s foot was infected and in pain (she got Maasai burns on her foot). The day, however, was a complete success! I had a lot of fun, and so did everyone else. It was nice to be on this safari as Kelvin’s date rather than me being his customer.
After the safari, we went home to quickly shower and change, and then went to Empire for Reggae Night. Reggae Night is my favorite night out! A local band sings a variety of reggae songs, and everyone jams out. I thought that you couldn’t not dance well to reggae, but Joe proved me wrong. He danced like a robot. He kept his feet together and just moved his butt and arms. At least he realized he was a bad dancer and was a good sport about it. All the women form the volunteer house were swooning after him anyways. I joked that it was a good thing he had at least one flaw, otherwise the women would kill each other in desperation for his attention.
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