Sundowners in Arusha. A drive out to see the sunset that the car and the car only got stuck once. This is Lisa and Matt’s car “ sugar” that we all piled in to to have a sundowner. Our kids know that means wine and beer and fanta and cheese. Great sunset and Mt Meru view.
Birch caught a bird in the air. It is a spectacular starling. He was so proud that all of his chicken catching had paid off.
We just went for a night to camp and be together before David starts his Sept of travel. We have had him home for a whole month!! We slept at a tented camp and then visited friends for lunch and a game drive at Manyara ranch the next day.
Cole watch out- don’t step in that Elephant poo….
baobob trees…. so big. Can you find birch hidden in the third picture?
We hiked a little and saw some Maasai male children that had been in the open savannah for 40 days with their father doing a traditional preparation for Moran and circumcision. They were age 5 to about 12 I think. They had only eaten meat from four cows and green leaves boiled in water. They sleep on open ground with Acacia thorns around them to protect the little ones form coyotes. They still had to eat two goats before they could go home. No women are invited.
This is Birch standing in front of one of the cow skins drying out. The other is a picture of a home similar to what the kids will get to go home to when the tradition is complete
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Us reading elephant tales by the campfire.
"how the elephant got its trunk"
termite hills, elephant footprints, and lunch… safari style.
These are cool hot springs about 2 hours away. You have to look for crocs before you dive in, but if there are lots of other tourists there you are usually ok. It has a big undercurrent that drags you around in the pool. We went with some new friends Clint, Kati, Jack, and Acacia and our lovely house sisters one day for bbq and swimming.
You really have to know the way because you drive through about 6 villages on dirt roads to get there. The last village which is all mud huts has a huge cement and stained glass church. I mean it is the middle of nowhere. You can just imagine some person loved Maji Moto on a trip once and said I am gonna donate tons of money to that village to build a big old church. I am ok with churches and religion, but maybe they could have donated a bunch of money for food or houses or med clinic…
When we got home the kids were tired, but active. They wanted to “deconstruct”. After going for my camera, a computer, the iPod…. We finally talked them into a broken spotlight. Then we had to set strict rules that they could only deconstruct home equipment if they asked first.
First day of school at ISM. Birch is P3 and Cole is P1. Both have lots of friends and are happy. Cursive writing is our enemy at present, but may be resolved as little fingers and self esteem grow. David keeps reminding me it will all be computers soon anyway. But… David writes worse than Birch. I guess I need to keep working on my typing. “yes, everyone who reads my blog says.”
I did it, three days with no kids and only my sis. We even took a movie player out to watch movies in our tent late at night. Girly movies. FYI the movie Towelhead is not worth the time. Lions roaring outside the tent is better. We drank too much cheap African wine, road in safari car after safari car with our incredible guide Kumbi (An African with five daughters and no boys- and he is fine with it), got attacked by tsetse flies, drank more, ate a lot, looked at 1 million wildebeests. Great trip with Thompson’s safari.
Here we are flying in to our dirt road strip. Already wildebeests look like ants there are so many.
Our lodge.
Janna close to elephants and lions oh no!
Maribu stork peeing on itself as it eats insects in the recent fired grass that is hot.
Vultures eating a wildebeest that did not make it. See video below.
Leopard, Lions, and leopard and lion on same rock.
Cool Animals: black back jackals, eland, topi, and spotted hyenas.
The wildebeest crossing. Dumb heard animals that follow anything in front of them and moo all the time. Cool to see crossing see video below. One doesn’t make it at some time. Like National Geographic. FYI if you want a cool kids National Geographic show for your IPOD Meerkat Manor is Cole's new favorite.
Janna and Kumbi
