Murphy 3 vs. Tina 0

Hippo in pond. Over.

We woke up to rain and mud. And as Murphy would have it, I was on truck cleaning duty. We took off in 7-seater jeeps, but not before much drama about who rode in the "cool jeep" and who in the "other" jeeps. Geez.

The top was down, the air was crisp, animals EVERYWHERE and in such abundance! I've never seen anything like it. We viewed the wildebeest migration in all its glory. I was bragging about the elastic band that mom sewed on my hat, so that when I poked my head out, it wouldn't fly away. Well, it did. <insert Murphy going boo-ya!>. I got it back, thankfully, before it was migrated on. We drove around all day, it was peaceful and exhilarating, all at the same time.

The guides used walkie-talkies to communicate game spotting - "Hippo in pond, next to tree, three stones North of tall grass. Over." I don't know how they did it, but our driver Coba Cabana didn't miss a thing. We setup camp, had spaghetti bolognaise, and sat by the fire with a full moon overhead. It was idyllic, except for the grunting noises with potential to attack and my make-shift mattress (aka pool floatie) that deflates in the middle of the night, leaving me feeling every rock and tree root beneath. Luckily, the earth was warm and served as a heating blanket through most of the night.

Run, wildebeest, run!

The next day, I noticed that my camera lens fits PERFECTLY into the eye of my binoculars. So I got an extra 20X zoom on some photos! I would have loved a game walk though, a little more exciting. With Nomad, we were briefed on how to react if faced with a lion, elephant, or rhino during our walk. But with ATC, we just sat inside the jeep all day.

Regardless, the Serengeti was breathtaking, an endless plain where clouds touched the earth. We also drove through savannah, lush forest, desert, and salt flats. But the winning attraction was a huge herd of wildebeest running in circles. It was chaos, running around point A, with no point B in sight. But each and every single wildebeest ran like the wind for no apparent reason.

I felt like shouting, "You're going the wrong way! North is that-a-way!" But I didn't need to since zebras were seen herding the wildebeest. It's only fair, give a little guidance and receive protection, since predators will likely attack the not-so-bright wildebeest first.

That night, we bush camped. There were no facilities. To think, I marked my territory in the Serengeti Plains, lol.