Visiting the hippo pool. The hippos were so noisy! They were constantly slapping the water with their tails to splash water on their backs (poopy water, I might add).

The students shared “stories” with us about different ecological aspects of the park.

We saw this mama and baby Thompson’s Gazelle minutes after the baby was born. The baby couldn’t even stand up and the mama was still licking it.

Hyenas are kind of spooky, but they are also pretty cool animals. We heard lots of them at our campground every night and some of our students saw one on their way to the bathroom one night.

I love the warthogs! They are such weird looking creatures! Apparently they can run really fast and can fight off predators with their tusks.

We watched 2 cheetahs one day, just wandering around a wooded area. They were far away so this is the best photo Jon could get.

We watched these male elephants fighting. It was a little scary because we were really close and they were making loud grunting noises and really jabbing each other with their tusks. We weren’t sure if they were young males playing around or older males fighting over a female.

We learned that the lion researchers in the park identify each lion by the pattern of spots on the cheek right above the whiskers. They can also estimate the age based on the amount of black on the nose. This lion walked so close to Jon’s jeep that he got a pretty good look at that pattern on this female! She is probably about 8 years old.

Late afternoon game drive on our last full day. The girls loved standing up in the jeep – they could see 360 degrees all around and really absorb the views in this amazing park.

The road to Serengeti was hot, dusty and very bumpy. Not so good for the tires. Pole sana, Patrick.

Serengeti means “endless plains” in Maa, the language of the Maasai. It is the perfect name. We drove for hours on this beautiful endless plain. The park is so vast, and in addition to the flat grasslands, there also are hills, rocky outcrops called kjopes, watering holes and wooded areas.

We were introduced to all sorts of new animals, including this Topi. There were so many new grazing animals to learn!

On our first day in the park, we were lucky to spot this leopard hanging out in the tree. He was so relaxed and sleepy – and cute!

We also saw this male lion on our first day. He was with a female who is not pictured. After I took this photo, a young elephant walked over the lions, trumpeted at them and scared them away! It was so cool to watch the elephant take charge!

A short time later, we saw this pride of mothers and cubs. There were so many! We think the male we saw earlier was head of this pride.

Hippos are so cool! They just chill out in the water all day because the sun is bad for their skin. They will get out at night to feed. In the pond, they lay right next to each other, but they are pretty territorial on land.

We just can’t get over the elephants. We have more photos of elephants than anything else! They are so incredible and the babies are beyond adorable.

On the road to our campsite. A little different from the deer that I see on my drive home in Iowa. 🙂

We also regularly saw a group of male buffalo on our drive back to camp. Look at the flies all around him – we felt so bad for all the buffalos!

Lily’s favorite animal – the adorable dik dik. Full grown it’s about the size of a fawn. They hide out in bushes and can be hard to see. They mate for life so we usually see them in pairs.

A view of Lake Manyara National Park from a road above the park.

Getting ready for the game drive! We were able to stand on the seats while we were driving which was super fun! Our drivers are so knowledgable about the parks and animals, and they are always teaching us new things and answering our (my) non-stop questions!

First animals we saw: blue monkeys at our picnic site. This one came over and grabbed food from Lily’s lunch in a flash of a second! Needless to say, I jumped up and screamed. 🙂

Lake Manyara is known for its many baboon tribes. They are pretty cool animals – and the babies are especially cute.

Elephants right next to us! A little scary but so incredible. And the little ones were TOO cute!

Sylvia loves the zebras. They are so stocky and more like donkeys than horses. They even bray like donkeys!

The buffalos are huge! And so cool. We saw many pelicans, flamingos and numerous shore birds, as well. There were also hippos in this pool, but we didn’t get a good photo.

Ninapenda twiga!! I love giraffes!! They are so awesome. I love watching them run – they look like they’re in slow motion. I love watching them eat, too – their big lips and tongues ripping leaves off of the thorny acacia trees.

Lake Manyara. There were many, many birds, grazing animals, and hippos!

The Lilac-breasted Roller, a spectacular bird! And look at the thorns on that acacia bush!

With Chacha, the ecology professor from UDSM who joined us on our safari. It was great to have him along to teach us about different aspects of the parks and answer our questions. He also coordinated student stories (presentations) about the geology, history, ecology and animal biology of the parks and mammals that we encountered. It was an awesome learning experience!

Our campsite in the woods. We had a few serval cats check out the camp in the middle of the night. I woke up to the clanging of pots and pans as they investigated the kitchen area. Fortunately, no harm was done. 🙂

Getting ready to leave for our 2 weeks of travel.

We were warmly welcomed at Engakaret by many people in the village. We learned the proper way to say hello in Maa, the Maasai language.

We toured houses built by women of the village. They rent out the houses for overnight visitors as a way to earn money.

Inside the house – a bit dark but actually fairly cool. They are sitting on the beds, and in front of them is a fire on the ground for cooking. It did leave the house a bit smokey.

We went out for an early morning walk to watch the sun rise above Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Philip was our Maasai guide. Here he is telling us about how and where the Maasai graze their animals. He also organized many activities including a campfire talk with village elders, a chance to milk goats, and a singing and dancing event. Mount Meru is in the background.

Goats inside the acacia branch fence, in the middle of a boma. The acacia branches have many thorns which are major deterrents to predators (and keep the goats inside!). Mount Meru is in the background.

We attended a ceremony called orpul. It’s an old tradition that has many facets. Basically, the men of the village kill a goat for food and medicine, including drinking the blood, eating raw meat and cooking just about every part of the goat. We ate cooked liver and gnawed on a leg bone, and ate a medicinal soup made out of many parts of the animal.

We had the opportunity to bead with the women (mamas) of the village. The women, in addition to renting out the houses also make beaded jewelry to sell.

Lily sat by several children who all made her beaded jewelry. She was totally decked out in bracelets, necklaces and anklets!

Our campsite at Engakaret. The dirt was dark and sandy – volcanic soil from Kilimanjaro. They say in the rainy season everything is green, but it was hard to imagine now, in the middle of the hot, dry season.

We left the village on Lily’s birthday, October 16th. We all really enjoyed our time at the village learning about the Maasai people and feeling so welcomed by all of them.