Day 7: SAFARI TIME!!!

Okay, first we woke up super early (5:00am) and had breakfast before piling into the safari jeeps. Our group, the Zebros, piled into Oklahoma 1 and we set off. First, we drove to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area main gate where we hopped off so our guide could go do some paperwork while we gawked over the baboons that were licking the wall next to us. There were so many of them and a few had babies! We briefly checked out the gift shop before getting back in the jeep and beginning our safari in the park. We winded our way up to the rim of the crater through thick greenery and fog. Everyone was so excited, and naturally, we sang "Oh, I Just Can't Wait to be King" from Disney's The Lion King. On the rim, we saw buffalo, giraffes, and zebras. Then, we made our way to our first stop: Oldupai Gorge. 

Oldupai Gorge is where they found fossils of some of the first hominids to walk the Earth. They had fossilized footprints, skulls, teeth, and tools for us to look at in their small museum before our guide told us a short history of the gorge and the people who have worked in it. The guide then led us down to the archeological site where most of the fossils were found and showed us around. It was so cool to walk the same path as our ancestors! Michael and I also did some quartz hunting and found a great little piece for his aunt. 

Next, we headed to the shifting sand. It's a pile of volanic sand that is continuously moving due to wind pushing it across the dry-lands. It can move up to 10 meters a year! We climbed to the top and watched the sand shifting before our eyes before jumping, sliding, or shuffling down the sand and looking around. I found a buffalo skull so of course I picked it up and took a picture with it. Then, Hannah and I took a picture with it because we are the true predators XD

After the shifting sand we began making our way to Lake Myarana. On our way, we saw a bunch of jeeps stopped on the side of the road. Our driver, Melke, asked what they were looking at and was told there'd been a cheetah sighting. None of us could see it and figured we probably wouldn't but Melke wanted to make one more effort to find it. He whipped the jeep around took us up the hill. We went off-roading and tried to chase down the cheetah. Unfortunately, we did not see it, but the drive was awesome, and at the top of the hill, we opened up the top of the jeep and got to stand up and search. From then on, we decided to stand as we drove through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was way more fun and totally exhilarating to have the wind blowing against our faces as we took in our gorgeous surroundings. 

Before long, we made it to the look out point for Lake Myarana. We made a pit stop for bathroom breaks and a few pictures before we zig-zagged our way down to the inner part of the crater where the lake rests. This was where the magic really happened. We expected to see a few animals here and there, but no. THERE WERE TONS OF ANIMALS! We saw zebras, gazelles, impala, buffalo, wildabeest, flamingos, hyena, elephants, hippos, and even LIONS! One elephant walked right up to our jeep and just paused for a moment before walking around us. A mama lion also approached the jeep with one of her cubs. Everyone was so excited that we all pretty much held our breath as she walked by. We saw her pride- a bunch of cubs and juveniles, but not the daddy. We were all so stoked and couldn't believe our luck. All of us had huge smiles on our faces and couldn't stop talking  about how lucky and happy we were. Then, our driver stopped. We asked what he saw and he told us that in the distance there was a black rhino! Each of us took turns looking through his binoculars to see the rhino. They are so rare, we were shocked we'd seen one! 

As we made our way out of the park, we remarked on the incredible day we'd had. Everyone was pretty tired, so when we got back to the hotel many of us took naps. However, the best part of going back to the hotel was taking a long, hot shower and washing the layers of dirt off of my face and out of my hair. Standing up in that jeep left us covered in dust and dirt.. but was soooo worth it. After the nap and shower, we had dinner and spent about an hour or so at the hotel bar. I tried a red wine from Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania. I also tried Afrikoko, a coconut and chocolate flavored liquor that is served on the rocks, and honestly is kind of gross xD it's sickly sweet. I also had a fresh tropical juice with lemon vodka in it which was super delicious. Amber and I drank and hung out with some of our fellow OU sudents, particularly Michael. Then, we retired to bed and slept like babies. We even got to set our alarms for 8:30 instead of 6! It was great. 

I could not have ever imagined that our safari would be that successful. 

ZEBROS FOR LIFE!!!