Merani Snake Park
The second night we stayed at the Merani Snake Park near Arusha Tanzania. We showered and headed to the park bar for a drink and to plug in the electronic equipment for recharging.
Our tour company has contracted with a safari company in Arusha to take us in 4-wheel drive Land Rovers to the Sarangeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. (www.roysafaris.com) We leave behind George and James to watch over the truck and to putter with necessary maintenances.
Land Rovers and Land Cruisers in Africa are a necessity on the mud roads-in American cities they are just expensive status symbols. It took four hours to travel the 200 miles to the Sarangeti. Tanzania has begun paving the road all the way to the Crater which will dramatically increase the tourist influx. The Maasai walking by the side of the road try in vain to get the Rovers to slow down; there are virtually no other cars on the African highways-only trucks and buses.
On the way we pass by a weekend market…charcoal fires filling the air…cooking food for the festivity. “Young people come here to see each other,” our driver says.
We set up camp and ate dinner around a lantern. I drop, exhausted from the jouncing, into bed only to wake up a few minutes later by the sound of elephants playing although it didn’t sound much like playing at the time. Woke again when I heard Bob outside the tent-zipping and unzipping the flaps again and again and juggling the bottle of water we left outside. Finally I reached over to find Bob sound asleep. It was a Bush Pig, I am told later by the cooks. Woke again when I heard grunting, which at the time I thought was snoring coming from one of the other tents; a lion, we are told the next morning-not more than 10 yards from camp.
Tags: African Continent, Tanzania
Zoe