2019 Tanzania Trip

Two female and a large male lion were sleeping on a sand river bank at high noon.  It was very hot and not much was going on until a herd of Zebra wandered into the river bank.  One of the females started stalking them, but she had no cover.  Lucky for her, Zebras have bad eyesight and the sun, combined with the shadow of the riverbank, concealed her for a few minutes as the Zebras approached.  Eventually the Zebras figure out they are in a very bad neighborhood, but another ten yards and things would have had a very different outcome.  We were sitting within 20 meters of all of this action.  In the video you can hear Emma cheering for the Lions.

An unexpected benefit of bringing hundreds of Luci Solar Lights is we got to use them as gifts as we travel around.  We ended up giving one to Bebe, the Masai Grandmother we met back in Idodi.  We intended it just as a convenience item for her, as this family operates without any electrical power.  What we did not realize is this particular clan of Masai was a strong supporter of the  Ruaha Carnivore Project   which trains the local Masai to live in cooperation with the large predatory animals of Ruaha NP.  The large cats will often leave the park and kill the livestock on whom the Masai depend.  In defense, the Masai often kill these animals to protect their way of life.  The Carnivore Project gives the Masai special mobile fencing to protect their animals and a Mobile App which allows them to report and track predator movements (yes, the Masai have no power, but they do have cell phones with apps).  Through a...

Sam went out early while we enjoyed a slow morning in camp and found a Leopard dragging an Antelope up a tree.  The Leopard rested somewhere in hiding for the rest of the day, but when we returned to the tree in the evening, he was back to enjoy his dinner.

The videos were taken at 6:30 in the morning as we left the park.  This pride of lions lived about 1/2 mile north of our lodge.  We saw them all week as we came and left camp.  Most days they were quite lazy, mostly sleeping in the shade as we passed by.  This day, because it was early and still cool out, we caught them moving through their territory.

View from our Deck.  Hippo in Water to Right Elephants on the march. Emma overlooking Ruaha River.  This is where we ate lunch everyday All of us goofing on an adventure bridge Selfie time in the Safari Car These elephants blocked the kids entry into their hut as they took dinner on the porch one evening If you ever get a chance to take your family here, please do it.  Ruaha is full of life and adventure.  We had an amazing experience as a family exploring this special place.  Ruaha is the largest park in Africa and is home to 10% of the worlds Lions.  You slept with the near constant sound of them roaring in the distance and woke to Elephants walking by your front door.  The pictures attached do not do it justice.  We saw over 24 lions including three small cubs, countless elephants and giraffes.  We even had our very own pet Hippo we named Freeda who lived in the river in front of our place at  Ruah...