Africa 2024
I spent the last two weeks on safari in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. I went during the migration, and saw tens of thousands of wildebeest and tons of action. I had a lot of time to think, and my two biggest revelations were that I should take more notes and should travel more. Traveling has always been something I've enjoyed, but never prioritized. That's a trend I hope to change, especially with the lack of responsibilities I currently enjoy. I compiled some of the notes I took on the trip below, but first (& much more exciting) is a gallery of the animals I saw.
Animals Seen
Elephant
Leopard
Hyena
Lion
Cheetah
Giraffe
Water Buck
Wildebeest (got to see wildebeests crossing the Mara River)
Baboon
Impala
Buffalo
Eland
Zebra
Crocodile
Vervet Monkey
Mongoose (fun fact: a group of mongooses is called a "business")
Hippo
Python
Black Rhino
Jackal
Black Mamba
Warthog
Ostrich
Secretary Bird (badass ground bird that kills snakes)
Lots of other birds
Notes From The Trip
- The Savanna is incredible for observing nature because of how open the land is. At least in the dry season, it is mostly low grasses with some Acacia trees and bushes. This enables natural storytelling because you can see the grass then look over and see the wildebeest migrating towards it then look over and see a lion hunting a wildebeest then look over and see a wildebeest carcass being eaten by vultures. All within a couple of acres. And one of the morals (so to speak) of this story is that energy is the currency of life. It is harnessed, traded, and fought over, but no modicum of it is wasted. As soon as the energy from the sun touches the land, there is something living to fill a niche to capture it. There are vultures cleaning carcasses, hyenas eating bones, tortoises eating hyena poop, termites making homes out of poop, aardvarks eating termites.
- Hyenas have it all. Night vision, top 10 bite strength of any animal, enjoy mud bathing, matriarchy, and can call for help and be greeted with dozens of others from the pack quickly to help. These animals have gotten a bad rap from the Lion King, but they're better described as a combo of the best traits of cats, dogs, and bears. My favorite animal from the trip.
- Leopards are also awesome. They don't have a hard time hunting because they wait patiently for their prey in a hiding tree or bush then pounce. Incredible blend of nimbleness and strength. Leopards are the ultimate hybrid athlete. Jacked yogis.
- The "sweep the leg" instinct in lions is so natural. I saw them doing it as 3 month old cubs playing with their siblings and mom.
- I went on a hot air balloon ride that offered a great new aerial perspective. I've long joked that my retirement will either start with the purchase of a hot air balloon or steamboat. This trip may have tipped the scales in favor of the hot air balloon. I also greatly enjoyed the sense of adventure from all of the small prop plane rides.
- Like I said before, I need to travel more. Many of the other people on safari were in their 60's, and it seemed to me that they realized that their time was limited, and they should now attack their bucket list. If I wait until then, I may not have the time or energy to go everywhere I want to. I should explore one new place a year. I should also go whale watching while I'm in the PNW.
- The area I stayed in was powered by solar and batteries with a backup generator. I also saw a "Solar & Electronics" store in the nearby village and tons of houses with solar. Pretty awesome.
- As I was learning about local remedies, medicine, etc (ex: put liquid from some frog/toad into a women's urine and it will change color if she's pregnant) I couldn't help but think: who figured this stuff out? Was each discovery someone randomly stumbling upon it or was it one curious individual who was reading, observing, and experimenting constantly who pushed knowledge forward significantly?
- I find vast, open land more visually and personally appealing than dense wooded areas. The open views I saw were absolutely stunning.