Patt with Two T's

Some of the previous day's small animals and birds:   Dik-diks These dwarf mongoose are so cool...they burrow holes into the high termite mounds and stick their heads out to check out what's going on. We also saw them walking single file near the camp's dining area.  can't remember all the bird names..beautiful storks Our second day/night at Sanctuary Swala was much better, minus the many bugs that bit me. I brought two kinds of repellant and began to think they were aphrodisiacs for the mosquitoes. Yes, we sleep under nets all night, but hey, what if one gets in and stuck there all night? I’m a freaking buffet for it. And how about getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom? I tried so hard not to, but was up every night. The snotty people from Abercrombie and Kent tours left and the new groups, one of 6 from New Zealand, were much friendlier. I’m not here to make friends, but isn’t it rude to walk right past someone without ev...

  We left the lodge at the crater before breakfast, which means they pack it as well as lunch. That suggests another long day in the car. We did more of the crater, which is interesting because of the location and all the animals to be seen there, but the roads are particularly bumpy, which does little for my insides and back.   We spent two nights at the Plantation Lodge after leaving Ngorongoro.   As I write, we’re 3 days later, so much is a blur of game drives and animal sightings. We have seen the Big 5, the last being the black rhino, of which we saw 2 in the crater, but always in the distance. We have high-powered binocs in the car, so seeing them is easy. We spent quite a lot of time just waiting for him to move, so when he put his head up, we got excited. One actually stood up and walked…they’re so huge.   The intestinal problems continue and now Matthew has them too. I’ve decided it’s the Malarone, which we have to take for Malaria. We’re supp...

  Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a sunrise kind of gal. My sister used to get up and out before 6 am to get to the gym, and I could hardly move until I had at least one cup of coffee.  Here in Tanzania, the best time to start out is around 6 because the animals are easier to spot, there are fewer safari trucks on the roads, and by afternoon, it's too hot for both kinds of animals to be out there--us and them.  So with leaving the camps or lodges at 0-dark-30 and returning at least 7 hours later, and twice 9-11 hours later, I've had little time or energy to write. We have had some wonderful experiences, but it's also been challenging. My insides still feel upside down after being jostled daily on dusty roads.  We have now seen the Big 5! The black rhino was the last, which we saw before leaving the interior of the crater. My picture is but a dot, but Matthew got some good shots with his better zoom lens.  We left the crater yesterday after exploring for se...