Safari Day 4 - Amboseli to Tarangire Travel

Jambo (hello in Swahili)  This entry is by guest blogger, Dave Youmans (Scott's Dad).  Hopefully you noted that Sharon and I joined with Shannon and Scott in Nairobi; since then we have been on safari (the top bucket list activity for Sharon).

Today was mostly a travel day.  But I have to say that we have already seen more wildlife than I ever expected.  I thought we would have occasional sightings from a distance.  But instead around every corner there was some new close-up view.

As we left Tortilis Camp, I took this picture from their hilltop terrace looking out across the plains dotted with trees.  It is amazing how vast the country side looks.

We drove on a dirt "highway" to the border of Kenya and Tanzania, and crossed the border without incident.  However, this was a busy trading and commerce town on the border so there were lots of shops, stalls and street vendors.  We said goodbye to our Kenyan driver and guide, and picked up the Tanzanian driver (Clement) and guide (Phillip).

After the border crossing, we were on the road again for two hours to Arusha, a major interior city of Tanzania.  We made a stop at an American style clinic (but without the wait or cost) to get a check-up on Scott - he had a swimmer's ear infection (among other things), and got some instruction and medicine.   Then we went to the fancy hotel in town, The Arusha Hotel, for a nice local buffet lunch.  Back on the road again, we traveled for about two hours to Tarangire National Park.

 Shortly after we entered the park, our driver spotted a leopard hanging out in a tree.  This a really rare sight.  Although a little fuzzy, I included a picture as photo evidence of this sighting.

This was also our first time to see the huge baobab trees.  Their girth rivals that of some of the giant redwoods in the US.  But they are fairly flat on top, and they are hollow inside.  Our guide told us that poachers hide themselves and their cache insde baobab trees until the park rangers have passed.
It was long, rough dirt road in this park before we got to our camp.  I will never again complain about the poor condition of Greene Point Road at Sandy Pond.   This was worse and the ride lasted for 3 hours.  However, we did make frequent stops for animal sightings, viewing them from the pop-up top of the safari truck.