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Fri, 24/08/2007 - 9:27pm
As part of my birthday present this year, my family decided to send me to the Serengeti (gee, I wonder why). Well, it wasn't exactly Africa. Actually the Toronto Metro Zoo has an overnight Serengeti Bush Camp.
I have kept a journal of our adventure. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! I would recommend looking into a similar programme near your home.
Arrival time: 4:45 pm We were quickly wisked away by landie (well actually it was a zoomobile) to our bushcamp. Boma enclosure, campfire and sleeping quarters. This was our home for the next 17 hours. Could have been worse. As you can see, our tent was called "Tembo" which is Masai word for Elephant.
Shortly after unpacking, we grabbed our water and camera and headed out for a 2 hour guided walk. Our first sighting (stop) was a male hippopotamus, Samson (born 1973).
Next, we came across Tessa (born 1972), one of 7 female ellies. We met with one of the ellie keepers who took us inside the elephant house and showed us where they sleep at night and where they live when we have too much snow. :-o
to be continued...
__________________
***Africam Wiki***
"Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."
for a zoo to have, I wonder if the zoo's in South Africa know about this it is a great way for them to get some extra revenue, and there are people in SA who will never be lucky enough to get to the Kruger or one of the other game reserves. Infact it could work really well as a school trip. 
I felt sorry for you when I read about the traffic noise at night. The sad facts of civilization.
~Christy~
We were fortunate to spot the lion pride. Proud Papa and his special girl, a lovely white lioness from Kruger. Their cubs are still with them. Two big boys that will never have manes (they were castrated
)
Woozle (male), Tigger (male) and Rabbit (female), all born in 1985 were our next photo opportunity. They are 3 lovely spotted hyaenas that were rescued from a behavioural study lab. They are living their golden years quite peacefully. We were allowed to toss them a little pre-dinner snack, carrots (they appear to be just a little over-weight).
We also spotted some grevy's zebras, masi giraffe, warthogs,Kudu, marabou stork, olive baboons, ostrich and sable antelope along the way.
Upon arriving back at bush camp we enjoyed a buffet dinner. I heard a familiar sound coming from the nearby pond. All the guests were quite alarmed at the raucous these 2 birds were making. I laughed loudly, it was 2 Egyptian Geese! Go figure.
A visit to a (mock) ranger station was followed by a night-time scavenger hunt / water conservation trivia game. Before signing off to bed, we gathered for s'mores around the campfire and listened to the story of why the giraffe has no voice. Lights out by 11pm
The lion roars were heard for most of the evening, as well as some low rumblings by the ellies. All comforting sounds to an Africammer.
Sleep was nearly impossible though. All the trains and delivery trucks were enough to drive you crazy! LOL Oh, I did hear one hyaena whoop during the night and a very pesky raccoon outside our tent. Wake-up call came at 6am. It really wasn't necessary! I did identify the "tuba" sounds coming from the ground hornbills. That sound brought a smile to my face.
Once out of our tents, we were greeted by a cup of java and croissants. Then we headed off for another 2 hour hike to the Canadian Domain. There we saw lynx, arctic wolves, grizzly bears, moose, elk, bison, mountain lion and a few others. A buffet breakfast with the bees, and a few minutes to gather up our belongings and our adventure was over.
By 10am we had left the Serengeti and were back at our cars on our way home. Learned some interesting facts, shared some interesting facts and made some new friends. It was worth every dime!
***Africam Wiki***
"Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."