african safari | Ray and Shelley's Retirement Adventures

Day four of our safari began with another incredible adventure. We bought tickets to a hot air balloon ride with a company called Miracle Experience. It was an amazing adventure that started our day very early with a pick up at 4:30 am at our tent. It was still dark outside and we could hear lions in the distances. The driver then drove us to the launching area of the hot air balloon ride. Along the trail not very far from our camp in fact, we came across lions laying down in the middle of the trail. We had to stop and wait for them to slowly move out of our way.

Lions laying on the road along the way to the balloon launch area.

We arrived at the launch area and we were able to watch the crew set up the balloon for the launch. It was quite interesting to see how they work together to do it.

Balloon crew preparing the balloon for take off. They use a large fan to fill the balloon with air then add hot air to raise it up.

Our Pilot was Captain Rosa Parera a Spanish women who also flew hot air balloons in Calgary, Alberta for several years. She was very energetic with a pleasant personality and full of passion for the job. She explained to us how the basket worked and how we would enter it. She did an overall briefing explaining the landing process and other facts about the balloon.

Captain Rosa explaining the balloon and how we were to enter into it.

The basket holds sixteen passengers and the pilot. As the balloon was almost ready to raise up we entered the balloon and took our positions for takeoff.

Our positions in the balloon for takeoff and landing.

The Balloon was filled with hot air and we were airborne and gently drifted upwards with only the sounds of the basket creaking and the roar of the flame when needed to raise us up higher.

Our group in the balloon as we drifted across the Serengeti.

The view of the balloon as we drifted through the air of the Serengeti

We could see the sun rising on the horizon as we quietly floated upwards and gained a larger view of just how magnificent the Serengeti truly is. The pictures do not give justice to the amazing views and sensations of floating slowly and quietly over the landscape of the Serengeti.

At one point Captain Rosa took us up to around 300 meters or 1000 feet to give us a 360 degree view of the Serengeti landscape.

After our spectacular 360º view Rosa provided us with a cup of coffee or tea. We relaxed enjoying a cup as we drifted quietly overhead of the different animals below.

Ray and Shelley enjoying the coffee and views.

Ray with his cup of coffee floating over the Serengeti.

We drifted over a pride of lions which were watching us in curiosity.

Pride of lions looking up at us as we drift overhead.

After an hour in the air we slowly drifted downwards until we landed in a flat clear area in the Serengeti. The landing was very smooth and the basket softly flipped onto the side as intended.

Once we landed the support crew arrived a few minutes later. We celebrated the landing with our Captain by having a toast with champaign.

After everyone had champaign, we headed back to the camp area for a full english style breakfast. We arrived and were greeted with a welcome song and dance by the staff.

It was a very warming gesture and the custom here. It made us smile and feel welcomed. The food was amazing and everything was done perfectly. We even had a local visitor, a small monkey come to checkout all the fuss.

A small monkey walking through the tent area at our breakfast.

They presented everyone with a certificate of the flight. The breakfast lasted about an hour and everyone was able to chat and talk about their experience. There were people who were celebrating special occasions in the group. Miracle Experience even had several cakes made for them. It was so well organized and planned out.

When the breakfast was done and we were heading out we got a picture with our pilot, Captain Rosa Parera

It was such a spectacular adventure and something that we will cherish and remember for years to come.

Our driver picked us up after our breakfast feast and we did a safari drive. We were fairly close to the Serengeti Visitor Centre, so we stopped there to check it out.

Serengeti was the inspiration for Disney’s “Lion King” feature film. There is one scene where the baby lion is held up on a large rock.

The rock represented in the movie is believed to be the rock at the Serengeti Visitor centre.

Shelley in front of the rock portrait in the Lion King movie.

It was another fabulous day with amazing experiences.

“Kuishi kwingi kuona mengi”

Day three of our Safari was our first full day in the Serengeti which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was selected because of its important ecosystem, the dense population of animals and the annual Great Migration.

View of the Serengeti and a giraffe in the distance.

Our day started early and we left camp at 7a.m. We began to explore the south central Serengeti eventually we would arrive at a different camp for the night. We drove along the Nyabogati River which provides lush brush and drinking water for many animals.

Shelley and Ray standing in the jeep with the pop up roof.

Our jeep has a pop up roof which gave us perfect unimpeded 360º view. It felt like we were standing outside near the animals.

As we drove along the river we came across quite a few hippopotamus. They are one of only two species in the Hippo family, the other is the pygmy hippopotamus. The name hippopotamus comes from the ancient Greek for “river horse”.

Hippopotamus in the river, avoiding the sun on their skin.

Another group of hippopotamus a little further down the river.

The hippos were quite boring to watch in the water. They simply stayed in the water as much as they could. However it was interesting to learn that the body of the Hippo is so dense that they can walk underwater. They can also hold their breath for up to five minutes. Hippos lose water rapidly through the skin and become dehydrated quickly. They must retreat in the water in order to hydrate and to keep cool, because they don’t sweat. They have an oil that releases from glands that serve as sunscreen.

We left the river area and went more into the grasslands of Serengeti. It was not long until we came across some giraffes.

Our guide informed us that giraffes are the tallest of all land animals. That the Male giraffe can grow to a height of 5.5 metres (18 feet). Their tongues are are very long and they use them to browse foliage high above the ground.

We saw some elephants who were just walking along slowly enjoying the day. They decided to stop and have a drink in a puddle of water near our jeep.

A Herd of Elephants drinking water from a puddle of water.

We got a little closer and watched them drink. It was quite interesting and entertaining as well.

We then drove on and encountered some lions. They were relaxing in the shade of a large tree. At first we could only see one lion but as we moved the jeep we saw the second one relaxing.

Second lion on the other side of the tree

We saw a leopard laying in the shade with her cubs. Although we were fairly close to them, they did not seem to take any notice of us.

After a short drive we came across a cheetah laying in a tree. It was enjoying the shade and watching the area below.

Cheetah in a tree looking down over the area.

Cheetah on rock looking over Serengeti flatlands

During the day we saw many zebras, giraffes and other animals all living in their natural habitat. We even saw some white-back vultures that were circling in the sky.

It was getting late in the day and there were ominous clouds on the horizon. Our guide wanted to get us to the next camp before the rain started. So we headed to Sound of Silence. It is an eco friendly safari tented resort in the heart of Serengeti. We arrived at the new camp just as the sky opened up and torrential rains fell.

We stayed in the common area and had our dinner while the rain poured. The meal was tasty and good.

After the meal and the rain stopped we watched the sun set before heading to our tent for the night.

It was another great day and we were happy to have seen cheetahs and leopards today. We were looking forward to our next adventure tomorrow which starts extra early. We are set to get up at 4 a.m.

“Ishi maisha kwa ukamilifu, wakati ni mfupi”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!