Don't Worry, I Get Malaria All the Time

Trip Start Feb 06, 2008
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Trip End Mar 03, 2008


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Flag of Tanzania  ,
Thursday, February 21, 2008

The next three days were spent in the heart of the Serengeti.  Our base was the Serengeti Serena Lodge set atop a hill in the middle of the vast grass plains.  We went out each day on a safari and returned at night to enjoy the luxury of the lodge.  Our schedules become set:  we would eat a big breakfast and then Moses would pick us up for a long game drive.  We would then return late in the afternoon, and relax by the pool and enjoy our elevated views of the plains below.  Next followed a huge delicious dinner and settling down to a restful sleep.  The days were full of wildlife sightings and the nights full of relaxation.  Here are some highlights:
 
1) We were able to check off the leopard from the Big Five list (the other four being lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino).  We spent one entire drive searching for the elusive nocturnal cat that usually spends its time in trees resting and searching for prey.  Moses was so determined, he kept searching and searching.  Eventually his eagle eyes spotted a leopard in a tree right by the road.  We spent a few hours just watching and observing.  Paul had decided that day to forego his Gravol.  Not a good idea.  Paul couldn't move much and had to stay as still as the leopard to avoid throwing up.
 
2) Mel awoke one morning with all of the symptoms of malaria.  She recounted her symptoms and we checked off each one from the list in our guidebook (headache: check; muscle pain: check; malaise: check; fever: check; flu-like symptoms: check).  We were convinced that she had it, despite all our preventative measures.  Moses tried to be helpful by telling us that he had had malaria many times and that all one needed to do was rest and get shots.  We called up the doctor who was on call at the lodge.  She checked Mel out and pronounced her healthy.  Her symptoms came from a rumbly tummy and not malaria.
 
3) We had a favourite spot by the pool that overlooked the plains below.  The view was out of a postcard.  It was spectacular and in the distance you could make out the roaming animals.  Blows your mind!
 
4) Moses took us one morning to the hippo pool.  We had already seen hippos so we thought, "Big deal."  We got out of the truck and walked through some light bush to the edge of the river.  Within a few feet of us where 20 to 30 hippos bathing, pooping, playing, resting, fighting . . . it was a hippo pool alright.  The funniest thing was that when the hippos pooped they flapped their tails in machine gun fashion, like they were going to take off.  They pooped frequently and with gusto.
 
5) We were lucky enough to spot a mother cheetah and her litter of three pups.  The pups were fuzzy little guys not more than a few days old that looked a lot like squirrels.  Dude, that is cute--until they grow up and rip your face off.
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