Oct. 7, 2026

This morning we were up early to eat before our ride to the airport at 550 am. We breezed right through the airport for another bush plane ride with 5 other passengers. We flew to Kisoro, Uganda. We met our driver from Hornbill safaris and he drove us through the very mountainous terrain to get to our lodge. He asked us our fitness level because tomorrow we hike in to see the gorillas in the Impenetrable Forest, a national park. It scared me a little because he said we can hire a guide that will carry our day pack and push and pull us up hills. Wish me luck!

We were going to have a local village tour but it was raining pretty hard and all the roads are claylike dirt. So, we checked in to the lodge, beautiful! Then ate lunch at noon, wonderful food! Then downtime until 2. Our driver drove 5 minutes to the village. We then meet a town guide who walked us through town like the villagers do. This village bumps right up next to the park. There was a local tribe that lived in the forest and when they made the park a park in 1991, they asked them to leave. But they did give them acreage in this town to start over. Also, the town gets 20% of all the tourist fees paid to the park. So the locals seem to like having tourists around.

We visited some woman who make baskets out of reeds and raffia or even plastic bags. I got to try my hand at it. Then off to tour the community school. Godfrey, our guide had to walk 11 kilometers to go to school and 11 back, all in one day. So the village made a school but they don’t get any money from the government. They relie on donations from the tourists. We went into a classroom of 12-13 year olds and they sang a song in English. It was basically saying how important school is for them. Later, we went into the babies room, but this was 3-4 year-olds. They sang for us too, but didn’t understand any of it. They all wanted high fives and fist bumps and to hold our hands.

After the school, we walked more to meet some people from the pygmy tribe. They sang and danced and beat plastic cans as drums. It was beautiful. Even a little 2 year old was dancing around.

One of the villagers found a male 3 horned chameleon.

Tomorrow we are to leave at 730 to hike to find the gorillas. Once we find the gorillas, with our guide, we get to spend one hour with them. Then hike back out.

Six days ago Frank arrived at our lodge with our missing bags from the airport in hand. Since then, he has been our guide, driver, and local expert. He has driven from Arusha to Kogatende (500km), toured us through Ngorongoro Crater, and spent three days chasing (and finding) hidden animals in the Serengeti. If all goes well, by the time you read this, he has driven another 450km back to Arusha for a well earned break at home with his family.

Of course we took some pictures this morning of Frank and the truck:

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Oct. 5, 2026

This morning we were out by 740 to go on our game drive with Frank. We decided just a half day drive to the northern Serengeti. It is so far and long to get to other areas in the Serengeti and we were actually looking forward to a free afternoon. It is a lot of work, scanning and constantly looking for animals. It is also very breezy in the car and lots of dust in the air. So, our eyes get tired.

The whole Serengeti is 12000 square miles.

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October 4, Day two in the Serengeti. Between Ngorongoro and day one, we had seen lots of animals. The plan for today was “let’s go find cats.”

This sort of explore is easier said than done, but it is an excuse to get out and see other areas. So, here are some pictures on the search for cats:

Elephants in the dawn haze.

Lots of beasts, no lions….

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October 3rd, East africa time…

Ok, we will start the story at the end.  It is hard to top sitting in your “hotel room” (a tent in the wild) and looking over your toes out the screen door, and seeing an elephant walk by not 25yds away.  He was just passing through, looking for food and water at the kitchen, and didn’t seem overly interested in us (thankfully) or our tent (awkward because Mike was taking a shower at the moment).

Yes, we think this is what the cool kids call “glamping”. A heavy vinyl tent, with screened windows with roll down shades, an attached vinyl set of sink/shower/toilet rooms. The bed has mosquito netting (hmmm, never a good sign, but no mosquitos yet), and the bed is too short. Meals are 50 yds away, and we need an escort any time it is too dark to see your feet. We have a radio to summon an escort if needed. Sunset is 6:30, dark is 6:40.

Now, back to the usual fare.

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Our room at Ngorongoro farm house.

We left our lodge at 615, after a quick breakfast. The roads to the crater, which is actually a calderra, are a little scarey. Basically a one way dirt road yet it is two way and at times, we had to pass many trucks. Lots of uphill, then down hills. In Tanzania, like S. Africa they drive on the left side of the road. We made it safely to the bottom of the crater by 730. The first thing we saw was a serval cat with a mouse in its mouth.

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