Wednesday, January 24th, 2018
We just arrived back from safari and the medical conference and are back on the wards seeing patients at Ilula. The safari at Ruaha National Park is always a highlight for students and staff alike and this year was no different. It also marks being just over halfway done with the Ilula Health experience and is a good transition point for students. We spent a total of 2 days on safari, including early morning sunrise and evening sunset trips. Our safari vehicles fit 7 people and have open sides with unobstructed views of the beautiful vistas in front of you. Some of the highlights from this year's safari included seeing a leopard with a fresh impala kill in a tree. The leopard will be working on eating this impala over 3-4 days and it was an impressive site to this strong animal feed out of a tree! We also had a chance to eat gourmet meals and have a hot shower in a four star canvas tent setting overlooking a river where a giraffe was sighted nearby...not too shabby.
We slipped and slided around in the mud one morning after a heavy rain and one of the groups got stuck in the mud 8ft from a male and female lion. They called for help and the second safari vehicle bounded to the rescue, only to get stuck in the same place. Luckily these two scenarios scared the lions who decided to leave the scene (thank goodness) and watch from afar. This allowed the drivers to rescue the vehicles from the mud, and the safari goers to continue their journey and start to relax again. Great views of lions mixed with African adventure....and a lifetime of stories. Other animals viewed on the trip included elephants, black spitting cobra snakes, impala, kudu, zebras, baboons, several exotic birds, hippos, croccodiles, and the previously mentioned leopard.
Tanzania is place where beauty, adventure and flexibility are found at every turn. Now it is time to get back to patients and staff at Ilula.
Twinde!
Kristi
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