Oldupai Gorge

Located between Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Oldupai Gorge is a fairly famous archaeological site which has given a lot of information as to our origins. During my safari we made a stop here at the museum and we learned a bit about the Leakeys (Mary and Louis) who spent decades there, uncovering many fossils that are millions of years old and may be from our ancestors.

Most people call it Olduvai Gorge, but we were told by the guides at the museum that it is actually spelled with a "p" and not a "v" and that we should clear this up when we got back home. Not surprisingly, we also learned that many of the names given to places (and animals) in East Africa have errors in them due to mispronunciations by early Europeans.

Here are some pictures of the gorge:

Serengeti National Park

After a long delay, I am finally back and will be able to post a lot in the coming week or so. It will take some time as I have to sort through a lot of pictures and do many other things upon my return to Canada. However, here is the next set of pictures.

The Serengeti is probably the most famous of any of the national parks in Africa. After having spent two days there, I can understand why. It consists of several different areas including wide open plains, rivers, and forests. The biggest draw is the wildebeest, of which there are apparently over 2 million in the park.

Some descriptions to go with the pictures: 1) Ostriches, 2) A view of the plains, 3) Lizard, 4) Hyena, 5) Wildebeest crossing the road, 6) Cheetah, 7) Thomson's Gazelles, 8 and 9) A huge herd of wildebeest and some zebras, 10) Vultures, 11) Rainclouds in the distance, 12) I can't remember the name, maybe it is a Bushbuck, 13) Elephants, 14) The sunrise on the second day, 15) Lions eating their kill, 16) Vultures and a Maribou Stork scavenging, 17) A big puddle on the road, 18) A few of the seventeen jeeps crowded around a leopard (it never got close enough for me to get a pictures, but I did get some video which may be coming in a few weeks when I get the time to edit it), 19) Isn't the Serengeti gorgeous? 20) A bird (very common there, but I don't know the name), 21) Basketweaver Birds (I think) and their nests, 22) Lions sleeping, 23) Giraffe.

Lake Manyara National Park

The first stop on my safari was Lake Manyara National Park. Here are some pictures I took. Please note that I don't have a great camera and thus some of the animals are small. This park was by far the hardest to see animals in, so expect better pictures and more wildlife when I can get to posting pictures from the rest of my trip.

1) The Hippo Pool. 2) Giraffe. 3) Warthog. 4) Elephants. 5) Zebras. 6) Dik-diks. 7) Some birds (our guide told us the name, and it was at this point that I said I wouldn't remember all the animal names - looks like I was right in this case). 8) The view of the park from our campsite which was on the top of the Rift Vallety Escarpment (which is much more impressive than the Hamilton "mountain"). 9) Baboons with a baby (there were thousands of baboons in this park). 10) A vervey monkey (look closely, yes, they are baby blue).

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I was recently on two long tours where I was out of Internet range, and since then I have not had very good connections - the speed has been slow. Of course, most of what I want to post is pictures from my tours and now my time in Kigali, Rwanda (including pictures of the real Hotel Rwanda, a.k.a. Hotel des Mille Collines).

Anyway, I am hoping to have some time in a good cafe when I get to Uganda on Thursday (or on Friday). I promise that eventually things will get done and pictures (and video, but that will not happen until I return to Canada) will be uploaded.

Just know I am safe and having a good time. I hope everyone at home is the same way!