Humping Hippos and Necking Giraffes.

We started our safari day in Allan’s authentic Safari vehicle on our way to Saadani National Park. On the way the top went off and we were standing with our heads poking out, cameras at the ready. Ashley said there would be a prize for the first sighting of an animal and Joe won by spotting a warthog but soon baboons were seen in the trees and we arrived at the Wami River bank. We were all anticipating a few hippo sightings, but soon it became clear that there were A LOT of them to be found!

In between we spotted flocks of kingfishers, storks, ibises, cranes baboons and two tiny crocodiles. After seeing a baby hippo with its mom we were all awed by the number of animals we had seen. We even got to see some rather amorous hippos and kind of felt like we were interrupting. When we reached the pavilion at the end of our river tour, we were treated to Allan’s delicious prepared lunch with fresh pineapple upside down cake for dessert.

Off we went in the Safari vehicle and we were scanning the landscape for quite a while. I was so proud of myself for spotting a giraffe way off in the distance and was quite satisfied with seeing only one giraffe. As we turned a bend we started to see two males necking to prove who was the dominant one. Behind them came a few more including some babies and zebras and more and more giraffes!!! We stopped counting after a while although we are sure we saw over fifty. It was a once in a life time experience. As the sun began to set, a flat tire had to be fixed. It forced us to stop and take in the spectacular African sunset. There was even more in store ...a stop to see the Milky Way and all the constellations. What a superb ending to a superb day.