26 Dec Safari Day Two

0530AM I was the first to muster outside of the lodge and ben and Olivia were next by 0520 all of the tourists had arrived, and only one of our drivers, if I had coffee all would of been fine but that was several hours away a pumpkin spiced cliff bar and water would have to make do.

I switched vehicles today Keki was our driver along with Randy and his 2 daughters Megan & Kristine and Tina riding shot gun.

We were off to Ngorongo Crater which is very similar to yellow stone as they both are caldera's



While Lemma was in performing the entrance transaction we were greeted by Baboon Mafia


A large male came up and tipped over the trash can and hit the dumpster diving lotto a full box lunch, his friends quickly joined in, after a few minutes a guard made a small attempt to shoo them away. This reminded me of the old videos of bears in Yellow Stone National Park. They moved over and jumped on the top of two parked cars to finish breakfast and sort of blocked access to the rest rooms.


We finished the entrance requirements and we were off climbing almost to 10 before descending down into the caldera.


Just amazing views





We just popped the top of the land cruiser and we all jumped as a zebra desperately wanted to cross the road, it appeared that today was going to be the same as yesterday getting to know other members of the group and lots of wild life.

Barely on bottom of the caldera we passed two Hyenas


After that we hit the safari jackpot a group of lions very close to the road we could see Zebra, Wilde Beast and Cape Buffalo by the 100's


As we waited one of the females stood up


This went on for a good while long enough for my ADD almost twitch



Amazing how all of the tours quickly pulled up one of them stalled and needed for us to give him a push start. Off to see the vast quanities of Wilde Beast and Zebra.


A little baby


And a couple playing



A few beast


And more Zebra


Off to the watering hole for breakfast with the Hippo's

Safari Day 1 Christmas Day

I am writing this for the second time as i uploaded two large blogs via 3G well they are in blog hell and I am sitting back at MMGL 3 days later

Well as we start each day I really need to remember slow down and that nothing in groups of new people is perfect. After a morn NG brief a painful load up of all the gear we were on the road to the National park.

A few shots of MMGL


The first animal I see before coffee





A few shots along the way








I rode with Lemma one of the owners and it was a blast to. Hear about the local culture and history of the area.



I was surprised to see the park decorated for Christmas


I just knew that any transactions would be painful - bingo it took 40 minutes for Lemma to pay our entrance fees.



Well with that said off we go and just like that instant wildlife first a blue monkey


And then the Baboons were every where



A little one wanted a closer look at me


We stopped for a quick picnic lunch and saw a few birds






As we drove on we saw our first Elephant everyone was pretty excited to say the least





Very close


Then just around the corner was a Giraffe


Then a rare group of tree climbing lions





And a few then more Giraffes








Just an amazing day we stopped by a very distant hippo pool and the off to the Bougainville Safari Lodge a shot of my room


What a great surprise after a much needed shower and a Kilimanjaro beer we all sat down to a real xmas turkey dinner and then off to bed.

Location:Lake Manyara National Park

Arrived Amsterdam

My last updated left out my reason for the rant, I was so worried about getting my backpack through the xray machine i left all of my liquids in my other bag, i didn't realize this until i was on the train some security and the holidays

Well the flight was great and off to the KLM club to relax for 3 hours, just in front was a hotel by the hour and even better the best 15 euro shower ever.
So after a 30 min shower and shave over to the KLM club for coffee and champagne.

I headed down to gate F2 for the flight to JRO I met Mark and Diane they also were climbing Kilimanjaro with Serengeti Pride Safari (SPS)


Finally on the plane the Dutch flight attendants take life way to seriously just a little too stuffy for me, I was shocked as the headed purser came by and introduced herself and wanted to know what I was going to do in Africa.

WoW it' 1130pm second person to clear customs Ben & Olivia were the first, however my bags all 4 of them came out very quickly and I was ready to bolt, just then I got to meet Erika Bloom one of the co-owners of SPS and she wanted us to all gather before exiting the airport which was a great idea now however at the time I just wanted to get moving, remember Africa time is not at the same speed ;-)


After quite a wait we exited the airport to find way too many people wanting to help me with my bags. Erika introduced me to the director of the orphanage and he thanked me bring the clothes over the children would be very happy to receive presents tomorrow on Christmas. How ever his outfit cracked me up a black leather matrix coat with shorts and sandals.

A 45 min ride to the Mount Meru Game Lodge (MMGL) and was great by the warm staff and a nice Tree in the lobby


Off to room 10 dropped my bags and off to the bar for a Tusker beer and meet the other that will be on the safari.

Never Mind Airport Security

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Well after over a year of planning I am finally on my way to Tanzania, I look back over the last year and chuckle. It seems like only yesterday I was climbing my first 14er (Mt Democrat) in preparation/training/life transformation for this trip. I owe a lot to many people for allowing me to grow both as an individual and as an employee, this process has taken much longer than the past year but it has altered my life forever and made me a much better person in the long run.

I wake up every day and pinch myself and say how lucky I am to do the things I love to do which will have an impact on many aspects of communications both commercially and for the warfighter in future communications/network/satellite architectures.

I should just warn you all now for those that are in close contact that my mind jumps around just a little bit so if you get lost you can always drop me an email and i will add the proper clarification so that you can continue to enjoy my adventure. (Future Poster Child for ADD)

The last 24 hours prior to my departure was like watching an old VHS movie a dozen times knowing exactly what was going top happen, after a year of planning, buying nearly every brand of hiking boots, clothes, packs trying to find out what worked best for me now was time to second guess all of my very detailed and painful research ;-] needless to say after sleeping only 5 hours I got up at 1:30AM to not really change anything but only add to the bounty of outdoor gear already packed in my living room, besides the two massive bags of my gear I am taking two very large bags of clothing mostly summer type shorts for a local orphanage in Tanzania, I hope to have time toy visit it after my climb as I will be staying a day or so after my climb to relax and soak it all in. And incase you are wonder all of the gear that did not make make it into my personal bag is packed and will be donated to the porters that will make our trip a success.

I had scheduled a limo/suv to pick me up and drop me off at the airport at 0400AM, My dear friend Kirk said during lunch cancel that I will pick you up, for those that know me in my personal life I am somewhat of a loaner and usually just wing it on my own, plus I am very time sensitive and just freak out if my plan/schedule is put in jeopardy ;-)

(Personal note: Just finished some fruit and cheese and the nice attendant left me the bottle of port, I think she was tired of filling my glass and for all of
my geek friends I live my ZAGG Mate)

Well I guess that is enough history other than I did climb 21 14ers this summer and Quandary 6 times and the last by myself in the snow and each one has left me amazing memories that I will never forget.

Back to the present I quickly realized that while flying KLM meant 2 less stops that it was not going to be easy when Kirk pulled up to the curb side bag check and they said no INTERNATIONAL check-in )(*&^%$#$%^

Try putting 4 very large bags, a 80 pound back pack and a 30 pound messenger bag full of geek shit on one 4 dollar cart ;-))))) However the Delta agent was very accommodating and quickly allowed me to pay for the excess baggage and I was on to the security line. In the past year I don't recall not checking my bag and only taking a small carry on. The lines were long but I am a Clear member so that was a plus until they gave me shit about my (large) backpack that barely transited the X-ray machine, the harassment interrupted my thought process and I forgot to remove 1 gallon bag of liquids which far exceeded the stated acceptable allowance..... oh shit I made it through with all the liquids in my bag ;-) While I immediately thought the worse that #$@%#$@ TSA cannot even spot a gallon bag of more stuff than one can imagine from bug spray to shaving cream, However after telling one of my friends he mentioned that most countries have stopped the limitations on liquids and that the United States while not officially admitting to this change is not enforcing the rule... otherwise please fire the O2Bandit that allowed me to enter the Denver Airport without the proper screening.

Ok enough for now I think I have drank enough port to make my book on string theory to make sense ;-0

On a side note I would like to congratulate the entire Ice Cube Team for the successful deployment of such an amazing telescope and I cannot wait for the results!!

For all of my english major friends and grammar snobs (Brett) forgive me now while I could blame it on the ZAGG Mate that is not the case as it has never been one of my top ten to fix.

Location:Departing Denver

Less than 24 Hours before Departure Checked in Online -

Well my last webex call is complete, Sue Golding  just dropped off two very large bags of clothing that i am taking over to an Orphanage that Childrengrowing.org supports.

Children Growing (CG) was started in Denver, Colorado in early 2010.  In June, CG received approval to operate under the fiscal sponsorship of Visions Made Viable (VMV), a U.S. 501c(3) non-profit organization.  Under this arrangement, VMV maintains financial and legal responsibilities, thereby allowing CG to focus its time and energy on program development and fundraising.  An Executive Director and several Board members guide the pursuit of CG’s mission.  These key players bring a wide variety of knowledge and experience to the organization to include international development, education, business, public administration and non-profit management.
Our Mission
The mission of Children Growing is to support the physical, intellectual and emotional development of orphans and other vulnerable children in northern Tanzania.
To accomplish this, we partner with established non-governmental organizations in northern Tanzania that have a similar mission but are struggling to carry out their goals and objectives.  Children Growing provides financial, resource and technical assistance to these organizations and collaborates with them to find ways of promoting wholesome youth development and create projects that advance extended self sufficiency within children’s orphanages and family homes.

Tenative Kilimanjaro Schedule

29 Dec: Mountain Day 1 – Forest Camp (8,817')
30 Dec: Day 02 – Shira Camp (11,502')
31 Dec: Day 03 – Moir Camp (~13,650')
01 Jan:  Day 04 – Lava Tower Camp (~15,214')
02 Jan:  Day 05 – Arrow Glacier Camp (~15,960')
03 Jan:  Day 06 – Western Breach to Crater Camp (~18,769')
04 Jan:  Day 07 – Summit and Mweka Camp (up to 19,340', down to 10,448')
05 Jan:  Day 08 – Mweka Park Gate and to  Mount Meru Game Lodge
http://www.intimate-places.com/lodge/index.htm
06 Jan:  Day 09 - Lounging at the pool Mount Meru Game Lodge 
07 Jan:  Day 10 - Fly Home to Denver

Well too much fun, I really look forward to camping out at 18,769 can be added to my list of crazy places to sleep.

Only a Week before Departure

Well it is really hard to believe that this year is nearly over and that I will be departing for Tanzania in less than a week.

For all of my friends I hope to post photos and daily updates of my trip, if I don't see each of you prior to my departure, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and my favorite Happy Festivus.

Regards,
Jeff