End of safari

 

 

Two beautiful young male lions - about 20 feet from our vehicle.

Lion in a tree.  We saw leopards laying like this too.

One of the tents we stayed in.  The tent lodges are beautiful and you don't really realize the sides are canvas because they are so nice.  They let a lot of air in and you can hear animal sounds all night.  Cool!

We saw 10 or 12 lions moving from the base of one tree to another and some of the young males we so skinny!  This guy is walking right past the back of our Jeep.  We all hoped this pride was successful in getting food soon.  Now is the end of the dry season and food is scarce.

The best folks I could have met! Deb, my roommate on the trip, and Tom, who saved my life in more ways than just the Heimlich.

Something strange happened on Day 10 of the safari trip with Overseas Adventure Travel.  The tour guide pulled me aside and personally attacked me - saying I did not respect him or OAT and I was causing trouble in the group. Since I had been having a fine trip and got along with everyone, this was a huge shock!  He even told me that he decided he was sending me home from the trip.

Needless to say, this was distressing, shocking, and totally out of the blue and I decided the guy is whacked out and I was a bit afraid of him. Let's just call him a control freak, bully, and crazy person.  My wonderful friends, Deb and Tom, confronted him the next day (to support me) and the crazy tour leader did not back down.  Deb and Tom told him they would not allow him to send me home and since I  never gave him an opportunity to talk to me again, I don't know what he thought, but I didn't go home. 

Might I say here that I did nothing to deserve his wrath except that I got along fine with everyone and didn't give him as much attention as I suspect he wanted. Being stuck in the Serengeti, I ignored him for 7 days, focused on the animals and my friends, and made the best of a stressful situation.  It's still really difficult to write about because I've never encountered aything like it.

Thank God for Deb, Tom, and the other good people (who didn't know the story but were just wonderful to hang around).  Now I want to make a good memory before I go home so I plan to extend my trip.

I have emailed and called OAT and they will hear more from me, but meanwhile, I'm so glad to be away from that crazy tour leader.  On to another adventure that will include NICE people.  I'm letting that memory fade....