{"id":2451,"date":"2009-11-19T08:02:52","date_gmt":"2009-11-19T14:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=2451"},"modified":"2016-12-17T00:44:29","modified_gmt":"2016-12-17T06:44:29","slug":"lions-and-zebras-and-ostriches-oh-my","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/lions-and-zebras-and-ostriches-oh-my\/","title":{"rendered":"Lions and zebras and ostriches – oh my!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Melissa Fuller<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I went on an amazing international vacation<\/a> — an African safari to see some of the world\u2019s most prized national wonders: Arusha National Park, Ngorogoro Crater, the Serengeti National Park and Tarangire National Park.<\/p>\n

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Zebra graze on the hillside at Ngorogoro Crater.<\/p><\/div>\n

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We spent our days cruising in the sun under the popped top of a converted 4×4 Eurovan hunting for sightings of hippo, elephant, gazelle, rhino, giraffe, and lion. We didn\u2019t have to hunt terribly hard.<\/p>\n

Perhaps as a side effect of eco-tourism, the animals were strangely comfortable with our gawking presence. On day one a wayward lioness even came up to our van and slept in our shade for 20 minutes. I careened my upper body out of the window to take a shot of the lioness and I in frame like a kid posing with a character at Disneyland. Needless to say I was quickly shooed back in the vehicle by our safari leader, who was irritated by my Siegfried-and-Roy-like actions.<\/p>\n

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Lions at the Ngorogoro Crater<\/p><\/div>\n

On night two we slept in tents under a indigo sky as a the sound of Maasai children in the distance singing songs carried over the flat, calm, plains and right through my nylon tent. A Maasai man with a bow and arrow lashed to his back watched over the site to ensure hyenas and other \u201cvisitors\u201d would not make their way in to our campground.<\/p>\n

The other days of my international vacation peeled by. Scrambling to find the binoculars to spot a jaguar in a tree, standing on the seats of the van as we watched a baby elephant cool off in a muddy bank — all of these experiences creating a personalized vision of Africa in my mind that I surely will never forget.<\/p>\n

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An older brother, watching his sister, introduces himself to campers..<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ostrich Crossing at Taringire National Park<\/p><\/div>\n

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Two lionesses lay in the afternoon sun in Serenghetti National Park.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Water buffalo bones at Ngorogoro Crater<\/p><\/div>\n

Related Orbitz resources:<\/strong><\/h3>\n