We did a hot air balloon ride up to 2000 feet in the air. We used Hot Air Safaries to do our ariel experience. The start was super scary getting into the air. We started by watching the balloon get pumped up with regular air. Then, when it was time, we got in the basket. The basket was on its side, so we were lying down; if you’re wondering, the basket is separated into five compartments. Each one holds three people, and one is in the middle for the pilot. I think there were compartments to keep people from rocking the balloon.
The worst part was the flame-throwing fire into the balloon to heat the air. I would jump down and crouch in the bottom of the basket when the captain turned on the heat. Besides that, the view was amazing! We saw something like a cheetah or leopard, but it was neither. We went lower and higher and lower. I loved it! I would do another ride anytime, even though it was scary.
After the balloon ride, they served a champagne breakfast to you on top of a hill. It was a big breakfast. It is worth it! If you can make it a life goal to go in a balloon, you should do it.
i was so scared but the experience was still super coolThe hot air ballon was having a hard time filling upFire!Such good veiwsSo Pretty.
We spent a wonderful 4 days in the Masai Mara. My parents decided to rent a car to drive us on our own (called “self-drive” or “car hire” in Kenya). This made the trip much more interesting. It is a beautiful park full of animals and ditches where you can get your car stuck! The car we rented was nice: with a whole package deal of wobbly roof and butt bruising seats. Along with a broken speedometer and gas tank measurer. It also comes with a stick shift and broken seat belts. Enjoy!
Even though there were a lot of problems with this car, I am still super glad we got it. I liked it because it felt homey somehow. It was comforting to sit in it and fun to drive in.
I learned to drive a stick shift car. First, take off the emergency brake with your foot on the clutch and brake. Turn the car on. Next, take your foot off the brake and prepare to put it on the gas. Next, step on it! Slowly press down on the gas while slowly coming off the clutch. Also, make sure you are on gear one.
The park was very alive with many animals and only a few dead ones. We saw one dead giraffe, one dead elephant, and one zebra that we witnessed dying and being eaten.
Story of a Zebra Dying (Warning: if you don’t like death, skip this part!)
a zebra killed by hyenas and picked over by cultures
When we returned; the zebra was only the head, skin, and bones. It was astonishing! Watching the zebra die was not something I enjoyed. I wanted to help it or call a wild animal vet or something. I soon realized that the hyenas needed food, and the vets wouldn’t do anything to help. The zebra had a massive gash on its side that looked superinfected and a gash in its butt. I don’t know why the hyenas attacked there because I don’t think that would be tasty. The zebra kept sniffing its wound and tried to stand up when the hyenas were getting impatient.
They were probably wondering, “why can’t this zebra hurry up and die? I’m hungry. Hey Bill, you want to bite its butt again? Maybe that will make it die.” Bill says, “Naw, that part wasn’t tasty; I’d rather go for its head.”
My suspicions were confirmed. The zebra bottom is not tasty. The zebra got up and tried to walk around. Then it looked like it was trying to give birth, but mom said it was a boy and it was not rapidly going through pregnancy but convulsing. Which means your insides are blowing up. I asked mom if the whole zebra would explode and if all its insides would go flying because I didn’t want to be darou2nd if that happened, but she said “no.” After it was done convulsing, it had two seizures. The seizures were not as scary as watching it convulse. It was like watching a rodeo with a dying zebra. In the end, it fell, stuck its legs straight up, and died five minutes later. I won’t describe the rest because it was super gross and smelly.
Hippos Snorting in Masai Mara
The rest of the park was beautiful! In the river, there were hippos, and they communicated by snorting and what sounded like burping and farting. The hippos were also huge, like humongous water pigs. I don’t know why they are called water horses. They look nothing like horses. They look like pigs with oddly cute faces and cute little tails that wag like dogs. In other words, I loved them! Two astonishing facts about hippos. One: they are not animal-eating carnivores but are herbivores that are very territorial and will attack any animal that is in its space. Two: if a male hippo loses in a fight, it will become a lonely hippo that lives its life moping around and sulking on land. We did see a male hippo sulking, so it is true.
Zebra and Wildebeest Migration Across the Mara River
We also saw some zebras migrating across the river with a couple of wildebeest. I love how there will be a couple of wildebeest hanging out in a zebra herd like they are visiting old cousins.
I would go back to the Masai Mara and recommend it. The lodging at Talek Bush Camp is not great, but the scenery makes up for it.
The rooms were not fancy, but they were relatively kind. The food was super good. It was right next to a river, and we saw a hippo fight! The staff were excellent and helpful and even made gluten-free pasta for us! I would rate it three stars and say they could do better by patching up the rooms. I would probably want to stay at a different place next time we go.
My Favorite Part: Baby Lions!
Cute baby lion cubs!
On one of the days we came across a mommy lion and two very young baby lion cubs. They were just sitting under a bush next to a ditch crossing as we drove by. We were so surprised to see them! My dad was driving and stopped and turned off the car and we just sat there and got to observe them. We could hear the little sounds the cubs made, and at one point the mommy lion got up and walked over right next to our car! Then the cubs walked over near to us and started playing in the grass. After that, they all went back to the shade of the bush and laid back down. Eventually, my dad started up the car and drove away quietly. It was so special!
Some of my Masai Mara Photos
Some of the many photos I took while my family self-drove in Masai Mara
Thulani was amazing!!!! It was my favorite place out of the first three places we stayed. First was Melvilla Guest House (in Johanessburg), then Cradle Boutique Hotel (in Cradle of Humankind), and then Thulani (near Hoedspruit, in Northeast South Africa)! I shared a room with Emmy right next to the pool.
The staff people were terrific! Kelvin was the game driver, and he helped with other things too. Charlene was the chef, and Nmbuso was the chef’s assistant. Charlene was amazing! She cooked the best foods and was super friendly and kind.
The pool was freezing! Like super cold. It felt nice on my face, arms and legs when we returned from Kruger, but otherwise, it was super hard. The rooms were excellent, and the bathrooms were awesome!
On the first game drive, we saw things like giraffes, zebras, and lots of antelope and wildebeest. Kelvin had prepared a sunset snack of mango nuts cocktails for adults and soda for kids. Yes, we did get to share a sprite and a Fanta. Mom will say yes to soda for the first time and probably the last.
On Tuesday we went to visit a school. On Wednesday, we went to a wild animal Rehabilitation center. There we saw lions, leopards, cheetahs, honey badgers, birds, and many more animals. It was sad to see how animals are badly caught in traps and wounded. Some of them die from their wounds. The rehabilitation center was fun and painful, and I would recommend it. It is called Moholoholo wildlife rehabilitation center.
Today we visited NTSOELEMOLODI Primary School! We actually visited twice. The first time we went, we did a tour and gave oranges to all the students and staff! There were so many oranges. We started when Trygive picked us up and explained the school’s history.Â
We drove for quite a while, but we had to stop for gas. Before we stopped for gas, we went through town, and on the side of the road, there were so many people selling things. Among those things were oranges, and a lot of them. Trygive helped us pick a stand to buy from. It was run by a lady and she was SO happy when we bought ALL her oranges in on go. We piled them in the back seat which was where I and Bardez were sitting.Â
Bardez and I buried in oranges to take to the school!
I and him got covered in oranges. It was actually kind of nice like a massage except one of my feet was bent in a painful position. When we got to the school I and Bardez started thinking about how we would get out when we were covered in oranges.
Thankfully others had a plan. As we went through a gate about 20 kids in uniform came out. There were also a couple of drummers! The children started marching in a circle around us. Mom told us to join them and as homeschoolers, we could not stay in the line very well. We eventually got into the rhythm but only for a short time because the principal signaled the students to stop. We got to meet the teachers and principal and there was a short welcome speech then the principal said there was going to be a traditional dance done by some of the girls. The dance was beautiful and I enjoyed it very much.Â
The principal took us into her office and talked about the school and grades. We then got to tour the school and classrooms. The classes were not small. Though they were organized. The school had grades kindergarten through 7. When the school had a huge garden with lots of vegetables and some bathrooms. It also had a new library except there were no bit chapter books for the older kids. It also had a netball court. Net Ball is close to basketball but pretty different.Â
I got to sit in the 5th-grade classroom with Bardez for a few minutes. It was a little awkward between the students and us but soon things slackened. After lunch, we played some violin and sang the national anthem of South Africa with the kids. Then it was time to go. None of us kids wanted to leave but we had to. We asked if we could come back for a day of school later that week. And we did!
The day at school was so awesome! I totally loved it! When we got there I went to the 6th-grade classroom, B went to 5th and Emmy and Zeb went to 7th. When I got in it was very awkward. I just sat at the desk in the front row next to a boy who had his book open. While the teacher was teaching I noticed a lot of whispering going on. I was okay with it. To them, this was a day at school where a new white girl was in their class and they were probably curious. Soon the atmosphere relaxed a bit.Â
They had been learning about electricity and how to save it. There was an activity where we had to get notebooks out. I had brought my notebook and I got it out of my backpack. I got good marks on my paper when the teacher checked it and I got high praise. I wasn’t sure if it was getting high praise because I was a guest or if it was the norm. At one point I started trying to figure out what one-third of 100 was. Then there was an activity where the teacher shared a poem he made then he asked me if I could write one. I told him about my little bear Poems. He asked me to write one. I was worried that I would not be able to write a good one but I did.Â
It took us a little while and in the end, when I read it the teacher asked the other students what it was about. I really enjoyed the rest of the class and I would love to go back. It was my first time in a classroom and my first day of going to a school (that wasn’t homeschooling). I really really really loved it!
Jabulani the elephant was trying to get into Bardez’s backpack to get his apples out! We were at Herd elephant orphanage. A place that took care of orphaned elephants. They would find the elephants then rescue them out of situations and nurture them back to health. Jabulani was the elephant that started it all.
Jabulani was the elephant that also sniffed out anything from apples to cigarets. The cigarette story is true. One day a teenager boy and his family went to go see some elephants. The boy had been secretly smoking and Jabulani took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. The boy was ratted out by an elephant!
Bardez did not have cigarettes, he had apples. And Jabulani wanted them! There were two other elephants there that we got to meet but Jabulani was the best one. We got to learn about the elephants and see them. I would totally recommend this. It is personal and you get to hug and touch the elephants. Being in Africa and seeing all the animals makes me think it is weird that we don’t have lions or giraffes or elephants or zebras in America. I feel like there should be some there but there isn’t. The elephants were gentle giants and I really enjoyed seeing them and being up close. I would go back there and visit again to see Jabulani and make sure he does not steal anyone’s things ever again.
