Shafted in the Serengeti

My most serene moment in Africa to date and the most scary all happened within a couple of hours of each other in the Serengeti…

We bush camped in the Serengeti and another very early start in the dark for me as had decided to fulfill childhood dream of ballooning in the Serengeti. Hilarious beginning to the flight with all 16 passengers having to climb into the balloon sideways to take off, so was very much like a fairground ride. We gently floated over the plains, watching the sunrise light the trees and animals come to life below. To start with we were so close to the ground we could just about tickle the giraffe's ears then we rose up to several hundred feet for a full vista across the park. We saw antelope, foxes, giraffes, hyenas, loads of hippos, a baby vulture in the top of an acacia tree and heaps of antelope and impala bobbing around. It was so peaceful and worth every cent of the small fortune it cost (for those in the know, it cost the same as the insured value of my car!!!). Afterwards we had champagne (as you do), followed with a full English breakfast. It was a completely surreal experience to be sipping on champagne in the middle of the Serengeti and feeling quite nicely by 10am!! Got a certificate of survival and then hooked up with the rest of the gang on our Fun Safari (name of company) adventure.

We did a bit more of a game drive, packed up the tents and then we were up for a 6 hour trip back through the Serengeti, then Ngorongoro and back to Arusha. However we didn’t make it too far… we all thought we were going to die as our driver completely lost control and we careened off the road and into a small ditch. Thankfully we didn’t flip but it was definitely a close call. The reason for the crash was that crazy Eric had been driving way too fast – over 100km on roads that should be done at around 50km- and the front left hand axle shaft had snapped, which meant we were really rather err… shafted and stranded in the middle of the Serengeti. Loads of vehicles passed us and we were like animals on display… it was funny at first but really Fun Safaris became a whole lot less fun after an hour or so of waiting around and hoping not to be eaten by passing animals.

We were eventually dropped back to the visitor centre by another company and told that they would fix the car and use it to take us back to Arusha which we were seriously unhappy about. While none of us are mechanics anybody could see that the landcruiser would be out of action for some time and not safe to drive. However in the day and age of mobile phones (I hate that traveling has changed so much that everyone is always connected but was deeply grateful at this point in time!!) we eventually managed to get hold of Oasis and they sorted it out with Fun Safaris that we got another vehicle… the only thing was that it was now late in the day and you have to be out of the national parks by 6pm as they lock the gates. The next driver was great but still experienced a completely surreal video game drive home as we had near misses when zebras leaped out in front us, some masai goats, a car door at the wrong time, then a few guns and arguments at the locked gates in Ngorongoro (but they let us through)… was definitely an adventure but so pleased to get back to Snake Park and crash out into the safety of bed!!