Photo Friday: Africa Trip Outtakes

While I’ve shared most of the key events and big experiences that we had during our trip, a lot of memories and corresponding photos were left out that didn’t quite fit in anywhere. But even though they may not neatly settle into any one story, it’s those random incidents and more subtle moments that are the glue and foundation for everything else.

Here are a few of my favorite outliers:

Reason 5 million and one why I don’t like birds. Seriously, it’s not okay that they were this size. And it’s not okay that a few seconds after this photo was taken, the man to the right hurled a huge pile of bloody guts on the lawn and the birds went running over to feed. Not okay.

We needed a new point and shoot camera since our old one was dying and we don’t always want to schlep around our SLR. So since we were getting a new camera anyway, we thought it’d be fun to buy a waterproof model since we do a lot of water-related activities on our travels. Here’s J testing it out. I’d highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix DMC30 if you are in the market for one- the underwater photos were pretty crisp and landscape colors were amazing.

The wording of this sign, while a bit cryptic, created a sense of hospitality, but when we went in to grab a bite, they had to rush to pull together a random assortment of tables and chairs for us to sit in. When we asked for a menu, they walked us over to an aging piece of paper taped to the wall and then asked us when we wanted to eat. “Now?! Oh no…”We went on a walk through the gorgeous Masai village of Kioga. As we walked, kids would come up to say hi and then jostle each other to hold my hand. The rest would follow behind. I had no idea what to do with them, but they were very cute.Monkeys are always a riot to watch. There were a whole bunch of these little guys running around near our lunch site at the edge of the Serengeti. The sun in Zanzibar was so hot, it hurt when I stepped outside. Despite dousing ourselves in SPF 55-70 sunscreen, we tanned and burned. At one point I swore I thought I was going to get insta-skin cancer.The very welcome shade of a large umbrella tree in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
In Arusha, we stayed in what was essentially an expat house for one night. It reminded me a lot of the house I lived in during college. It was nice to have dinner cooked for us and then take it out to the couches in the front to eat and spend time with the dogs.Your one stop shop for weddings, gas canisters, and snacks.I was exasperated with J one day because he was lagging behind the group. When I was combing through photos after we got home, I found out what he was taking photos of. I guess I can see the appeal.
These kind of look like dandelions, but they were actually enormous plants. They towered over us and the top of the plants were about a foot in diameter. Like dandelions on crack.Wildebeest Camp in Nairobi, where we spent the final two nights of our trip. It also happened to be my favorite place to stay. We essentially camped in the massive, beautifully landscaped backyard of a Dutch couple who decided a few years ago to turn part of their land and home into affordable accomodations for travelers. Their place was gorgeous and the tents were massive- the closest I’ve ever been to glamping. They were spotless and some even had their own bathrooms.Inside of my tent. Not shown are the large dresser, windows, safe, and very modern light fixture.Large baboon butt, mini baboon butt in the Ngorongoro Crater.

And that’s all folks! Have a great weekend.