The driver cut the engine, the roar of the Land Rover dissipating as it stopped in the middle of the road. It seemed silent at first but then the chatter of the jungle came to life. The baboons and blue monkeys surrounded us, climbing in the trees to the right of us, scattering across the road in front of us and dodging around the shrubs on our left. The jungle floor was covered in fallen leaves that crinkled, cracked and snapped as the animals darted back and forth and called out to each other in high pitched tones. The air was warm with a breeze that fluttered the dry leaves, adding to the music. A mama baboon sauntered in front of the car, her baby wrapped around her chest as if he was in an an ergo carrier, the baby baboons long arms keeping him attached to his mother. The baby looked around then jumped down to munch on the leaves nearby. When he was seemingly bored he went back towards his mother and as he walked up behind her she blindly reached her long arm behind her, in one swoop pulling him in to a secure upside down position against her chest, and away they went.

By no stretch of anyone’s imagination would I ever be defined as an animal lover. I do not think going to the zoo is fun, I do not enjoy pets and as a child I was near tears as the wet dogs would pant in the backseat, their foul breath and damp fur too close for comfort. So at first the thought of a safari, an animal viewing expedition, did not seem that appealing. In this instance, though, my fear of missing out won, so on a Sunday we purchased our tickets and seven days later we flew on a propeller plane to Arusha to begin our safari in the Northern Circuit of Tanzania.

The dry air in Arusha greeted us as we stepped onto the tarmac, the green mountains standing tall behind the airport. Arusha is a dry and dusty town, made attractive by the pink and blue buildings and the purple Jacaranda trees in bloom. Taxis, small buses, Land Rovers, donkey pulled carts and young men on bicycles with their goods precariously balanced all share the road. We met a lovely dutch couple at our AirBnB, enjoyed steamed fish with vegetables on the barbecue for dinner and rose early the next morning to begin our safari.

Driving through Lake Manyara we came upon a solo elephant enjoying one of his many vegetarian meals for the day. As we drove close my heart rate increased, recalling stories of elephants charging at ignorant tourists who came too close. The elephant raised his head to us, his large ears moving in slow motion as the outside edge of the ear tried to catch up with the inside and they flapped in the air. He seemed to take notice of us then turn his head to the side, returning to the task of branch breaking and leaf sucking as his long snout pulled grass and twigs from the tree then guided them inside his mouth, stuffing his face right in front of us. As he moved towards another branch he turned his back towards us and our driver inched the car closer. By now we were less than twenty feet away. The elephant backed his behind up towards the tree branch that split off into a V, then started twitching his hips back and forth, scratching himself against the tree. His dark grey skin was wrinkled and dry, with each sway of his hips against the branches his wrinkles squeezed up against each other like pinched cellulite. Then we continued on.

As the gray sky above threatened afternoon rain, our driver pointed out a large buffalo resting in the shade. His horns sat regally above his forehead, twisting away from his face like pippi longstocking. All 1400 lbs of him sat resting in the shade while small white birds perched on and around him, kindly eating the flies that swarmed around his mud-caked body. Large pieces of grass moved in and out of his mouth as he chewed, returning our gaze in a kind yet menacing way.

The warm rain eventually fell through the raised roof of the car as we stood and gazed out over Lake Manyara, taking in the beauty of the lake and land that sits below the Rift Valley wall. We pulled the top down, tucked back into our seats and drove back to our campground for our first nights sleep on safari. We met another wonderful Dutch couple that was going on the same safari route with us, this couple joined by their adorable 11 month old baby. The next morning we set out for the infamous Serengeti, stopping along the way at the viewpoint for Ngorongoro Crater which we would eventually return to for our last night. My understanding of why people fly all the way around the world to go on safari here blossomed as we peered out over the crater.