Day 23 - Serengeti Safari Adventures/Birthday Celebration

Well, the day finally arrived when I would wake up (7 hours earlier than in Canada!) to realize I am now 50 years old! Do you remember when you were a child and 30 was old? 50 was for grandparents. I know for a fact my mother, herself, has a hard time registering she has a 50 year old daughter. But I have come to accept that age is just a number and I was ready to celebrate this special day in a way that would stay with me forever. I was not disappointed. 
The day began shortly after 5 am when I got up to prepare for my adventures in the Serengeti. Little did I know, the adventures would begin before I even left the building. As it happened, the power went out and we were left in total darkness. I managed to put my things together and fumble my way through the hallways to greet the others outside. 
Julius(our tour guide) was ready to go so we piled into the vehicle - Nuru, Happy, Cheupe (the gardener) and myself. We were on our way!
That is, until we were asked to stop by a police officer standing on the side of the road just outside Igoma. The officers pull random people over and check for the necessary documentation - or pass out hefty fines. (The government is trying to come up with ways to increase revenue.) As it would happen, Julius did NOT have the necessary papers with him so he, and his company, will likely be paying for it. We, however, were allowed to continue on our way. (Below: Sunrise as we drove to the Serengeti.)

It took about 2 hours to get to the closest gate, where we were greeted by a family of baboons. Once inside we began the planned nine hour tour. Julius would stop at just about every photo opportunity there was. The only time we got out to take pictures was at the river where the Nile Crocodiles were. Other than that, we remained in the vehicle - which had a pop-up roof so we could stand and observe from above. Some animals were off at a distance, but many were very close to the road, or even crossed the road in front of us - such as the elephants, zebras, and lions.
Below: 4 of the Big 5: lion, African buffalo, leopard, African elephant -no rhinoceros :(

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Around 1pm Julius took us to an elevated picnic area that provided panoramic views (and actual washrooms!!!) Of all the safari vehicles I saw there, and on the roads, I have to say our vehicle was the only one with Tanzanian people - who were not driving. I am glad my new friends were able to enjoy this experience with me - although they may have regretted it later. 
I was very pleasantly surprised when I walked over to our picnic area to discover the ladies had brought a decorated birthday cake with them - along with a wine glass for my juice. That was so sweet! Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we enjoyed the special treat. (How many people can say they had a birthday party in the Serengeti?)

Afterwards, Julius tried his best to find a leopard for us. It was proving more difficult than usual for him, but success prevailed and we did get a glimpse of one in a tree. I think, with the birthday party, unexpected photo opportunities, and the leopard hunt, that we stayed longer than expected so Julius began to motor down the road to get to the gates as scheduled.  
Now, this is where the 'adventure' begins because at 4:45 pm we stopped on the road in the middle of the Serengeti - and not by choice. It would appear our vehicle had broken down. The good thing was - it wasn't near any carnivorous or dangerous animals. The bad thing was - night falls early in Tanzania, by about 6:30 pm. Daylight hours were limited and we needed to find a way to fix the vehicle. 
Julius contacted his office and anyone else who could possibly help. He followed instructions over the phone and spent hours under the hood and under the car. We had half a dozen vehicles stop as they passed. Some could only offer their condolences, while others had men who actually tried to help. For instance, a gas truck had three men who worked under the hood with Julius and then tried pushing the vehicle forward and backward to kickstart the engine. It was when they took the large gas truck and started pushing our vehicle, that I decided to step back a bit, all the while peering into the darkness surrounding us, listening for sounds of approaching wildlife.
Nothing was working so it appeared we would have to wait for Ben -the owner of the touring company- to come rescue us, although he was more than 2 hours away. 
This is a sidenote: I could never get a clear picture of the massive water buffalo in the park - considered to be the most dangerous, because of its unpredictability. As it would happen, while we were stranded -and my camera's battery was dead - a very large herd of water buffalo appeared nearby, standing in organized lines facing us. Normally we had only seen 1-3 water buffalo at a time. This herd of over 100 buffalo was a bit unnerving. They marched forward - all of them staring intently at us. (I can't believe I couldn't get of a picture of this!) Night was falling, and I could imagine them moving towards us under the cloak of darkness. Eventually their leader gave a signal and they ran off into the distance. Phew!
We settled in to wait it out, when we noticed an approaching vehicle. The Serengeti Park rangers had arrived! (They had been out somewhere earlier on a call and we had no idea if they would ever get to us.) I had my doubts of their efforts resulting in any success, but was overjoyed to hear the engine roar back to life. I was so happy, in fact, that I gave them the rest of my birthday cake as an 'Asante/thank you' for rescuing us. This made their day.
Thankfully we were once again on our way - but this time driving through absolute darkness, wary of animals in our path. In about half an hour (by 9:00 pm), we made it to the gates and began the 2-hour journey home. I was so grateful to see the gates of Agape Lodge! Ben was waiting for us there to ensure we arrived safely. He told us of his panic, trying to get out of Mwanza to rescue us, but facing gridlock after gridlock because the President was in the city visiting. He was, therefore, relieved to hear from Julius that we had successfully left the park.
The ladies (Nuru, Happy and Neema) were so sweet to me - making sure I had some banana soup and lots of water as soon as I arrived. I was even given a large bucket of warm water so I could wash up before going to bed. To think, they had travelled with me and were suffering just as much, if not more. (Nuru is 6 months pregnant - can you imaginine if she had going into labour?!) Elidaima had also left a musical birthday card and small rose for me.
Everyone kept their wonderful sense of humour throughout the whole experience - so it was always an 'adventure' and not an ordeal. I am blessed to have celebrated my birthday in such a memorable way with such caring and generous people.