safari in the serengeti

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, an 18 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: safari in the serengeti 🦁 

i already wrote a little about going on a safari in the serengeti, but i want to document the full breakdown of this magical experience.

we first met edwin, our safari guide from pumba safaris, on january 17th where we were given the debrief of how the next 4 days and 3 nights were going to pan out. he had a bellowing laugh, infectious energy, and his confident response of “hakuna matata” to any of our concerns already set the ground work for how pleasant the experience was going to be. 🪄 

10 people’s worth of luggage and the post-kilimanjaro laundry we had yet to pick up the next day wasn’t necessarily compatible with the safari schedule, but with a quick smile and “hakuna matata” we were off on the road in the two jeeps we all quickly grew familiar with.

as we entered the ngorongoro crater on our way to our first campsite in the serengeti national park, i can’t help but laugh at the utter wonder and collective shriek of excitement when we first saw a giraffe, and then a zebra, and then hundreds of zebras, and then thousands of wildebeests showing us the great migration live. 🦓 

a long drive of 8 hours and a chance encounter with hippos in the darkness later, we finally reached our first campsite of the safari. we spent two nights here in the serengeti, before we switched over to the last campsite in the ngorongoro crater.

over the next 3 days, we jumped up at the sight of each new animal, and some even teared up at the sight of elephants roaming free in the wild. we saw lions close-up — so close up that philip had to close his eyes and mutter, “we’re a google search and 4-letters away from better pictures of these lions, do we really have to drive so close to them?” 🦁 

and then there was me, rolling down my window to get an even closer look at the king of the jungle. we pestered our driver, ernest, with dozens of questions and didn’t leave any of the 52+ species we saw go unacknowledged. heads were popping out the jeeps’ roofs at all times, we shared countless stories — or lore as we called it — and devoured our mediocre snacks in minutes.

just like each of the animals we saw roaming free, i felt a sense of wonder and freedom myself. gazing over the vast greenery and wildebeest so numerous they blended into each other and filled the horizon, i realized the world is so much bigger than we believe it. 🌍️ 

you’re telling me so much of the world is unexplored? so much goes on outside all the chaos in my head? life can be so free?

everything was magic, and life really feels so “hakuna matata.”

a safari in the serengeti will do it. ;)

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