I got lion snot on me!

I know you won't believe me until I show you the pictures, but YES- I was THAT CLOSE to a lion!! He sneezed & we felt the spray!!!!! UNbelievable.

Well, the safari was one of the BEST times of my whole life!!! A dream come true.
We started the day after 7am Saturday to drive an hour to the Ngorongoro Crater (ing-goro-ing-goro), which is something like one of the world's top sights to see. It took almost another hour to get down into the crater, which was a hell of a bumpy ride! There were 16 of us in 3 Land Cruiser trucks. It was awesome- there were 3 panels that opened from the roof-like a moon roof-so we could stand on our seats & have half our body outside up above to view animals & take pics.
Let me say that I have never been THAT dirty since I was a little kid!!! The truck in front of you kicks up dirt that blows right in your face. Thank goodness for sunglasses & my safari hat, but we all had dirt rings around our glasses, blowing dirt out of our nose,etc. It was worth it!

I had no idea what to expect. I read that the Ngorongoro Crater is supposed to have the best wildlife viewing. I thought if I saw maybe 2 or 3 zebras that I'd be in heaven. WELL- I saw HUNDREDS!!!! They were right alongside the truck! They walked right in front of the truck! CRAZY!! I was in my glory-speechless, just gasping every second. Billy was laughing at me I think cuz I couldn't say anything but, "WOW! Holy Hanna! Oh my gosh!" every second. There also were tons & tons of wildebeasts. We saw ostriches, Thompson's gazelles & millions of flamingos.

Some awesome times were when we got to see lions! They were pretty far away but there were 2 lionesses & I think 2 males. I got a nice shot of a male when he stood up. I called it Pride Rock,haha. The hippo pool was right next to it! They are so massive! They would roll over in the water to get their backs wet.

Later, we saw 2 more lionesses laying in the grass & a hyena! It just walked across the road in front of us! I got so excited I dropped my crackers I was munching on all over my seat to get my camera!

So, how did a lion sneeze on me? We passed by this ditch where the truck in front of us was stopped & everyone was leaning over the roof peering down w/ their cameras. They were all shushing us & said there was a lion down there. My friend Leann was so scared. Some people were backing away & sitting back down. We finally made our way in front of the ditch & HOLY MOSES- there was a male lion just laying there-like 10' below.He was RIGHT under the road. UNBELIEVABLE! We passed by the same spot on our way back & he was still there. Just as we pulled right up to him, he rolled over on his back!!! It was amazing. We were all taking pictures & oohing & awwing when - AHCHOO!!!! Splat-right on my forehead! Just a drop- but still it was rediculously crazy!!!! Wait til you see my pic- I zoomed in & was able to fill the entire frame w/ his furry face. One gal got a shot of him mid-sneeze. It's hysterical! His nose is like crinkled up.

We all went back to the camp saying it was the best time of our lives, best day ever, dream come true. Simply AWESOME.

I'll write more tomorrow about our 2nd day....
love,
Jes