Exams and work are finally over! We spent the day preparing and packing for Serengeti. The camp has been in frenzy because we’re all so excited. We are leaving at 7am tomorrow morning and will spend the great majority of the day just travelling there. We have to drive through Ngorongoro Conservation Area to get into Serengeti. We will be stopping at Olduvai Gorge archeological site where the first evidence of hominids were found! We will finally proceed to Serengeti’s gate where we have a two-hour drive through the park to get to our campsite. We will spend the majority of the evening setting up camp and our massive tents. The next few days will then be spent taking extremely early morning game drives (6am), eating breakfast and then having various lectures and exercises.

            We were briefed on safety precautions this morning and learned all about what the camp will really be like. We are surrounded by trained professionals who know what to do in the event of an emergency but I know we will be safe. I’m just excited to be so close to the wildlife! One of the most amusing things about the campsite is the reason why our showers don’t work (and proof how close we are to the animals!). We have been warned that we will probably not shower for the next 5 days because there is a single tank that catches rainwater to supply the showers. Apparently, the elephants are quite fond of pushing it over, so we rarely have enough water to take showers! We will also be falling asleep to the sounds of lions, hyenas and zebra calling in the distance. A lion’s roar can travel over 15km, so a lion several miles away can sound like it’s right next to our tent. I think I’ll sleep with a tape recorder on all night! I hope we finally get to see a cheetah or a leopard! And we should get the chance to see a great number of lions and elephants. I’m going to keep a very detailed journal and will be sure to write a novel when I finally get back to my computer on Friday!

Wish me luck!

Location: Rhotia, Tanzania