Our Safari and Kilimanjaro adventure came to an end today. But not with a whimper... it went out like a lion. And coincidentally with lions, as it turned out. We were up for an early start with great help from the friendly staff at Balloon Camp. Setting off in our Landcruisers, we hadn't gone more than a few hundred feet before seeing fresh tracks from lions and elephants in the dirt road. When we got to the actual wildlife: Cape buffalo, (barking) zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, eland... we were interested to see that their behavior was markedly different in early morning than what we'd seen during midday. Our excellent naturalist/drivers Edson Kahangi and Juma Msangi explained that all the critters had been up in the hills hiding from predators in the night but were now a little desperate and nervous to get down to the watering holes and streams again. We eventually saw why... the predators were well represented down there. We saw a big mom cheetah and a cub having fun with each other and making a game of chasing Impalas. We saw a big burly male lion striding proudly over for a drink while all other animals sprinted away. We saw a lioness and her two cubs up in a tree for a snooze... nearby, a hundred vultures were cleaning up whatever the lions had breakfasted on. And then it was time for us to flee all the predators too. We had to get on the highway again, back toward Arusha. We made a final stop at the cultural center to make a few more purchases (Maasai blankets were a big hit) and peruse the great art museum, then it was on to the Arumeru River Lodge. We showered and repacked and had one last team dinner before most of the gang headed for the airport and ultimately home. We seem destined for reunions and future trips together... reliving the wild time we had way out in Tanzania. We made a pretty good team. Thanks for following along. I'm going to snooze for a day and then start it all up again with another group. Our last Kilimanjaro climb of the season. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn