Tarangire delivers! Hard not to finish this day by pronouncing ourselves lucky in the extreme. We saw things today... and then we saw more things... and more and more things. At first, we just did a little touristing when we left the Plantation Lodge, hitting a souvenir/art shop and then visiting a Maasai Village. This definitely interested us and is not to be minimized, but then we got into Tarangire National Park and began being mesmerized and amazed. Things built up slowly. First there was the watering hole with a flood of zebra and wildebeest charging in for a drink. Then there were the dozens upon dozens of elephants we watched digging for water. (The proclamation was made -prematurely- that it was the day of the elephant) then there was a landscape where every single tree had a giraffe, eland, waterbuck, impala or warthog under it... for miles. But then there were the cheetahs. Mom and cub, majestic and regal in their fur coats. And then there were the lions. At first there were a handful from a distance... then more of them, walking away. Then a meeting of male and females and cubs in the distance. Then we investigated to find thirteen cats of all sizes going to work on a freshly killed zebra. The sights and sounds were stunning. Better than any TV documentary. Our cameras kept clicking and clicking as the sunlight got golden. But we'd each put the electronics down to just stare in awe as well. A short time later, we were sipping pre-dinner cocktails at beautiful Balloon Camp when our driver/naturalists walked in. Juma and Edson got spontaneous and sustained round of applause. The day couldn't be topped... but it could be savored. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn