TBT: No Church In The Wild

The most surprising lesson that we learned during our visit to the Serengeti was that 99% of the time the animals are at peace and in perfect harmony with each other. Hyenas sharing the shade with warthogs (who are usually their prey), lions napping in close proximity to zebra, impala, topi, giraffes and jackals. Warthogs prancing dangerously close to a female cheetah. Everyone is simply co existing and enjoying the beautiful Serengeti day...until someone gets hungry. Usually it takes a lion or a cheetah getting hungry enough to hunt, a kill that feeds an entire ecosystem. Right behind our tent a lion pride took down a zebra during the night and by the morning all the substantial meat was gone and the hyenas were licking the bones and fighting over the scraps with a jackal. Then we noticed the vultures beginning to circle over head, just waiting for the hyena and jackal to finish their meal so that they may have their turn. Seeing this in person was shocking and thought provoking, survival of the fittest in the most extreme and natural form. So what can we learn from this? How is this relevant in the modernized culture we live in? I turn to this article from Forbes, Management Advice From Charles Darwin.                 (Photos taken in Tanzania by S+P)

Photo by Joe Kibwe (Our amazing guide and friend, who was born and raised in the Serengeti)

Zebra seem to be the likely prey, as comically depicted in this animalistic short film.

 

"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." - Charles Darwin

Happy Earth Day!

To all of those who dedicate their time and resources to the protection, rehabilitation, and conservation of the eco-systems of Africa and the wildlife that inhabits those lands, I dedicate this post to you. Thank you for making the Earth a better place. 

All photos were taken by Samantha Angelo & Peter Ostrega in Tanzania, The Grumeti Reserve, January 2014.

To Tony Fitzjohn and Kevin Richardson (seen below), who have dedicated their lives to raising awareness about lions and the growing fear of their extinction. 

My observation of lions in the wild: 

Lions are the most loving animals I've ever seen, they show constant displays of love, friendship, admiration, and affection towards one another. Their favorite things to do are roll around in the grass, play and nap with their families, lick/nudge heads, and most of all climb trees. The love within a lion pride is inspirational and unbreakable. I saw nothing else like it during my time in Africa. Although lions have very short life spans (10-15 years) they make the most of packing as much tender love and affection into those years as possible. 

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

Singita: Sabora Tented Camp

(Continuing my journal on our trip to the Serengeti)

An hour after we embarked on our hot air balloon safari we landed in the flat grasslands right near our next destination, Sabora Tented Camp.

This is quite possibly my favorite photo from the trip, by Peter Ostrega :-)

   This time we had a warm Singita greeting by Apollo, who would be taking care of us for the next three days. As we walking into the main camp Apollo brought us over to a beautiful brass basin and poured warm water over our hands out of a large antique brass vase. The tour began out on the main deck over looking the Grumeti plains, where most of the meals take place. The first thing you see as you walk onto the main deck is the bar, made of a vintage hot air balloon basket that is split in half. This was my favorite piece at Sabora, so original. Then he showed us the indoor tented lodge, dipping pool, and tennis court where zebra are known to enjoy rolling around on the red turf.

P+Apollo+S

Tent No. 4

Next stop was Tent No. 4, our home for the next 3 nights. As we unzipped our front door and parted the canvas we were immediately absorbed in a 1920's explorer's paradise. This tent takes glamping to a completely new level, it's no wonder Travel and Leisure magazine named Sabora the best hotel in the world two years in a row!

Don't let its canvas exterior fool you, inside is an ultra luxurious time capsule of a Serengeti oasis. Complete with warren in vintage leather chairs, Persian carpets, plaid pillows, and a canopy bed with an army green linen comforter. Off to the right of the bed a stack of vintage leather luggage and trunks.

The water closet featuring a clawed tub with a view, an outdoor shower surrounded by tall and slender tree branches, and a dressing area with a large mahogany dresser, complete with a silver horsehair brush and matching hand help mirror. They know how to set a mood at Singita, that is a fact. With every detail they take you back in time. This is not a hotel, it is an experience.

At any give moment I would gaze out of tent onto the plains and see herds of impala, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, warthogs, baboons, and hyena. They would basically come right up to the tent! It definitely took me a night or two to get used to the sounds of the moaning buffalo and roaring lions that cut straight through the canvas every night. I felt a different electricity in the air at Sabora, it was the most laid back and casual of the three lodges, and in that way I liked it the best.

Tented Library

Mahler Morning

When I woke up on my first morning at Sabora, I hear Mahler's first symphony in my mind (Movt. I & Ia, on repeat) as the darkness slowly turned to light and it was so quiet on the plains, the air was perfectly crisp and a single bird chirped just as the first ray became viable.  You could feel the sadness and struggle still lingering in the air from the previous night, and the glimmer of hope for the new day. 

 When the cellos come in (Movt. Ia.) the sun is up, it is officially morning, everything is in perfect harmony, the gazelles running and playing with each other, it's a peaceful time in the wild.

Now when I listen to the piece I envision the Grumeti plains coming alive, and the hot air balloon hovering over the pristine land. I only wish that I could have seen this before I performed the piece.

The original program notes attributed to the first performance:

Part I: From the days of youth, "youth, fruit, and thorn pieces."

1. Spring and no end. This introduction describes the awakening of nature at the earliest dawn.

Sabora Plains -

I loved the idea that you could walk out of your tent and frolic among the animals on the  plains. At this point in the trip I had never felt better in my life. I woke up every single morning feeling healthy and vibrant.

 

Serengeti Slumber Party - 

Buffalo Bombed!

Sabora Sunset Game Drives -

 With each lodge we got progressively deeper into nature, and it was magical. I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to celebrate our marriage. The striking beauty of nature in its purest form, just opens the eye to the wonder and limitless possibility of the world we live in. I'll never forget sitting by the open fire and laying back on our day bed staring up at the flickering darkness of the Serengeti ceiling. Rarely do you ever have the opportunity to see a sky so unspoiled and removed from civilization. It's hard to think about anything else when the intense beauty above is staring down at you, just commanding your undivided attention. Your mind naturally leads you in an existential direction, and you must consciously prevent your thoughts from getting lost in its infinite complexities...

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." - e. e. cummings