Trees and The Musabi Plain

Funny how some blogs just take on a life of there own. This blog started out to be the animals on the Musabi Plain but seems to be about trees. The serenity of the African plain has to do with its landscape. The Serengeti is an open plain dotted with graceful trees. We got to see various new types of trees: Candelabra trees, yellow bark acacia (fever tree!), and sausage trees (hilarious looking!). I mention trees because what our camera was unable to capture properly was sunset. I don't think any camera can. Witnessing a huge orange ball set behind an acacia tree was sublime. It was always wonderful to salute the end of the day by raising a glass to one of mother natures greatest shows.
.Acacia Tree
Yellow Fever Tree

Early pioneers thought that this tree caused a fever since people travelling or living in the areas where it grew contracted a bad fever. They therefore associated the fever with the tree. This however was erroneous as the swampy places where fever trees grow are also ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which carry malaria. Thus through these early settlers the myth was born and the plant acquired its name as the fever tree.
hyraxkopjes

Candelabra treeSausage Tree

Someone pointed out to me that the Serengeti is about the size of Northern Ireland. OK, it is huge. Over 14,000 sq kilometres! On our last day with Tanzania under Canvas we visited a part of the Serengeti called the Musabi Plain with Didas and Killian. It was Killian’s first day on the job as a ranger. The German had gone and it was just Jeff and I in the jeep! We had a great time and a great lunch (thanks to the camp chef!). This also where I introduced them to the joys of Aretha Franklin. We stopped by the Serengeti National Park Vistors Center and met up with some hyraxes (really adorable!), yellow weaver, topi, impala and saw these amazing rock formations called kopjes.Very Lion King.

In fact every time I saw a warthog I called it Pumba. We had to text Beth to find the name of Pumba’s meerkat buddy Timon! Yes, we did that sort of silly thing. We had cellphone coverage – why not use it? My favourite part of the day was when we parked by a waterhole and watched a large herd of zebras dash in and out of the water. Something was spooking them and I guess it was us!