Author Archives: bettesbatson

We left Fort Myers around 4:30 PM on April 30 heading to Lisbon through Philadelphia. Our first flight was on time and after a quick dinner in Philadelphia we were on our flight to Lisbon. We arrived in Lisbon about 30 minutes early and after customs got our bags and were transferred to our hotel in the central part of Lisbon’s old town.

We were able to use the hotel spa to freshen up and we were off. A quick lunch and then we met our private tour guide, Sara. We had booked a 3 hour walking tour and we did walk. We visited many of the different areas in Lisbon. She explained the different characteristics of the various neighborhoods and how they came to be over the years.

The city was 90% destroyed on November 1, 1755 by an earthquake and then a tsunami. This allowed the city to be developed with a more modern plan with streets that were in a grid like pattern. The streets are narrow but straight.

The sidewalks are made of white limestone and black basalt tiles and are intricate in design. Many of the buildings are covered in tiles as decoration. Most were blue and white.

Lisbon’s current population is around 600,000 but the metropolitan area has around 3 million residents. To live in Lisbon is very expensive so most of the people live outside the city and across the river.

Sara was able to give us a very extensive education about the history of Lisbon from the time of the Phoenicians through the world wars and then explained how they became a democracy in 1974.

One of the stops we made was to sample the special pastry Lisbon is famous for, Pastel de Nata. It is phyllo pastry filled with custard and it is yummy.

We climbed many of the hills that make up the old town area and learned a great deal about Lisbon and Portugal.

After an early dinner we crashed.

Bette tried to keep a list of all the animals we saw. The spelling may not be correct.

Baboons with babies

Lions – females with cubs, huge group hunting, males, males with females keeping other males away

Thompson gazelle

Elephants – huge herds, lots of small groups, one memorable time with a 2 week old that the females protected

Zebra – huge herds, migrating with the wildebeest

Cape buffalo – huge herds

Wildebeest- one day we estimated there were 10s of thousands, pictures can not describe what we saw, they were migrating along with the zebra also in the thousands

Hippos – huge pool with literally hundreds, small water areas with some, even saw a few out of the water to include one on the way to our balloon ride that was in the road

Topi – big antelope

Warthog

Silver backed jackal

Ostrich – both the colorful males and the drab grey females

African white hooded vultures and several other types

Spotted hyena

Eland – the biggest antelope in Africa

Cokes hartebeaste

Serval cats – saw them 2 times very hard to do

Tony eagle

Impala – identified by a “m” on their butt

Rock Hyrex

Masai giraffe

Black faced vervet monkey

Crocodile

Black bat jackal

Cheetah and 3 cubs – saw once on the side of the road and a second time from our balloon

Leopard – we had 5 amazing spotting of these very elusive animals

Agama lizard

Secretary birds

Egyptian goose

Black heron

Yellow billed stork

Banded mongoose

Botha reedbock

Brown snake eagle

Waterbuck

Leopard turtle

Martial eagle

Grant’s gazelle

Flamingo

Masai ostrich

Sedo billed stork

Crowned cranes

Kori bustard

Blue monkey

Red billed hornbill

Mongoose

Eastern goshawk

Cattle egrets

Southern ground hornbill

Fish eagle

Crowned plover

Hadada ibis

Brown snake eagle

We may not have been able to get a photo of each one, but are amazed at all we saw.

First, our lodge is very different. The main lobby and dining area is built around a huge baobab tree. It is all open facing the pool and waterhole. The rooms are spaced very far apart and are built next to or touching baobab trees. The rooms are framed with wood but the walls are all screens. You have to climb a spiral staircase to get to the room. At night they close a trap door at the top to keep “visitors” out. Unfortunately it did not work for Jennifer and Sunny they had a mouse visit every night. The fist night it opened the cookie jar and the second it knocked over the water bottle. Not the animal excitement they were looking for.

This day we had a full day game drive to a different area of the park. It was along a beautiful lake that ran for miles. We saw lots of zebra, Cape buffalo and huge herds of elephants. There were also many beautiful birds.

We then had another bush lunch and headed back to the lodge. We need to tell you that the lunches prepared by the lodges were amazing. They usually had 2 different meat dishes, several salads, fruit and of course dessert. We had expected sandwiches and chips and were very surprised and pleased.

When we arrived back at the lodge we had some elephants at the waterhole.

For our final evening we had dinner in the boma with Richard joining us. It was a fabulous end to an amazing trip.

This was our wake up call the last morning. Right next to our treehouse.

We have now started back. Jennifer, Sunny, Jacob and Abby are off to Zanzibar for a few days. Bob and Bette back home.

It was truly a wonderful, eye opening trip. We saw so much and learned quite a bit about Tanzania.

We left the crater area and were on our way to Tarangire National Park. On the way we stopped at a fabulous shopping gallery with all kinds of native and traditional goods. There were wood carvings, beaded goods from the Masai, copper goods, cloth, art and Tanzanite. We had an enjoyable half hour buying some things for ourselves and to bring back as gifts.

Then we were off to Mto Wa Mbu village for a guided walk. We met our two guides and we were off. They said that they live “the banana life”. We walked through the banana plantation and they told us about how they use every part of the banana. We then went to an art school. We saw the village school, which was out for the month of June for vacation. This school looked like they really were teaching the young people, unlike the Masai school which did not look like much education happened in it. We stopped at the local tavern for banana beer, we did not try it because it looked like we might get tummy issues if we did. We then went to the local market and walked and saw what was being sold. The people of this village grow most of their food and the vegetables on display were very good looking. We had some very interesting conversations with our guides. They asked questions about our lives and it was difficult to tell them about the excess of our lives in comparison to theirs. When we talked about the houses in the village we were told that the first one you build is a mud and stick house, followed by a mud house and finally if you save enough you might build a block house. It was hard to say we lived in the type of homes we do with water, electricity and all the other amenities we take for granted.

Then we went to lunch in the Tarangire National Park and did a game drive to our hotel. The Tarangire National Park is known as the home of two giants – the baobab tree and the huge herds of elephants. Our hotel, called Treetops was actually built on or around the baobab trees.

This day we were scheduled for 2 activities. A crater rim walk in the morning and a game drive after lunch. However at this time of year the mornings are very foggy so we did them in reverse. The road into the crater was one way and was paved with cobble stones. All of the roads we had been riding on so far were dirt. It is the only unbroken caldera in the world. It covers 264 square kilometers and is from 10 to 22 kilometers wide. It is 610 meters deep. In the center is a huge salt lake. We saw a lot of animals. Here are some photos of them.

We also saw flamingos and a rhinoceros but they were way in the distance and our pictures were not too good.

Then it was lunchtime. We went to the picnic area and used the restrooms. Then we started driving down a path that said rangers only and not to the picnic area. Suddenly there was a tent and servers and a cook. It was an amazing lunch out on the floor of the crater.

We then left the crater and came back to our lodge. We met our ranger guide and did a crater rim walk. On the way we learned about the plants, saw Masai herding their goats and cattle and had amazing views.

Today we left the Serengeti National Park and entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It took almost 2 hours to drive from our hotel in the Serengeti to the exit. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is right at the border.

Our first stop on the way to the crater was at the Olduvai Gorge, called the Cradle of Human Civilization. The first excavations there were done in 1813. It was in 1931 that Louis Leakey began digging in this area, but did not discover the first human like skull, until 1959, that lead to the conclusion that life of the human species began there. We learned about the geology of the land and how the various layers of soil came to be. There was a very good exhibit with many archeological items. The site is still active in June, July and August when college students and others come to continue to make discoveries.

We were then on the road again. We next stopped at a traditional Masai village. They greeted us with singing and dancing. We were then clothed in their attire and had jumping and dancing contests. The Masai are known to jump very high. Not sure many in our group got too far off the ground. We also went into a home to see what it looked like, visited the village school for the young children and got to shop for some of their handmade items. The Masai are herders, have no electricity or running water. They cook over wood in their house, which has no windows. At night all the animals are brought into the center of the boma and are corralled their to protect them. It looked like a very hard way of life.

We then continued on to our hotel, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, on the rim of the crater. We had a late lunch and walked around the property. Then we had a very wonderful dinner. The pictures are from both nights, very fancy in a very remote place.

Good Afternoon from Miracle Experience 🙂  
I hope you are well and had a pleasant flight this morning. We would like to thank you for flying with Miracle Experience. 

Please see the below flight report & flight path of your flight – A message from your Captain today. 

27th June 2023 – Flight report. 
BALLOON: A-450 PILOT: Captain Trevor PAX: 16 PaxSTATUS: CompleteWEATHER: Clear  GROUND WIND AT TO: 6-8 knots  SUNRISE: 06:42 am  LAUNCH: 06:45 am  LANDING: 08:05 am  LANDING TYPE: Gentle   LANDING AREA: River Road    FLIGHT TIME: 1.4 hr  DISTANCE: 18.0 km   
What a fantastic morning for a hot air balloon flight over the Serengeti. We were the second balloon to depart this morning, launching to the song and dance of our fantastic driver guides and crew, with a gorgeous Sunrise to our rear. We stayed low for the first 35 minutes of the flight, immediately passing a small group of Topis below and a few small herds of Zebras on both sides. There were lots of animals around, including a pair of elusive Eland, a small group of Waterbucks and lots of Thompson’s Gazelles and Impalas. As we passed by the New Camp, we began our climb, only to quickly abort as we noticed a huge herd of Buffalos ahead and to the South. Up we went for a little ‘left’, and then down again for the ‘right’ at ground level. Thankfully, our steering technique worked perfectly, and we floated silently over the middle of the herd, the heads of hundreds of the massive creatures looking up as we drifted silently by. A supremely unique view. 
We then climbed, reaching a maximum altitude of 2,125ft (648m) above ground, while we enjoyed some fresh-brewed Tanzanian coffee from our little balcony in the sky. The view this morning was spectacular, an impressive 360-degree panorama, including a vague outline of the crater rim in the haze to the South-East that was shared with eight other balloons sprinkled across the sky, with the winds aloft taking us towards Makoma Hill, to the South at a leisurely 8 mph (14km/h). 
 Descending toward ground level, our direction changed and our speed became more apparent, and we passed directly over a small herd of Zebras about 100ft (30m) below. Drifting gently along at treetop height, we passed by more Topis and several Giraffes. We came upon our first treat, a large beautiful Cheetah (along with her three cubs, walking through the short grass). Next, we passed by the Seronera Airstrip at 100ft (30m) above ground, another unique experience before climbing a little to set ourselves up for a ‘river run’ along the mighty Seronera River. Everything came together nicely, and we dropped in above the first of four Hippo pools, which was the second treat of this morning. Then, out of nowhere, one of us pointed out a large, and very rare Leopard gliding along a path below the Palm Trees. Gorgeous and menacing all in one.
Extending our flight to 1:20 hr, we eventually landed at ‘River Road’, with our exceptional crew immediately on-scene to assist, following a very gentle upright landing. After some pictures and champagne, we were off to enjoy a wonderful breakfast experience at the main base.    

Another great Miracle Experience.

Regards – Captain Trevor There’s more. Kindly see the below Dropbox link with images from your flight. I hope you like them. 
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o4zbcrjp4djns7v/AACrfEn_jq2Y2I_6q_kBwdMOa?dl=0

Images from the entire experience taken by our photographer will be shared through another personal link sent via a private email by the end of the week.

In the event that you had an unpleasant experience or if there is anything you would like to share with us in regards to your flight/experience this morning, we would love to hear about it so that we may work on it and ensure a better experience in the future. 

Thank you!  

Miracle Experience Serengeti!

Another early morning…we were picked up by Abdul at 4:30 AM! We were driven for about 1.5 hours to the balloon launching site. They had coffee and pastries for us while we waited to load the balloons. We got our briefing, put on some extra layers of clothing and got ready to go. We started just as the sun was rising.

The flight lasted an hour and a half. We saw some animals – Cape buffalo, impala, hippos, the cheetah and 3 cubs, giraffe and others. Sometimes we flew low, barely over the tree tops and got as high as 2,000 feet. The pilot, Trevor, had a GoPro and took photos while we were in the air. It was an amazing experience.

We were then taken to have breakfast. They had tents and a cook house and made us breakfast to order. There was fruit, 4 kinds of breads, eggs to order, pancakes and other sides. They had special cakes for people celebrating a birthday or anniversary and one for Jacob for his high school graduation.

They also had a fancy bathroom set up called “Loo with a View”.

After this we went to the park information center and had a tour with a guide, Lomyani. He had so much information to give to us. We spent about 45 minutes there and saw maps, learned about the origins of the Serengeti National Park and saw information on the Great Migration. One thing we found out is that the Great Migration is really with several different animals, the biggest numbers are the wildebeest and zebra.

We then did a game drive with Richard. We also used the BNN to help us find these elusive animals. We were still looking for leopards. We actually found 2 at different times. One of the times there were about 30 vehicles trying to get into good position to see the leopard. Both were in trees and hard to see. One had just finished eating a warthog and the remains of the carcass was still in the tree with the leopard.

We saw lots of other animals on our game drive but thought that more elephant and giraffe photos would be too much. We are now getting ready to go to our next park tomorrow.

The Ngorongoro Crater will be our next destination.

This morning we started very early. Our pick up was at 6:30 AM. Our guide Richard wanted to get us to the central Serengeti area which was the best place to find cheetahs and leopards. The area we have been in is grassland mixed with trees and hills. The central Serengeti is all flat with tall grasses with few trees and areas of big rocks and boulders.

The drive took us back past the landing strip where we came in just 3 short, but filled to the brim, days ago. After driving a short while we came upon a group of at least 20 lions. They were stalking a pack of zebras. We followed them for a while but they eventually stopped and just rested, so we moved on.

Then we saw the cheetah. She was perched on a rock and had 3 cubs. We watched the babies play and then she took off and hide the babies in the tall grass.

We next found a group of elephants. There were several babies as well as about 12 adults. They were using trees to scratch itches. Two of them even had a staring contest with loud bellows.

We continued to look for the elusive leopard and also were on our way to a picnic area. Richard was very disappointed that he could not locate the leopard. We were on the BNN (bush news network) and the guides were all talking to each other but no one was finding leopards and not many were seeing the cheetahs.

After lunch we started back towards our hotel and then we came to a bunch of safari cars and hidden in a tree was a leopard. He was very hard to see even with binoculars. I was able to get a picture but you will have to look hard to see the leopard.

This night we had dinner in the Boma, which is an open air restaurant. They had some Masai singing and dancing. They got the kids in the audience up, dancing with them. The Masai are known for jumping very high. It was interesting to see.

Our second day in the Serengeti started at 8:30. Richard was waiting for a game drive. When we were out for about 20 minutes we were surrounded by what looked like several thousand zebra. Richard said that they were also migrating. At one point they were going around both ends of our car.

We were still on the hunt for leopards and male lions. Pretty soon we found the male lions again.

We also saw the remains of a hunt. Richard thought that the wildebeest had been taken down by a hyena, who we saw in the area. By the time we saw the kill, it was being scavenged by vultures. Gory to see, but part of the life here in the wild.

We followed an elephant for a while and then came upon a group of 9 female lions resting under a tree. They were all asleep and moved into humorous positions. We saw one very interesting tree, called the candlestick tree.

We returned to the hotel around noon for lunch, exercise and resting. While having lunch a herd of elephants, around 20, came to the water hole just outside the pool area. There were several babies in the group. They came to drink and toss water onto their backs. They were fun to watch up close.

At 4, Richard picked us up and promised a big surprise. Bob had asked him to find a herd of elephants in the wild. He said he would try and not 20 minutes from the hotel there they were. There were at least 25 elephants, to include a baby that Richard thought was about 2 weeks old. We watched them for some time and saw that as the herd got closer there were 2 other elephants that joined the mom and baby. The 3 large elephants formed a triangle with the baby inside. They did this to cross the road in front of our parked vehicle. We were all astounded by this behavior.

We then continued on to our surprise. We saw some beautiful giraffes along the way.

And then we got to our surprise. It was a huge pond filled with hippos. They were grunting and splashing. We really enjoyed seeing them and watching their behaviors. There were also crocodiles in this pond. In addition, Richard had set up a “sundowner” for us – drinks and snacks. All in all an amazing day.

We have an early night tonight, our safari tomorrow starts at 6:30 AM and we are going to the central Serengeti area to hopefully find leopards and cheetahs. Stay tuned!