Journey Stories: Tanzania Family Safari 2005 by Eliana Kwartler k*89

Eliana Kwartler, age 12, traveled to Tanzania with her parents Carol Barash *89 and Jed Kwartler, and siblings Talia (15) and Zachary (17), in December 2005. Here, she writes about her hot-air balloon journey over the Serengeti plain.

It was one of the most amazing days of my whole life. We woke up at 4:30 in the morning when you could still hear the night animals. We drove to the middle of the Serengeti and met our pilot. Then we lay down in the basket and took off! As soon as we got up there we saw so many cool things. We saw at least 15 different types of birds, and at least 6 prides of lions. Most of the prides had cute cubs which was a plus. At one point, we flew over the water and saw all the hippos waking up. Everything was amazing but I think the coolest part was when we saw a cheetah chasing a pack of gazelles at full speed. It was almost like you were watching a car chase. Unfortunately it didn't catch anything, but seeing it run was good enough for me. We finally touched down on the ground and celebrated with orange juice and champagne for the big guys. Afterwards, we were treated to a full English breakfast á la Serengeti. It was awesome!

View photos from the 2005 Tanzania Family program.

Read other Journey Stories.