DaveinFallsChurch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
Despite the very short nights of sleep I somehow managed to get up early each morning. Its amazing what you can accomplish on 4-5 hours of sleep as I had learned during my pediatric residency. Add Disney tours and conference sessions to that list. One morning before heading out to conference I decided that I wanted to stop at AK for a couple of hours at rope drop for a Safari. I showed up extremely early and was the first person in line at one of the turnstiles.
IMG_8361 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
This has never happened to me before. I found myself chatting with the CM manning my turnstile whose name I just cant remember for the life of me right now. This is why I should be taking notes.
She was from New Zealand participating in the College Program for a whole year and was two months away from finishing her experience. She was getting a degree in neuroscience and was enjoying her experience in CP. I asked whether she goes out to the parks much when shes off duty and she responded with a laugh that she usually is too tired after work to head out to the parks. We talked about her home country and I purposely did not bring up the subject of Lord of the Rings being filmed there since I wasnt sure how New Zealanders feel about their beautiful country being defined by a Hollywood film filled with elves and dragons. Surprisingly, she brought up the subject on her own and how she found out about beautiful landscapes and locales that were just a drive away from her home that she never knew existed until the movies were released. Too funny. Maybe I should be paying closer attention to shows like House of Cards to look for hidden gems around our DC area although I probably would end up with a list of locations that are far more sinister than photogenic. Plus I hear most of the filming happens in Baltimore.
I headed straight to Safari at rope drop and was able to snag a ride on the second vehicle out for the morning. I got seated on the far left end of the row which turned out a not-so-ideal side for this particular morning. There was quite a bit of delay after we got seated before the vehicle was allowed to drive on to the grounds. I kept myself entertained looking for items to photograph up close since I had my telephoto zoom lens on.
The truck behind us.
IMG_8362 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8363 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
The truck in front of us. Are you getting the feeling that I was becoming bored?
IMG_8366 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
Above the Driver
IMG_8509 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
I always feel conspicuous when I have this lens on. When the lens hood is on it just looks comically big and its very unusual to go for an entire minute with that lens attached to my camera without someone making a comment about how big my camera is. During the ride I had to catch myself a couple of times from whacking the face of neighbor sitting to my right with my lens. I did apologize a couple of times too and she was nice about it laughing it off. She even told her husband to stop standing up and crowding my cameras view of the animals on their side of the truck. I smiled and told her that it was okay and that it just wasnt possible for me to get pictures of animals on that side too many heads and shoulders were in the way.
Once the vehicle got moving I was ready with my camera. The elephants were missing in action for the most part. The lions were already settling into their naptime positions. The ride was quite bumpy. I always seem to forget how rough this ride is until Im on it for about 30 seconds. Our driver also seemed to be in a bigger hurry than usual because when she stopped for any animal viewing it was for 3-4 seconds at most which made for a very difficult photography session.
IMG_8369 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8380 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8386 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8401 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8405 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8441 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8465 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8478 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8486 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8492 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8501 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
We drove by the termite mound and the ostrich eggs as we always do. Without fail there were a good number of people snapping the cameras away at these natural wonders. Ahhhh, newbies. I used to be one of them until the third visit to AK when I started wondering how the location and appearances of these items never changed. Not. One. Little. Bit.
The rickety bridge wasnt working this morning which in Disney terms means it failed to even make an attempt of plunging our truck down the gorge.
Some scenes on my way out of the Safari walking path.
IMG_8521 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
Making a mental note for the next time I get thirsty.
IMG_8528 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8530 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
I decided to take the long way around to Asia on my way to exiting the park.
IMG_8531 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8535 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr
IMG_8536 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr