hungry hungry hippos
There were two things I most wanted to see in Tanzania - in all of Africa really - for this trip, and money woes aside there was no way I could justify coming all this way without getting there. So I spent my entire month's budget on a 4-day safari to the Serengetti and Ngorongoro Crater. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to eat next month, but was it worth it? Absolutely! I don't know how to put all of the experiences, thoughts and impressions into one entry, not to mention I've got only a short time left on this computer, so I'll just do a quick recap and will bore some of you with animal photos later! :-)
The group was 5 of us: a 60-something couple from France, a 20-something couple from Scandinavia, and myself, plus a driver and cook. All were good fun. We started at Lake Manyara, surrounded by lush greenery including the strangest trees (they say they're called sausage trees) that look like they have giant potatoes hanging off of them. Usually when you go looking for wildlife it takes a while, but as soon as we were through the gate we started seeing baboons, followed by various kinds of antelopes, and the first elephants and giraffes many over the trip. It took a while to get used to seeing African ele's after all the Asian ones I've been around. Their eyelashes are long (like the giraffes'), and even after days of sightings I never ceased to be amazed by how beautiful they are!! It's probably obvious by now that I'm kind of an ele fanatic!
On day 2 we headed for the Serengetti, past picturesque Masai villages comprised of a few little huts on a hillside and scattered herds. Seeing the Masai people with their herds or walking along the hills/plains was amazing; I was wondering if they know how incredible looking they are, draped in bright red, purple, blue, with a stride to match the elegance of their clothes swaying as they go. Sometimes there were little kids who couldn't have been more than 5 years out on their own keeping the herds, standing with as much confidence as the adults. We passed through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the way into the park, which gave my first glimpse of the famous crater. Several years ago I saw part of a special on the Ngorongoro Crater, and decide I had to go there one day not knowing if that was a place one could even go to. (Needless to say I was so happy to find it in the tourist info!) We stopped at a lookout for an amazing view. I was gazing back and forth across this gigantic bowl comparing what was in front of me with the picture I'd always imagined... and they matched!!
That night we camped on the plains in the Serengetti. Being a tourist trip we expected that it would be a fenced area or some kind of protected spot, but instead we got the real deal! Just a few toilets, 2 little open buildings for cooking/dining, a few vehicles and tents! At dinner we began to hear zebras barking, then later and sounding much closer, the deep huffing sound that they told us was lions. (Lions!) The trip between tent and toilet seemed a lot farther at night than it did during the day, especially seeing earlier how even in mid-afternoon the lions could so easily hide in the low grasses.
We all awoke early next morning, un-et and ready to explore. The sunrise over the plains was spectacular, and remaining clouds from the previous evening's thunderstorms gave angles to the sunlight that I can only describe as perfect. I was excited to see a couple of jackals along the road as we started our morning, smaller maybe even than coyotes. One of the best surprises of the day was a pool full of hippos, whose heads were so close together that I couldn't figure out how their massive bodies could possibly fit together under the water. They kept snorting like the spouting of dolphins as their heads came out of the water, and their ears spun like propellers. The one down side was that we couldn't get out and walk, which I was dying to do! We passed all kinds of little white, red, yellow and purple flowers, and I would have loved to spend some time just looking at trees and multitudes of interesting birds. But even from the vehicle I could hear their songs, and pick up the warm smell of the rain-soaked grass.
After the day's drive it was back to the Ng' Crater rim for the night. When we arrived and saw the lawn where the tents were pitched and larger buildings, it seemed like our camping adventure was over. But as the sun was getting low, and elephant wandered through the edge of the camp proving us wrong! It was another stormy night, even moreso than the nights prior, deep and dark with a late fog that seemed to rise out of the crater. When I went to bed that night I didn't expect that I'd have one of the coolest experiences of my life: some zebras wandered into camp and surrounded my tent! Their grass-chewing could be heard over the sound of the storm, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp... Because of the fog they and everything would disappear when lightning flashed, and then when the darkness returned their white parts would almost glow. They were so close I could have reached out and touched them, and yet somehow they were like phantoms in the dark. I stayed up till after midnight just watching them, it was so cool!!!!!
The following morning was the realization of my dream, the drive down into the crater. Everything was fresh and green, muddy and best of all shiny from the night's storm. The views as we descended were amazing, and arriving at the bottom we were greeted by all kinds of wildlife. The crater was way bigger than it looked; as we'd drive toward one edge, suddenly a hill would appear and on the other side a hidden lake would be revealed, or a forest, or an entire new plain to discover. There were lots of animals but even more space between them... Except for the flamingos in the big lake - there were so many they just looked like a stripe of pink from a distance! I've always wanted to see wild flamingos, they were one of my faves as a kid. If I could keep one lasting impression of the crater, it would be the sound. When the jeep engine was turned off and we had time just to sit and observe, I'd notice an overwhelming silence. No drums, no British voice-over (this is what you really picture, isn't it?), just big empty space. Crickets. Air moving over the grass. The occasional honking snort sound of a gnu in distress (some of them being watched closely by lions or hyenas). Sometimes the piercing sound of a tiny bird almost hidden on a single blade of grass.
All in all it was an experience well worth all the years of dreaming. I wished I could have spent 2 weeks just in this one spot, it gained a place in my book equal to the one and only Kakadu.
As we drove back into town there were broad rainbows over the plains and hills, a complement to a perfect few days. Back at the guesthouse the expected empty stares were exchanged for hellos and welcomes. Things here are looking up...
Now I just have to figure out how to get to Cape Town in the next week, and it's proving to be a challenge!
The group was 5 of us: a 60-something couple from France, a 20-something couple from Scandinavia, and myself, plus a driver and cook. All were good fun. We started at Lake Manyara, surrounded by lush greenery including the strangest trees (they say they're called sausage trees) that look like they have giant potatoes hanging off of them. Usually when you go looking for wildlife it takes a while, but as soon as we were through the gate we started seeing baboons, followed by various kinds of antelopes, and the first elephants and giraffes many over the trip. It took a while to get used to seeing African ele's after all the Asian ones I've been around. Their eyelashes are long (like the giraffes'), and even after days of sightings I never ceased to be amazed by how beautiful they are!! It's probably obvious by now that I'm kind of an ele fanatic!
On day 2 we headed for the Serengetti, past picturesque Masai villages comprised of a few little huts on a hillside and scattered herds. Seeing the Masai people with their herds or walking along the hills/plains was amazing; I was wondering if they know how incredible looking they are, draped in bright red, purple, blue, with a stride to match the elegance of their clothes swaying as they go. Sometimes there were little kids who couldn't have been more than 5 years out on their own keeping the herds, standing with as much confidence as the adults. We passed through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the way into the park, which gave my first glimpse of the famous crater. Several years ago I saw part of a special on the Ngorongoro Crater, and decide I had to go there one day not knowing if that was a place one could even go to. (Needless to say I was so happy to find it in the tourist info!) We stopped at a lookout for an amazing view. I was gazing back and forth across this gigantic bowl comparing what was in front of me with the picture I'd always imagined... and they matched!!
That night we camped on the plains in the Serengetti. Being a tourist trip we expected that it would be a fenced area or some kind of protected spot, but instead we got the real deal! Just a few toilets, 2 little open buildings for cooking/dining, a few vehicles and tents! At dinner we began to hear zebras barking, then later and sounding much closer, the deep huffing sound that they told us was lions. (Lions!) The trip between tent and toilet seemed a lot farther at night than it did during the day, especially seeing earlier how even in mid-afternoon the lions could so easily hide in the low grasses.
We all awoke early next morning, un-et and ready to explore. The sunrise over the plains was spectacular, and remaining clouds from the previous evening's thunderstorms gave angles to the sunlight that I can only describe as perfect. I was excited to see a couple of jackals along the road as we started our morning, smaller maybe even than coyotes. One of the best surprises of the day was a pool full of hippos, whose heads were so close together that I couldn't figure out how their massive bodies could possibly fit together under the water. They kept snorting like the spouting of dolphins as their heads came out of the water, and their ears spun like propellers. The one down side was that we couldn't get out and walk, which I was dying to do! We passed all kinds of little white, red, yellow and purple flowers, and I would have loved to spend some time just looking at trees and multitudes of interesting birds. But even from the vehicle I could hear their songs, and pick up the warm smell of the rain-soaked grass.
After the day's drive it was back to the Ng' Crater rim for the night. When we arrived and saw the lawn where the tents were pitched and larger buildings, it seemed like our camping adventure was over. But as the sun was getting low, and elephant wandered through the edge of the camp proving us wrong! It was another stormy night, even moreso than the nights prior, deep and dark with a late fog that seemed to rise out of the crater. When I went to bed that night I didn't expect that I'd have one of the coolest experiences of my life: some zebras wandered into camp and surrounded my tent! Their grass-chewing could be heard over the sound of the storm, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp... Because of the fog they and everything would disappear when lightning flashed, and then when the darkness returned their white parts would almost glow. They were so close I could have reached out and touched them, and yet somehow they were like phantoms in the dark. I stayed up till after midnight just watching them, it was so cool!!!!!
The following morning was the realization of my dream, the drive down into the crater. Everything was fresh and green, muddy and best of all shiny from the night's storm. The views as we descended were amazing, and arriving at the bottom we were greeted by all kinds of wildlife. The crater was way bigger than it looked; as we'd drive toward one edge, suddenly a hill would appear and on the other side a hidden lake would be revealed, or a forest, or an entire new plain to discover. There were lots of animals but even more space between them... Except for the flamingos in the big lake - there were so many they just looked like a stripe of pink from a distance! I've always wanted to see wild flamingos, they were one of my faves as a kid. If I could keep one lasting impression of the crater, it would be the sound. When the jeep engine was turned off and we had time just to sit and observe, I'd notice an overwhelming silence. No drums, no British voice-over (this is what you really picture, isn't it?), just big empty space. Crickets. Air moving over the grass. The occasional honking snort sound of a gnu in distress (some of them being watched closely by lions or hyenas). Sometimes the piercing sound of a tiny bird almost hidden on a single blade of grass.
All in all it was an experience well worth all the years of dreaming. I wished I could have spent 2 weeks just in this one spot, it gained a place in my book equal to the one and only Kakadu.
As we drove back into town there were broad rainbows over the plains and hills, a complement to a perfect few days. Back at the guesthouse the expected empty stares were exchanged for hellos and welcomes. Things here are looking up...
Now I just have to figure out how to get to Cape Town in the next week, and it's proving to be a challenge!
posted by mitch at 4:27 AM
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