Serengetti and Ngorongoro
Trip Start
Mar 30, 2008
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Trip End
Mar 31, 2009
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Serengeti National Park,
Tanzania
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday 15th March - Day 25 Maserani to Serengeti National Park (300km), Afternoon game drive, unfenced camp. Lions. View of Ngorongoro Crater.
Our 4x4's arrived on time and we loaded up straight after breakfast. We were taking just our day bags and then loading the vehicles with: tents, sleeping mats (only 1 each), chairs, food, and water and of course us - in our car was Frank (guide), Zak, Jessica P, Nishma, Jess B, Sophie, Clare and I. It was a 6 hour drive to our bush camp at Serengetti. On the way we passed through a number of villages including the town of Mosquito River. Here our driver stopped once again to pick up more food for us. As it is a major tourist town they were waiting for us and as soon as he stopped we were surrounded by people selling Masai artefacts through the Landcruiser windows.
As we drove past Ngorongoro Park to get to the Serengetti we climbed up the rim of the crater and stopped for a view of it. From our lofty view point we could see the whole crater below. It is about 20km wide and in fact is a collapsed crater known as a caldera, one of the largest in the world. The area is managed by Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority and includes Olduvai (Oldupai) Gorge and the Crater Highlands; a string of volcanoes, craters and calderas. We could see huge herds of Buffalo, Zebra and Wildebeest and in the distance huge smears of pink on a salt pan lake which we were told were Flamingos. A very African sight was laid out in front of us as far as the eye could see, it was a shear delight.
We stopped for a pack lunch shortly after this and watched in horror as Pete lost half of his chicken that he was about to bite into to a swooping Yellow Billed Kite.
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It was so close that it left mud on his shoulder as it struck out to grab the tasty snack. We soon passed through the gate into the Serengetti and continued on our drive to the overnight bush camp. Although we weren't doing a game drive as such we were still stopping whenever we saw any game. We managed to see: Waterbuck, Giraffe, Zebra, Buffalo, Marabou Stork, Yellow Billed Kite, Elephant, Spotted Hyena, Gazelle, Wildebeest, White Stork, Lappet Faced Vulture, Kori Bustard, Red Hartebeest and our first Lions - a pride of 2 huge male Lions and 4 Lionesses. It is believed that a male can remain in control of his hareem for up to 2 years, but if there are two they can expect to control it for much longer before solitary adolescents throw them from their throne. As we approached one of the females was running closely followed by a male who caught her and relieved her of prey, a young Gazzelle. We watched as he had his fill before leaving it to the females.Tired after a long drive and the constant attention needed to spot the wildlife we were happy to be at the bush camp. The camp was completely unfenced within the park and we were warned not to leave any food around for fear of attracting unwanted guests. It is not unusual for Elephant to wander through the camp. We never saw anything, but as we slept we could hear the Hyenas barking in the distance and at one point early in the morning we could hear the hunting cries of Lion! I was a little nervous as I went for my middle of the night walk to the toilet with Clare! Safety in numbers or a larger target?!
Monday 16th March - Day 26 Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater (150km), Serengeti morning game drive, Olduvai Gorge, rim of crater.
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Lions and a Leopard. Shitty time in camp!Everyone did very well to be up and breakfasted even before the sun had risen. This meant we left at prime big game viewing time. We were not disappointed, less than 1km from our bush camp we came across a pack of Lions. There were no less than seven animals in the pack. It was difficult to count and photograph them at first as the sun was yet to rise, but as it did and the colours came out we realised the young Lions looked around 2 years old. Their was one female who appeared to keep her distance. Mothers leave the pride to raise their cubs until they are old enough to fend off attacks from jealous males. They have to hide them away while they go off and hunt alone to provide for them. We wondered if this female had cubs.
It wasn't long until we got our answer. A further kilometre or so along the road we came across two balls of sand coloured fur. As we neared them they started to run away in a bit of a panic. They were two Lion Cubs only a few weeks or a month old. It is possible they belonged to the female we had seen, but after being left in a hollow somewhere had got bored and started to wander off. They scrambled up the steep roadside bank and into the long grass. Hopefully mum found them here not long after we left.
This was a great start to our Serengetti, the most famous and largest of Tanzania's national parks at 14,763 sq km. We were a little too late to see the annual migration as many of the thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra had already arrived from the Masai Mara National Park.
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This did mean however that there was a huge concentration of game here now. Perhaps next time we could time it to see the famous crossing of the Grumeti River, where many are taken by waiting crocodiles. As we continued on the drive we saw and photographed Giraffe very close up, Hippo, Buffalo, Black backed Jackal, and crocodile.Then as the drive was nearing it's end and after passing through a number of Kopjes (pronounced koppies) in search of Lion and Leopard we hit the jackpot. I had always wanted to see wild Leopard in a tree and here it was. A young, but very capable Chui (Swahili) was just standing in a low branch of an Acacia Tree. We were able to approach very close and take some great photos. The experience was amazing, but eventually she got bored of us and climbed down into the thick grass. We thought our time was up as we tried to track her in the grass, but then she surprised us all. She wandered out of the grass and onto the road, then she stopped turned around and headed straight for the vehicles. Reaching us first she rubbed past like a domestic cat would as she wandered by a setee. We snapped away from above and she then moved onto the next Cruiser. She was heading straight for Pete who was sitting out from the roof, he moved back inside as she came to the rear and then rubbed past this vehicle so they could get the same close ups. We followed her along the road and then she disappeared back into the long grass for good this time.
It was time to end the drive, but what a day and what a way to finish.
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We arrived at a large purpose built campsite on the top of the crater. As the sun went down so did the temperature here. We had our dinner and then disaster struck. I had inadvertently gone into the ladies toilet. It was a long drop, a hole in the ground and tank far below. As I removed my trousers in preparation I heard a noise, I looked around on the ground but couldn't see anything. I feared the worst as I directed my headtorch down into the abyss. Sure enough lying proudly on a small pile of lady poop was our camera battery charger and Canon camera battery which of course had detached itself and was lying a bit further downhill!!!!!! How was I going to tell Clare?Clare of course took the news well! For a while I couldn't decide whether to try to recover the said items from their pooey grave or not. We discussed the shitty situation with the rest of the group and after they had stopped rolling around laughing, Zak and I came up with a plan. A long pole (we would use the tent pole) as an encourager and a rope with a bag tied on the end (at least 8 feet long as this is how far the drop was!) into which the items could be encouraged.
I went searching for equipment and on route picked up local support in the way of a Masai security guard. He put down his AK47 assault rifle and we set to work crowded around the opening. Another guide had found an old plastic bottle conveniently shaped like a poop scoop. We tied this onto the end of the tent pole and used another pole to push the items into it.
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The Masai insisted on performing the operation and after scaring me by pushing the battery charger further down the pooh pile he eventually recovered both items. The clean up began and took a while, it was nasty, but saved us over £50!It then became clear why the Masai was so keen to help as he shoved his hand out for money. Now shouldering the AK I was not going to argue and gave him three quids worth of Tanzanian Shillings. Finally we could go to bed our fellow campers amused at the antics of the evening. Sophie was a star as she helped Clare and I clean up after the event whilst all the others were too busy either laughing or gagging!
Tuesday 17th March - Day 27 Ngorongoro to Arusha (150km) Ngorongoro morning game drive
Waking up early again we were chomping at the bit for another day of safari. Sophie held us up for a while after breakfast as the sun rose over the crater in a most beautiful way. Then we started our descent into the crater. It was steep and we were glad to be in 4x4's and not 'Songwe' the truck. There were amazing views of the salt lake and the Flamingos there.
As we began our drive it was a little underwhelming as you could see for miles and we were only seeing Wildebeest and Zebra for a while. However as we drove around within the vast caldera it became clear that the habitat varied and as it did so did the wildlife. We often came across prowling Hyena looking for their next easy kill or to steal someone elses. We also came across a muddy pool.
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It was full of Hippo that were as usual very inactive. Then we spotted one ashore, as he entered the pool he caused a huge uproar. A fight ensued and we managed to get some great photos of their huge mouths and boisterous behaviour. Seeing their teeth it was clear why their skin needed to be over 5cm deep is some areas.This wasnt all we saw and as the morning unfolded we saw many Wildebeest with their young and a few without! We also saw more Lions who all looked well fed, probably on young Wildebeest. Finally at the end of the morning we again were treated to a rare sight. Over the radio our guide, Frank had been told that a Lioness had been spotted up ahead. After staring at a rock for a few minutes! we then found her. She was in the long grass and clearly in hunting mode, edging herself gradually closer to the nearby Zebra and Wildebeest. There was a problem though, the long grass stopped well before her quarry and if she exposed herself here her prey would escape.
Then her luck changed and a long column of Zebra interspersed with the occasional Wildebeest began approaching the long grass. They were upwind and so wouldn't be able to smell her and little did they know they were parading in front of here like a belt of sushi food. All she had to do now was choose carefully and attack with the element of surprise on her side. Why was it taking her so long, we were all waited with baited breath and cameras pointed ready. Then her decision was made and she lunged forward for a fully grown Wildebeest. It was hard for Clare to keep the camera pointed in the right direction as she lurched and spun around to follow the fleeing beast. Although she exploded forward her claws missed on the first attempt and she had to give chase, unfortunately the Wildebeest was neither sick, lame or lazy and won the fight for his life. Perhaps the pressure of 4 vehicles full of hopeful tourists was too much pressure for her.
While she may be going hungry today we were now off on our way back to the camp for an easy lunch without a hunt. With full bellies we left for a long drive back to Arusha and the Snake Park. There after unpacking the 4x4's and erecting our tents we helped Amy too cook our last camp meal before most of us collapsed into bed for an early night.
