Ngorongoro Crater

We actually got our first glimpse of the Ngorongoro Crater on our way to the Serengeti, a few days before we would get to explore the crater. The crater is a caldera, formed by a volcano that exploded and collapsed on itself, creating a sunken hole that stretches about 100 square miles. 

Lawrence, Erik and I with Ngorongoro Crater in the background

When entering back into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the first thing that struck me was how green the landscape looked. We passed many Maasai villages, where the men and boys (some who looked as young as 3 or 4 years old) herding cattle were often wearing red, causing them to stand out against the green pastures. I have no idea how the clothes of the Maasai stay so bright, as I would think the vibrant colors would be bleached by the strong African sun on a daily basis. 

A Maasai village with a group of Maasai people (in red) gathering next to the village.

The second thing that struck me was how many Maasai children were begging for food and water on the side of the road. They have learned to recognize that a safari truck typically carries white people who might like to give them leftover water or food. We were encouraged not to give anything to the kids even though we wanted to, as we were told it causes the children to become dependent on begging for food.

After passing groups of zebras, giraffes, and wildebeests, we arrived at our campsite on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Immediately, I spotted a few elephants walking through our campsite! I was surprised because the campsite is at 2300 meters (almost 8000 feet), and I did not expect animals to be up that high. Later that night, around dinner time, a HUGE elephant came to drink from the water tank at camp. Jill and her safari crew were at our site that night as well, and she claimed there was a buffalo a few feet from her tent in the middle of the night!

Our campsite for the night. From the edge of the campsite you could look down into the crater.

Kind of a dangerous move, but a picture was in order!

Imagine seeing this on your way to the toilet!

We were up early to head into the crater. The morning was filled with a few dramas, one of which included learning that the cook for our Chicago friends had been arrested the night before for being rowdy at the campsite! Just after that, Erik "lost" his wedding ring, which we searched for in the area were we had eaten breakfast until we ultimately gave up. Fortunately he found his ring in the safari truck not long after the search!

Erik, Lawrence, and our truck, T888 ACE.

Starting the descent into the crater.

James cooking breakfast from inside the truck!

Not a bad spot for breakfast!

The crater itself is breathtaking. All of the animals are concentrated, so it makes for amazing game-watching. A few of the highlights from our time in the crater included seeing two endangered black rhinos (from far away...these guys are difficult to spot up close), a group of active hippos, several male lions, and a serval cat, which is apparently a rare animal to see. 

Buffaloes and jackals hanging out in the early morning hours.

This elephant is very old. You can tell by the length of his tusks.

The crown crane. I think these are such cool-looking birds!

Lots of activity in the hippo pool...

...this hippo had enough and decided to head to a different hippo pool!

A male lion on the hunt and he has many gazelles to choose from!

A female ostrich with wildebeests in the background

Our first rhino sighting. We could see slightly better with our binoculars when compared to this shot from the zoom lens of our camera, but he was far away!

This picture was taken by one of the people on Jill's safari, as they were in the crater on the same day. Either she had a much bigger/better lens, or they were able to get closer to a rhino than we were. The population of black rhinos in the crater is thought to be about 15.

Serval cat

Wildebeest

Pumbaa, aka warthog!

We spent the allotted time in the crater (which is about 6 hours due to the fact that the government is trying to preserve the life that exists there) before driving out along the crater rim. The negative of Ngorongoro is that there are a lot of safari trucks in the crater. In the Serengeti, we could drive for hours without seeing another truck. In Ngorongoro Crater, it was easy to know when an animal had been spotted because a group of safari trucks was gathered in one spot. It actually started to rain on our way out of the crater, which was the first rain we had seen on the safari. Once we said farewell to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we were thrilled to be on paved roads again! The bumpiness of safari trucks should not be underestimated!

James and I as we left Ngorongoro

From the crater we drove back through the same towns we had passed on the way out. First the landscape was lush and green with rolling hills, and I noticed that much of the soil looked like red dirt - similar to the island of Kauai. Towns were bustling with people. I noted that most buildings and stores were built from wood or mud, though some sophisticated places were made of cement. While passing through one of the towns, I watched a young boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old, playing with a bike tire and a stick. 

Once we arrived back in Mto wa Mbu, we asked Lawrence to take us to the market so that we could make a few purchases. Erik really wanted to have a matching pair of sandals to Lawrence, as they are made out of car tires. I picked up some jewelry while he tried on sandals and had them fitted to his feet.

The sandals. Notice the car tire tread on the bottom?!

We started making our way back to Arusha, noticing a big temperature change, as it became hot and dry. Unfortunately, we were really close to our accommodation in Arusha when the safari truck essentially started to break down. A mechanic at the closest petrol station had a look at the vehicle and tried to work out what was happening, and while that occurred, I made friends with some local girls. They kept asking me "how are you this morning?", and I would respond, but I don't think they understood much English, particularly since it was evening. I figure it must be a daily routine they say in school but otherwise learn mostly in Swahili, not English.

How adorable are these girls?

Eventually the truck was up and running again, so we made it back to L'Oasis, where we started our journey a few days earlier. We said goodbye to Lawrence and James with hugs and tips (which are essential on safari - as the wages are not great and the employees rely on tips). We were in a different room this time, and it resembled a tree house, which I thought was fantastic. That evening we did our laundry in the sink (our clothes were FILTHY with dust!) and then had dinner with our Chicago friends.

Our tree house

A good way to finish a safari!

In the morning, we dried our clothes in the courtyard and arranged for a late check out. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast, again chatting with our Chicago friends. Lawrence showed up around midday to take us to Moshi, where we would start our Kilimanjaro climb. Fortunately Lawrence is a good driver, because we had several brushes with death on the road from Arusha to Moshi, one by a local bus driver who pulled out right in front of us heading straight at us, essentially running us off the road, and another by a Dar Express bus (a coach bus that runs to Dar es Salaam,) who was passing cars without having enough room to actually pass cars. A few hours later, we arrived in Moshi, where we were reunited with Jill to begin the next part of our African adventure!

The gardener at L'Oasis found this chameleon for us...

...and then put his camouflage to test on the tree. So cool!

Arusha and Tarangire National Park

Shortly after leaving Nairobi, we were out of the city and driving through African countryside. We passed many Maasai villages along the way, and near the villages there were men or boys (sometimes very young children) herding cows and goats. As we neared the Tanzanian border, we saw zebras, donkeys, and camels from the road! Apparently camels in East Africa are domesticated, but when we saw them they appeared to be roaming freely. The area we drove through was lush, green, and mountainous on both sides of the road.

There is only one Australian word to describe the Kenyan/Tanzanian border crossing: chockas. Buses were parked everywhere haphazardly and people were in unorganized lines waiting for immigration agents. It was not clear where we were supposed to go, but luckily our bus driver was helpful and essentially put us in the correct line. There were also heaps of Maasai women trying to sell things and they were very forceful, even putting jewelry directly onto our hands as we walked away from them. After getting our departure stamp from Kenya, our driver helped again, walking us across the Tanzanian border and showing us where to go to get our Tanzanian visa. For some reason, even though there were hundreds of people at the Kenyan border, there were only about 10 people trying to get in to Tanzania. The process was quick and easy and way less chaotic than the Kenyan side. It took about an hour for everyone on our bus to cross the border, then we were off to Arusha. 

The company I chose for our safari is Base Camp Tanzania. I compared about 20 different companies, looking at itineraries, prices, and reviews, and Base Camp seemed to be the best value for the money. Also, I wanted to use a company based in Tanzania, not one based in the US or Europe with an office in Africa. Included in the cost of our safari was 2 nights accommodation before and after the safari, plus Achmed, who owns the company, arranged our transport from Nairobi to Arusha and from the bus stop in Arusha to our accommodation at L'Oasis Lodge. As we were driving to the lodge, I was a little worried about what it was going to be like, because we were not in the best part of town. The road getting there was unpaved and had about a million potholes and we were driving in a 20+ seat bus, which made our entrance interesting and entertaining. When we arrived we were very pleasantly surprised, as the place looked awesome. We checked in easily and took a few minutes to admire our little "hut".

Achmed, the owner of Base Camp, was in the restaurant so that he could brief us on the next few days and answer any questions that we had. Also there were two other couples who had similar itineraries to ours, so we got the chance to meet an Indian couple who live in San Franscisco and a couple of pilots, one who is from Hungary and the other from Germany. Dinner was included, so we ordered food and enjoyed chatting with our new acquaintances. 

The next morning, we had an awesome buffet breakfast (also included) before leaving L'Oasis around 8am. We stopped at an ATM in downtown Arusha, where we saw the town in "action". The most noticeable thing was the women carrying ridiculously full baskets on their heads! Town was bustling with activity and it seemed like everyone was out either buying or selling things that morning. On the way to our first park, we drove past coffee plantations just outside of Arusha, then passed many Maasai villages with mountains in the background. The surroundings were beautiful and different than I expected. Along the way we chatted with our driver/guide, Lawrence, and our cook, James, trying to get to know them a little bit.

The first park of our 6 day safari was Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is known for large herds of elephants and for its baobab trees (think "Tree of Life" from The Lion King). We dropped James off at camp and headed into the park. The first animal we encountered was in the parking lot, and it was a blue-balled monkey! Lawrence warned us that the monkeys are very smart and told us to close our windows to ensure they did not get into the truck. 

Very strange feature, don't you think?!

Cheeky monkey trying to break into safari truck!

Once we entered the park, we started to see elephants. SO MANY ELEPHANTS!!! This park is amazing for elephant watching. We got very close to some, even a bit too close to one, who trumpeted at us and let us know to back off (elephants have been known to do damage to safari trucks who get too close, so we backed away quickly). We saw elephants fighting with their tusks, little ones playing with their trunks, and others cooling themselves with water (it was HOT in Tarangire). 

Elephants flap their ears to keep cool.

A herd walking along the dry riverbed.

So.Many.Elephants!

Keeping cool in the hot Tarangire sun.

A little late afternoon playtime for the little ones!

We had an awesome view for lunch, where unfortunately a sneaky monkey got into our truck through the roof and broke into our trail mix that came all the way from America!! Can't say Lawrence didn't warn us! In addition to elephants, we saw many giraffes, a few buffalo, ostriches, impalas, and zebras. We also spotted a kill, but the lion who we presume made the kill was nowhere to be seen. Overall, it was a great first day on safari.

Our view during lunch. Can you spot the elephants down below?

Giraffe hanging out in the shade.

A male impala

Two female ostriches watching over their young.

We caught up with the San Fran couple over dinner and they in fact did see the lion that made the kill. We were a little jealous, but hoped that we'd have luck seeing lions at some point over the remaining 5 days of the safari. Erik and I were SO tired by the end of that day, still adjusting to the time difference, so we went to bed early and had our first really good night's sleep of the trip under the stars in Tanzania!

Nairobi

About 5 hours after we departed from the United Arab Emirates, our flight landed in Nairobi. We chose Kenya as our travel arrival/departure point because it was significantly cheaper than flying into Tanzania. Originally we had hoped to spend more time in Kenya, but that plan changed when we decided to head to the States before our Africa jaunt. We received a transit visa on arrival (good for 3 days...paid in post-2006 printed US dollars, and that seems to be the way most Africans want to be paid), which was quite easy as we were the only people in line. The airport has seen better days (there was a major fire last year and it is also undergoing renovations), but I think in a few years after the remodel, the airport will be much nicer.

I had arranged for our hostel to pick us up at the airport. Our driver was there when we came out of baggage claim and we headed off to Wildebeest Eco Camp, where we would stay for the night. On the drive from the airport, the most noticeable thing was people walking EVERYWHERE! So many people walking to work, public buses waiting to fill up to take people places, and insane traffic. The other noticeable thing was the smell of burning rubber. Wildebeest is located out of the city, in a more quiet suburban area. We arrived to find a gate with a guard for the property (we later learned guards and gates are generally standard in Kenya), which was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. 

We chose the cheapest option at Wildebeest, so we would be sleeping in a basic tent. Our tent was not set up when we arrived (we expected that, since it was about 7am!), so we had breakfast and then hired a driver to take us to an elephant orphanage and a giraffe sanctuary. Both of these were quite touristy activities, so they drew large crowds, but they were educational and informative as well. The elephants have been orphaned due to their mothers being poached for their tusks, so the money that people pay to watch the elephants feed (every day at 11am for one hour it is open to the public) goes towards helping to raise the orphaned elephants. Watching them run down the hill to the feeding area and then go straight to chugging down the massive milk bottles was really entertaining. Employees also answered questions about the elephants, the mission of the orphanage, and poaching. At the end they tried to make sure that people had a chance to pet an elephant as well. 

Who needs help holding the bottle? Not this guy!

The giraffe sanctuary was really crowded, and we encountered some rude people, so we had a more negative experience there. We did benefit from a brief information session about the different types of giraffes in Africa. We also got the chance to hold a few different giraffe bones, which were ridiculously heavy. Right next to the sanctuary is Giraffe Manor, where I would have loved to have stayed if we were rich, ha!

Yes, this sign is for real.

"Make sure you get my good side"

Don't judge! Giraffes have antiseptic saliva! Kelly and I were bonding in this photo.

Erik chose to feed the giraffe in a more traditional way.

We could have squeezed in a few more things in the afternoon, but we were happy to head back to Wildebeest to relax after our long day of travel from the States. We met some nice people (including the owners, who are Aussies) and enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner on the deck overlooking the grounds. The permanent tents look really nice, but we couldn't justify the splurge and our cheap tiny tent allowed for just as much sleep given we were exhausted when it was time for bed!

View of property from the deck where meals are served.

The next morning was spent at Wildebeest, again enjoying the relaxed atmosphere (they are putting in a pool soon, which will make it an even better place to stay!). Around midday, we took a taxi into the city centre, where we boarded Rainbow Shuttle for a 6 hour bus ride to Tanzania. The bus station area was a bit chaotic, but our driver was helpful in letting us know we were in the right place. After an hour or so of waiting, we were heading south to the country where we would spend the next 2.5 weeks!