Kidero-Ngorongoro Crater
Friday, January 25, 2002 Warm but comfortable, cooler at night at top of crater
Got up this morning, bright and early, appreciated the pans of hot water
outside the tent flap, ate a sumptuous breakfast and broke camp. I didn't
mention yesterday that last night as I was leaving the dining tent, this
black blob crossed my path. Upon closer inspection it was a rather large
scorpion--about 4 inches. Brave Robert and Samson wanted nothing to
do with it so the Hadza guards were called in for demolition duty. They
effectively threw a rock on it. Of course, finding our way tothe latrine
last night had a new factor to consider. This morning we all took turns
looking under the rock to see the
monster.
We said goodbye to our Hadza guards and others who had walked over
to say goodbye and/or to get the leftovers from our meals. It was all put in one big pot and stirred together. Using quite dirty
fingers, the men busily set about scraping up the concoction, eating it and licking off every morsel. They thought it was wonderful.
It is hard to figure out what either our arrival or our leaving meant as they seem to be a people with little curiosity about what life
brings. They live entirely in the moment. First we aren't there, then we are, then we aren't. Life goes on and brings what it may.
Why, how, what don't seem to be questions they consider.
We left the same way we came, driving over the savannah and up the muddy, unpaved, valley road. Stopping for gas shortly after
reaching the top, we then spent 5 hours driving to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. The lodge has a beautiful location overlooking the
caldera far below. The caldera has one of the largest wildlife concentrations in the world--elephants, lions, zebra, rhinos,
wildebeest, hundreds of birds, hyennas, hippos, warthogs, cape buffalo, monkeys, elands, antelope, gazelles, baboons, just to
name a few of the most obvious.
Our disappointment went beyond words when, after having spent 3 days in the bush, feeling very dirty and quite sore after very
arduous drives, we found that what we had most looked forward to was not available. The lodge had no hot water!!! The boilers
were down and weren't going to be working until morning. Things were so bad that for the first time I can remember, I took a
cold shower and washed my hair. Having scheduled a massage, I felt it only appropriate to be clean. The massage was
wonderful!
After another wonderful, extensive, beautiful meal in a lovely environment, we went straight to bed as we needed to get up early
for wildlife viewing. This will be very different from Tarangire as thousands of animals live and interact on the crater floor. The
crater is very, very large but differs from the free range savannah in that the type of movement available to the animals results in
their greater proximity.
Samson told us today that when a Hadza man kills a large animal such as a giraffe or buffalo, he cuts large slices of flesh,then cuts
holes in the slices to slide the meat over his head and arm so that they hang at his side. Then, he cuts pieces off as needed. When I
think about how dirty they and their clothes are, this procedure sounds even more repulsive. It is so difficult to comprehend that
such primitiveness exists in today's world. Coming face-to-face with it is quite different from turning the pages of National
Geographic.
Ngorongoro Caldera
Saturday, January 26, 2002 Warm, not too hot on crater floor. Rained last night.
Arose at the glorious time of 5:45 so that we could grab breakfast and leave for the crater floor by 7:15. We spent the
entire day on the floor, standing up in the Land Rover, leaning over the
side, taking pictures, observing animals up close and personal in an
incredibly new way. Magificent elephants peered at us from the
forest, lions mated, vultures feasted, a wildebeast tried to give
birth. We saw, in one day, elephants, lions, vultures, a python, a monitor
lizard, elands, gazelles, jackals,
hyennas, warthogs,zebras, the
infamous bat-eared fox, cape
buffalo, monkeys, hippos, black
rhino, ostrich, flamingos, countless
varieties of birds, wildebeests,
hartebeests, many little ground
animals and I know that I haven't
named them all. We went from
one speechless moment to another.
Many times the sharp eye of Samson meant that we saw things we would never
have caught. Once he saw lions laying, almost hidden in the grass. As we
stopped and watched, the female stood up and slowly, carelessly prowled her way
over to the male. She nudged him, then she laid down. The male got up and
mounted her. The mating took about 30 seconds and then they both went back
to sleep. The male was very large and beautiful.
During the peak of the time that females are in season, the male mates every 15 minutes--
As we drove around more, we came to the hippo pond. There must have been 50 hippos sleeping, switching their tails in the
water--an ncredible site. Actually, this animal is the most dangerous large mammal for humans.
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At the end of the day, we saw a truly sad event. A wildebeest was trying to give birth. Since it was late in the day and wildlife
birthing usually occurs in the morning, she had probably been in labor for many hours. Evidently the calf was breech and couldn't
be delivered. The mother would lay down for a while, get up and try to pace, all the while having violent contractions. We could
see part of the baby outside the mother's body. We were impressed by the behavior of the other animals in the herd as they were
very solicitous of the mother, circling and protecting her. We watched for a while but when we realized what we were seeing, we
left. It is certain that by morning, if not before, both mother and baby will be dead.
We returned to the lodge, bought some gifts, feasted and had a leisurely evening with our new friends.
Ngorongoro Crater-Ndutu
Sunday, January 27, 2002 Warm, a little rain while driving, rained last night.
We left Serena Lodge at 7:15 for a morning game drive in the crater prior to journeying to Ndutu. It was a good viewing
morning. We were first met with the gruesome site of a swarm of vultures feeding on a wildebeest carcass. It was really gross!
They would fight each other for access. Several would eat at a time--digging into the body. Leaving that we saw the
majestic--two male lions walking across the plain. The hippos were out of the water today so we saw more than their backs and
tails. They are not very pretty animals! A magnificent elephant with large, long, perfect tusks decided that we were in the way so
he just kept plodding toward the road coming straight at us. When he finally crossed, he was within inches of the back of our
open-topped vehicle--we could have stretched our arms out half way and touched him. Robyn took a picture and was only able
to get his eye and a small portion of his face. Even Robert was worried, as he couldn't start the Land Rover because that would
have definitely spooked the elephant. We all held our breath until Mr. Elephant disappeared into the brush.
We went back to the lodge for lunch and then left for Ndutu Lodge, which is still in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On the
way we saw more large herds of wildebeests and zebras sometimes grazing and other times stretched out in single file moving
somewhere. This was not the migration but we got a very small idea of what that phenomenon would be to see. There were
thousands of wildebeests. We also saw giraffes, hyenas, elands and, of course, more.
We stopped along the road so that Samson could negotiate picture taking with four recently circumcised Maasai teenagers. I had
asked him if he would do that at some point and he had remembered the request. The boys allowed us to take pictures for 400
schillings for all of us--about 50 cents. Their faces were painted white and they were dressed in the symbolic black dress. They
will live outside of their community for 2-3 months--until they heal and prove themselves. We got some great pictures.
We visited a Maasai family compound. This man had many, many wives--each with her own hut. Children met us outside the
fencing, singing songs in English. Quickly warriors formed a line outside of the compound and then ceremoniously pranced in,
chanting and dancing. They were all carrying spears. Once inside they began a jumping contest where they formed a circle and
took turns jumping straight up in the air as they chanted and drums played. Samson says that on days of celebration the young
men do
this for hours.
Inside the compound, the women demonstrated their dances and singing. They encouraged some of us to join
them and put their necklaces around our necks. The reality was that they then wanted us to buy the necklace. I danced but didn't
buy.
Walking around the village was an education. The huts were s
uper small. I went in one. I could not stand up once inside. There
was a small pen for the goat, a fire area and a sleeping area. The
heatinside was unbearable. The huts are made out of dung and grass
--must be odiferous when it rains and the heat comes.
Driving over plains again full of wildebeests and zebras, we arrived at wonderful Ndutu Lodge, which is situated, by a lake.
Zebras grazed 100 feet from our cottage door, between the lake and us. Flamingo calls filled the air. It is incredibly beautiful here.
Flat-topped acacia trees lead to the shimmering lake. Bird and animal sound fill the air. Serenity reigns!
needless to say he is too tired to eat during that time. Another time, Samso's eagle eye spotted frou lions resting in the
branches of a tree. We just stopped the landrovers and spent many minutes watching them as they stretched and moved about.
On the plain were thousands and thousands of animals, all peacefully grazing together. There were large herds--hundreds
of zebras, wildebeests, Thomson and Grants gazelles running on the plain, grazing, nurturing young, playing.
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PART III
From this village, we went to Oldavai Gorge to see the site
of Leakey's discoveries of prehistoric man and his footprints.
There was a small museum there with a curator.
