A day in the Ngorongoro Crater

Dec. 28 - Day 13

At the entrance to the Ngorongoro conservation area, a few baboons sat in the road, hoping no doubt from handouts from tourists.

 

While Samson went to get our park permits, I got out and wandered over to where another half dozen were feeding around a large tree. Again, I am so close I could touch them, and when a large female clambers down the tree and leaps to the ground, she practically lands on my foot.

This place is also heavily forested, and again looks like the backdrop of a Tarzan movie. We are driving up the side of a dormant volcano, and the valley to our left is absolutely jungle-like; thick foliage, towering trees, twisting vines.

On the right side, we spot a few holes dug into the mountainside. Samson says they are made by elephants seeking the minerals available in the volcanic soil. He said due to the availability of the minerals, the elephants in the crater live longer than others.

Not much further on, we spot two elephants, half hidden in the thick verdure

After a good 45 minutes, we arrive on the edge of the crater. Holy crap! This was once a volcano whose rim collapsed, creating a crater within that is home to its own eco-system. Kinda like ‘The land that time forgot!’

 

The rim is around 2500 meters high, and the level of the crater is, I think, 800. That’s a deep hole. The view from the top is spectacular. Two lakes are visible, and the entirety of the surrounding walls. The crater is 18 kilometers by 20 kilometers.

 

We are not long on the bottom before a major traffic jam indicates the presence of something exciting. A full 23 Safari vehicles crammed with people have encircled a group of seven lions.

The lions are totally blasé about the trucks, and several actually get up to move into the shade provided by the vehicles. It is relatively comical. In front of one jeep, with two lionesses hogging the shade, a young male walks up and just sits on top of the others, claiming his portion of coolness.

 

Wildebeests and Zebra are here in abundance. The beasts within the crater don’t join in the annual migration, but interestingly enough, during the same time, they DO migrate within the crater. We witness some very cute Zebra behavior as they stand side to side and apparently groom each other.  They also frequently stand head to butt without any of the chewing, and it made me think of the phrase “I’ll watch your back and you watch mine.”

Everywhere you see Thompson gazelles, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, and warthogs. These are so numerous as to become almost ordinary. We also saw jackals, hyenas, and hippos, and a few elephants in the distance. There are no giraffe within the crater.

 

 

 

 

Also saw the Eland, that massive creature that appears to be part cow, part deer. (but did not get a good photo) And actually, warthogs never become ordinary as they are so ridiculously cute, in an ugly sort of way.

 

 

 

 

 

We picnicked near one of the lakes where large hawk-like birds would swoop down and pluck food from people's hands. Also, we saw pelicans here, a whole group of them swimming together with their ludicrously large bills. The lake was teaming with flamingo though we did not get close enough to view them individually, only a long wall of shimmering pink.

 

All day, we were searching for Rhino without success – in fact, Samson asked every driver we passed and no one had seen any. Finally near the end of the day, we spot three! They are quite the distance away, and the pictures will never match the close-ups we lost, but we could see them well with the field glasses; a male, female, and young.

Then Samson said he wanted to drive us through the forest. The crater is mostly one vast plain with a couple of high alkaline lakes, but there was one section with rich forest.

As we neared it, we spotted a family of black-faced monkeys in the field and as I never get tired of viewing primates, I directed Samson to stop. There was a VERY young baby, almost hairless, clinging to his mommy’s belly, and while I tried to get the perfect picture, another vehicle pulled up behind us. This car had a bunch of bananas on the dashboard.

WHAM! A couple monkeys leapt on the hood, grasping for the food, totally baffled by the glass. One gripped the windshield wiper and tried to use the end to dig through the window. No good.

The largest of the 3 assaulting the jeep, a mother with a young clinging to her belly, now vaulted across to our vehicle. We were snapping photos with her face about a foot away when she suddenly crawled onto the roof.

Now we are standing on the back seats of a land rover, our bodies jutting out about waist high through the open roof. The monkey is inches away from dropping into the vehicle. It has crossed away from me to Kathryn’s side.

“Don’t let it in the car,” I hiss. Gamely, Kathryn extends her left forearm as if she bears a shield, her water bottle coming into guard position as she hefts her “sword.”

Samson starts the car and we begin to move, and between all this stimuli the monkey opts to depart.

The funniest part about this little adventure came back at our lodge. Understand there are about 300 vehicles within the crater on any given day, so this seemed like a remarkable coincidence to me. We are sitting on the veranda enjoying our gin and tonics when we hear some people excitedly relating their day’s adventure to some other travelers.

“…and on the car in front of us, this monkey jumped up and walked right up to these people, and they didn’t even move! We were freaking out and they just STOOD there like nothing was happening!”

I looked over and said, “Did you have bananas on your windshield?”

The woman says yes, then looks at me closer and says, “Oh my god was that you???”

We affirmed it was and later even viewed the video their boy Logan shot of the monkey on our truck, who, unbeknownst to us, had paused to poop on our spare tire before clambering to the roof. They have promised to send us a copy.

Here's the video from inside the truck. You can see Kathryn and I through their windshield.

After the monkey incident, we cruised through the forest which is just gorgeous scenery with fabulous trees that just scream “Africa!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

And as we come out onto the plains again, there in the distance is a cheetah!

Again, it is so far off that undoubtedly our pictures will suck (Cropping does wonders!) but we can see it clearly with field glasses. It’s just sitting there about 200 yards off. We watch it for awhile, marveling at its beauty then it rises and strolls away. We get to watch the play of its muscles underneath its coat as it moves off to about 300 yards then plops down for a nap, virtually vanishing from view.

So, in one spot, we saw 4 of the Big 5, and 6 of the Big 8 – all we needed was a leopard and a giraffe. (No giraffes in the crater.) We have yet to see a leopard, but the Serengeti beckons tomorrow.

Lake Maynara

Dec. 27 - Day 12

Time is zipping by. Every day has so much happening, so many new and exciting sights, that each memory crowds out the last. I tell people that’s why I keep travel journals, otherwise when I get home, I can only remember about 10% of the trip!

First thing out, we head into Arusha for a dentist. This is the capital of Tanzania and it is a dump; crowded, filthy, run down. We’re a little nervous about going to a doctor as the level of cleanliness is not what we are accustomed to, but since we just need some assurance and possibly some dental cement, we’re willing to try.

Fortunately, that’s just what the dentist suggests. He put some stuff on Kathryn’s tooth to prevent pain and told her she would need a crown once she got home. Made a pit stop for batteries and pain killers, a mixture of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, the pharmacist said. Everything here was behind the counter; you had to ask the clerk for everything.

After this, we head off for Lake Maynara. This place is gorgeous! I keep expecting to see Tarzan swinging by.

There were reportedly 390 species of birds here, but we really didn’t see all that many, probably lost in the thick foliage. We have become quite fascinated with African birds. With their multi-colored feathers, they remind us of tropical fish!

What sticks out most in my mind now, a day later, was a large herd of elephants drinking from a river. They’d suck water up their trunks, then hurl it over their shoulders to bath themselves, or stick their trunks in their mouths for a drink.

 

Again, we are ridiculously close to them. They are such huge, majestic creatures that it is a never-ending pleasure to watch them. And they’re always doing something!










Also saw two young bulls wrestling, trunks entwined, tusks clashing!

 












Also encountered a HUGE troop of baboons cavorting along a steep hillside. One dangled from a swing-like vine, gently swaying above the tumult, watching the antics of those below. The young ones scampered along screeching, while the adults scolded. Much like watching people at a park! Mothers ambled along with tiny babies clinging precariously to their bellies.

There was also a hippo pool! We came across a large herd of hippos, all sleeping together in a big circle, facing out, maybe 15 or 20 of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then one by one, these huge pinkish behemoths lumbered slowly to their feet, yawned with their cavernous mouths, and plopped headfirst into the water.

This was the first place we saw lots of primates, undoubtedly because it’s so heavily forested.  We got good views of the blue monkey, so black it’s almost blue...

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the little black-faced monkey, its fur a khaki color with a black face, duh!










 

We saw one of those Dik-Dik’s, the tiny antelope about the size of a Chihuahua.

One of the most fascinating things was the “upside-down tree”, a mammoth tree that lives 1000s of years, and resembles Yggdrasil, the Norse tree of life. Its bulk is not like wood, almost sponge-like, and its bark will actually repair itself. Very cool looking.






 

On the way back, I stopped at the toilet by the main entrance. As I came around the corner, a baboon was perched on a fence post about 20 feet in front of me. A much smaller one was in the sink attempting to get a drink of water. I stopped, and the large one walked along the chain connecting the posts toward me. When he got right where I was, he stopped and sat down. Here we stared at each other, close enough to touch. Finally, he jumped down, nearly brushing my thigh as he wandered into the foliage.

This place looks like what we Tarzan fans imagine Africa to look like.

I don’t remember what else we saw, but I know I left very excited and satisfied. This was probably due to all the monkeys! I love monkeys!

We showed up at our hotel, which is an actual working coffee plantation, and is beautifully landscaped. Every hotel greets you with a glass of fresh juice, and cool, wet towels to bathe the dust of travel from your face and hands. A porter meets you at your vehicle and loads your baggage into a wheel barrow. Then the hostess takes you inside, sits you in a lovely lobby, and gives you a briefing of the hotel amenities, meal times, etc. Sometimes this includes “bitings”, their quaint term for snacks.

Our room is gargantuan, more like a house, and we sit sipping beer on the veranda and enjoying the view. I take a quick dip in the salt-water pool – this has been the hottest day of the trip so far -  before repairing back to our room to freshen up for dinner.

 

We decided to try the wine Justus had given us, so with the Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack blaring from my phone, we sipped wine and got dressed in our most “Hollywood” safari outfits. Then we cruised up to the main house for a lovely buffet dinner.

While getting dressed, we heard monkeys scampering across the roof, but by the time we got outside, I only caught a swaying tree and a dark form bounding along a branch.

Tailor made dresses for $10

Dec. 26 - Day 11

 

Today was sort of a lazy day. Slept well, got up around 7 and wandered the grounds. Again, this place is beautiful. Mango’s dangle from the trees, while others soar to towering heights.

 

 

 

Oranges and bananas are also plentiful. I found my way to the river and just delighted in the chirping birds and abundant flora.

Sipping coffee on a deck overlooking the river, I could see the tree tops swaying as monkeys swung through the branches.

 

Breakfast was a fabulous buffet with everything one could want, plus fresh mango, banana, pineapple and watermelon.

 

We did some laundry in the tub and hung it out to dry, then decided to hike into town to the local market.

This was NOT a tourist market, but the actual shopping center of this area. The place reeked from the two butcher shops and several hunks of raw meat swung from hooks inside. Garbage lay strewn across the dusty street and people flung buckets of who know what from their shop stalls into the road.

 

 

 

Kathryn was looking for a skirt in the colorful materials all the girls here wear. We found a tailor shop with two types of material – K’tanga and Kanga. The difference being the weight and softness of the material.

 

The tailor wanted 15,000 shillings for the bolt Kathryn wanted; he could make her the outfit she wanted on sight, but he needed a couple days and we were leaving in the morning.

 

We cruised around and found some Kangas that Kathryn two of her friends. Then we kept asking various tailors and finally found one who said they could make the outfit for 15,000.

 

We went back to the first guy and haggled for the material that Kathryn wanted, finally paying 10,000. It was K’tanga and much softer than the 5,000 shilling piece we bought earlier.

 

We take the material back to the tailor and he takes the measurements and promises to have it ready at 8am tomorrow.

 

We also bought Kathryn a pair of earrings and a bracelet that loops up her arm in about 20 loops. They may be hematite. The cool thing is – this is not tourist stuff, these people don’t get tourist. In fact, we were quite the celebrities being white Americans and all. Anyway, this is the real stuff that the people wear, not what they pawn off on visitors.

 

The set is black and the lady tells us it will look great against Kathryn’s white skin. She says since she is black she likes to wear bright colors. The price for both is 5000 ($3.50) I try to dicker, but she says – “this is not Wuzungu price (white people) same price for all people. God likes it that way.”

 

We look around the market at the veggies, fruits, live chickens, etc. but it is really hot today – like Africa hot! – and the smell is getting to me so we take off.

 

We return to the hotel for lunch, and then had a nap. Kathryn’s tooth starts giving her little twinges of pain. Not only is it after 5pm, but today is Boxing Day, a holiday, so everything is closed.

 

We want to see a dentist, so Joe, the manager on duty – a Maasai – walks us to the local mission clinic. I had seen it earlier on our way to the market.

 

Their dentist is not on duty today but a doctor looks at it and advises Kathryn to take Tylenol against pain and see a dentist when she can. She does not seem concerned with us waiting a week.

 

Joe is very cool and we have a long talk with him while sipping beers in the dining hall. He named his daughter Oprah cause at 6 months old she was only happy when the TV was on.

 

I saw a blue monkey (name not color) high in a tree on the walk back. He was kinda big like the baboons we had been seeing.

Kathryn had some Tylenol and a gin and tonic and her pain has gone away. I am a tad concerned that something worse will happen when we are not so close to aid – like the tooth is broke deeper inside and the nerve will become exposed, etc. We may head to a dentist in the morning if it is at all feasible.

 

She is being very brave and I am proud and impressed with her fortitude. On the other hand I don’t want her to be “bravely stupid” and end up making things worse.

All I want for Christmas is my TOOTH!

Dec. 25 - Day 9 - Christmas!

 

 

Awoken at 5am by monkeys cavorting around my porch, screeching, and bouncing all over the walls. When I finally got up at 6 and looked out the window, a herd of buffalo grazed not 50 yards away.

 

We had a nice breakfast and were on the road at 7:15. Same problem with this game drive, everything was far off the road and you weren’t allowed to four-wheel it. I would skip this particular park next time. We did get to see Wildebeast, which we had not seen before,










and a male ostrich who was quite pink. Justus said that was because he was ready to mate and he would grow even pinker as he got “hornier.”

You could see vast herds of elephants on every side. They were all at quite a distance but I counted four herds in one glance.

 


We did have a herd cross the road in front of us, led by a gigantic female. Justus told us that the matriarch is always the biggest female and the she directs the herd using subsonic sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear. (I looked this up since coming home and it is true.)

 

 

We also spotted the “giraffe antelope”, so named for its long neck and giraffe like appearance, though it is only as tall as an antelope. Saw one male with big horns that swept back over his forehead before arcing upwards.

 

Next we drove to the Tanzanian border where we had to stand in one line to declare exit from Kenya, then cross a fence and stand in another line to enter Tanzania. The visa cost $100 each, twice as much for U.S. citizens as anyone else.

 

We said goodbye to Justus who presented us with a bottle of Kenyan wine for Christmas. And we said hello to Samson, our Kibo guide for the duration of our trip.

 

After an uneventful drive to Arusha – uneventful except for a dead donkey who’d been struck by and a lorrie that had slid off the road and was being hauled out – we arrived at River Tree Lodge, a quaint old farmhouse estate on 10 lovely landscaped acres bordering a river along whose tumbling banks I now write.
 

 

This area looks like a Tarzan movie. There are massive, majestic trees in delightful shapes with twisting branches and hanging vines; bananas dangle in huge bunches and palm fronds wave in the breeze.

 

We get to our room to discover Enchanting Africa has arranged for us both to have one hour massages! Sweet! Then we go back up to the dining room for lunch.

 

 

 

We are thoroughly enjoying our stuffed chicken when Kathryn takes a bite of cauliflour – and breaks a tooth!!! Seriously! It breaks off from the cusp, vertically along the front side down to the gumline.









This was quite frightening and we didn’t know what to do. Consulting with the general manager, a German from Munich married to an American living in Tanzania, he said he wouldn’t go to a dentist in Tanzania unless it was an actual emergency – and even then he’d go to Nairobi!

 

He loaned us his laptop and we researched some things, and since Kathryn is not in any pain we’ve decided to simply hold out till we get home. We had some Jack Daniels to ease the stress and tried two Tanzanian beers – Safari and Kilimanjaro.

 

Dinner was a splendid Christmas buffet with turkey and beef and countless sundries. It was $30 each, and seeing it was heavily laden with all kinds of healthy stuff I wouldn’t eat, I opted to go for fish and chips, which were delicious.

 

 

 

When we got back to the room, a Christmas stocking hung on our door filled with cashews and candy, a Christmas ornament and a toy giraffe. Fun!