Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti

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NOTE: There are great pics and videos to go with this post, but unfortunatly we couldn't embedd them, here are the links --
PICS: http://picasaweb.google.com/knolan06/Africa2009#
VIDS: http://www.youtube.com/user/katienolan2006

UPDATE: We've been able to add them in!! :)
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Ok, we’ll start this post with a visualization exercise: picture the most idyllic version of an African game park. Your image may include roaming herds of zebra and wildebeest and perhaps lions stalking their prey nearby. You may conjure up an image of hippos lolling in a pond while on the shore elephants munch on grass. Some of you (who have watched too much Discovery Channel) may picture a group of cheetahs moving in seamless coordination on a hunt. The Crater and Serengeti are all of these images combined. The last few days have been awe inspiring in terms of wildlife viewing as well as natural beauty.

We left our overland truck in the small town of Mto Wa Mbu and took our 9-seater custom built Toyota Land Cruisers on the rugged trip up and over the Ngoronoro Crater rim. The crater is actually a volcano that is believed to have collapsed about 2 million years ago. The rim, at 7217 feet, is a lush “mist forest” which gives way to steep cliffs careening down to the crater floor 1600 feet below. The 11 mile wide basin has alkaline lakes and flat, open plains that are packed with wildlife. We saw thousands of zebras, wildebeests and flamingos as well as hyenas, elephant, cape buffalo and other animals. There were several lions wandering the plains and it was impressive to watch the other animals scatter when the lions came their way (see video).

We took a break from our game drive to enjoy lunch next to a picturesque lake full of hippos before continuing our search for wildlife. There’s really no better way to watch lions than hanging out of the roof of a truck bumping along an African road!



Late in the afternoon, we made the treacherous drive out of the crater, past the Masai tribes with their cattle and on to Serengeti National Park. We traveled up B144 and grabbed a quick picture from the top of Naabi Hill before pressing on. We pulled into our bush camp (i.e. no fences from the animals and pit toilets) in the Seronera area just after dark.

The next day we woke up early to do a game drive at dawn and see the animals when they are most active. We saw vultures, dozens of bird species, giraffes and more zebras, impalas, and gazelles than you could count. We encountered a grumpy elephant and watched young hippos spar in a shallow pool. We got really lucky in the late morning, when we spotted the rare and illusive leopard in the tall, golden grass.



For a while it seemed like the cat would keep hiding from us, but thanks to our patience (and Pete’s rally cap) the leopard eventually went on the move. Amazingly, it turns out that Pete is a cat whisperer -- and with a little of his encouragement (see video with audio), the leopard emerged from the grass and posed for us on a rock before slinking off for a nap (they’re nocturnal).

After going back to camp for lunch and resting during the heat of the day, we headed out for an afternoon game drive. Our incredible luck continued when we found a pack of six cheetahs, a mother and five 6-month old cubs. We sat and watched the mother stalk a herd of wildebeest, and then return to collect her brood for a family hunt. The pack of cats fell into formation, and the mother zeroed in on a young zebra that wasn’t paying attention. The cheetahs were lethally efficient; seeing them run together was a real treat. We stuck around while the family munched on the carcass. The herd of zebras watched from a distance whinnying before eventually moving off. We drove for another hour or two before stopping to quietly watch the sun set over the horizon while a herd of giraffes nibbled on the surrounding trees.

The next morning was our final game drive in the Serengeti. It was hard to top the events of the previous day. We did however find a mother lion and two cubs perched high on a rock but they were shy and not interested in us. At lunch time, we took down our tents, packed the trucks and retraced our steps out of the Serengeti and through the Crater Conservation Area. We were delayed however when our truck developed a troubling rattling noise on a dusty, desolate section of dirt road just past the crater. Peter crawled under the truck with our guide, Mwangi, for a lesson in “bush mechanics”. Apparently 3 of the 4 nuts and bolts that hold two sections of the drive shaft together had rattled loose and disappeared. They used “non-essential” nuts & bolts from elsewhere on the truck, and we were soon on our way back to the Snake Park just outside Arusha.



On Friday we made the ~7 hour journey north from Arusha towards Nairobi. The clear skies afforded us an excellent view of Mt. Kilimanjaro as we neared Tanzania’s northern border. We completed the formalities at the border crossing and were pleasantly surprised to find the Kenyan visa price has been halved since we started our trip. The roads in Kenya were “under construction” which explained why our eyeballs were rattling in their sockets on the extraordinarily bumpy roads. Also the traffic pattern apparently allows passing on both sides simultaneously, even though there is only one travel lane. We were relieved to arrive in Nairobi in one piece and entertained by Azam’s (our driver) liberal use of the air horn to navigate rush hour traffic. We settled into our room at the Sarova Panafric Hotel and showered for the first time in four days.

We elected to have dinner at Carnivore, which is considered one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. As the name implies, there is only one thing on the menu: meat – all you can eat – Brazilian BBQ style. Ostrich meatballs and crocodile ribs were among the highlights. As we finished dinner, the local cuisine Peter had for lunch caught up to him in a big way. We scampered back to the hotel for the beloved bottle of Imodium and settled into the most comfortable beds we’ve had in 45 days.