Tanzania III.

12-23-14 NGORONGORO CRATER, TANZANIA: We had a predawn start, 6 AM, for another crater drive. We had a bright orange sunrise while on the rim road with views of Mt. Kilimanjaro above the eastern crater rim. We are in the rainy season now with cloudy skies, and the staff said views of the mountain happen about once a month. This game drive was in different areas of the crater—elephants, lions, rhinos, hippos, birds, gazelles, zebras, lots of baby animals, monkeys, baboons, wildebeests. The wildebeests blocked the road a one point and Maggie said it was, ‘Occupy Ngorongoro.’

The breakfast break was at about ten AM in the crater at a pond site, Ngoitokitok Springs, where we could walk around, and where I got sunburnt. The pond was filled with hippos and water birds. By noon there was a T-storm, while we had lunch back at the lodge. Baboons visited the lodge site after the rain, eating flying termites that appeared with the rain.

The area around the Ngorongoro Crater is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and it is overseen by a supervising Authority. The abbreviation for that body is NCAA. It has a familiar sound for some reason.

In the late afternoon, we visited a Maasai village. The Maasai are semi-nomadic herders who keep sheep, goats and cattle, defending the herds from lions and other predators with spears. The village is encircled by a stockade fence with a stock corral in the center. Houses line the inside of the fence.

We were greeted by a dance by the men of the village to singing by the women. We toured the houses, the school, bought trinkets. Judy had brought school supplies for the children. The houses are round, mud walled, domed and dark inside. There is a fire site in the kitchen, beds for the parents and beds for the children and a cage for calves or lambs. The house is twenty feet in diameter. Eoin and Joe tried spear throwing after a lesson. Our guide, Peter, told us about Maasai lion hunting from his personal experience, a ritual no longer practiced.

Then we had dinner at the long table in the dining room and off to bed.


Early sunrise.

Sun reflected by Lake Magadi on the floor of the crater as we begin our descent. That lake is salty due to the accumulation of volcanic minerals, and so supports the flamingo population.

Thomson's Gazelle with calf.

Male simba.

Elephant eating Acacia branches and oblivious of the thorns.

Vervet Monkeys and baby.

Kori Bustard.

Another Lion, young male.

Dispute between behemoths.

Black Rhino.

Hippo and Grey Heron.

Eland.

Maasai village school with visiting student.

Crater Lodge cabins, it's cold at night, and a fire helps, hence those chimneys.