Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater

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And we're Day 5 of 43 of the tour! Whee..

Currently, in Arusha, Tanzania.. a town that acts as a base for those who wants to climb kilimanjaro and do the national parks in north tanzania..

Spent US$340 to do the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater option for the past 3 days.. I must say the experience have been great.. Worth or not worth the money? I'd say game parks are expensive in East Africa.. so if you want to experience it.. you have to pay for it.. didn't really think about the question of worth or not worth anymore..

Serengeti is a wide wide plains.. with sceneries that so typicalize (spelling? word?) "Africa".. actually i resent that plains and a single Acacia tree sort of symbolizes Africa.. cos Africa is so much more than that.. but anyways.. it was great... you get the "Africa" feeling.. haha.. We are supposed to see the migration of the wildebeest starting from the south of the national park towards Masai Mara Nat Park in Kenya around this time.. but migration started early this year.. and the bulk of them have already moved up north...

We did see lots of animals.. it was pretty fun.. the first day, i did not have any expectation as we drove into the national park towards our campsite in the afternoon.. the main game drive is supposed to be the next morning.. you see the usual zebras... gazelles, implalas, and other deer-things (never really go and learn how to tell them apart)... and woah! we get a Lion.. male lion... we drive around for a while more.. and woah.. we get another lion... a male one.. and a female one toegether.. just when i wanted to take a shot of them.. they laid down on the grass and we can't see them anymore.. the guide says they are shagging.. so woot.. lions shagging.. and then we drove around and saw a lioness with 3 cubs! wow... we also saw phumbas (warthogs).. baboons... a serval cat... etc... i was satisfied and was happy on our drive back to the campsite with the daylight dimming.. just when i thought that was it.. wham... we saw a herd of elephants... and after the elephants, hippos! wow... i was a happy man.. we had a good first day.. and was wondering if the 2nd day can beat that.. it sure did.. and we saw cheetahs.. and even a leopard hiding in a tree.. and with its kill too.. its lower jaws bloodied and all.. nice... we saw more lions and elephants etc... not mentioning the now common *yawn* zebras and deer things..

Drove out of serengeti to the ngorongoro crater rim campsite for the 2nd night.. the crater is supposedly the largest crater in the world.. and it was indeed huge.. when we arrived at our campsite.. we had zebras grazing on the grass.. and we pitched our tents sharing the grassland with the zebras.. we had buffaloes coming up our tent that night after we've slept.. but we all stayed in the tents of cos.. oh oh.. the previous night in serengeti.. at night around the campfire.. we heard lions.. they were pretty close.. that was amazing.. the guides were preparing us to go into a wooden shed nearbty and stay overnight instead of the tents if they come too near.. but they didn't.. as we went to sleep.. we also heard the yappings of hyenas..

we decended into the Ngorongoro Crater the next morning.. the colours in the crater.. i tell you.. are simply amazing... it was heavily overcast... and being in the crater.. you feel like you are in a pot.. with the clouds as its lid.. we saw a cheetah on our decend.. and of the big five - elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, rhino.. we have yet to see any rhinos.. and we saw some black rhinos that are extrememly rare in the crater... so that completes it.. check check check check check.. saw more elephants.. and we were so close that the alpha elephant charged at a few of our jeeps and we had to speed away.. we also so some action between an elephant and some lions.. cos the lion got too close to the elephants.. it was all good...

left the crater around midday.. went back to campsite.. packed up.. and headed back to our campsite near arusha.. broke camp this morning.. and we doing our mundane things in Arusha (such as internet) before heading south to Dar Es Salaam.. and thereforth Zanzibar.. Zanzibar is a swahili coastal town much like Lamu.. only more touristy... people say Lamu is better.. we'll see.. will take about 2 days drive to reach Dar.. and will spend 3 nights in Zanzibar.. i'll be spending 2 nights only tho.. cos i'd want to rush back to Dar on Monday morning to settle my visa stuffs.. ok.. i'm going to be late for the truck.. have to leave now.. photos will be up later.. cheers..

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Photos

Misty hills at the Kenya-Tanzania border
and lots of trucks and 'buses' going thru the formalities

Hawkers hawking their wares to the muzungus (white people) on the trucks
Prices usually plunges the minute the driver starts the engine..

Comments

[Psycho]

I also see elephant...!
unfortunately only at the local zoo... but I get to ride them! yay!

[Chivalry]

yah. psycho, i can imagine..
i can sooo imagine you in Mandai Zoo last Sunday.. jumping up and down and screaming with excitement while waiting in line to ride the elephants... haha... omg.. that's a scary image..