Ngorongoro Crater

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This, along with all my other Africa blogs, were actually emails sent to friends and family. I didn't know much about blogs at the time, but now I do.

Sorry to leave you hanging on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, but I can only get to a computer when the Internet Cafes are open and I was not very close to a computer in Kenya.

...I'll tell you more about that later...

As far as the Crater went, we left the lodge early...maybe 7AM, and went down to see the animals for my first game drive ever. We drove around a little and saw herds of wildebeest and zebra just grazing. There were ostriches and the occasional elephant. At one point, we saw other safari jeeps gathering, which I soon found out means something is there. My driver said, "Look, don't you see it?"
I had no idea what he was talking about. He said, "You don't see the male lion laying down over there?"
These safari drivers have the most amazing ability to see animals where I see none. It took me a minute and then the lion sat up and thumped its tail.
"Oooooh! That lion!" Then he flopped down again, but I knew he was there.
Just then, two female lions walked right in front of our jeep and sat down to get a drink at the pond beside us. A few minutes later another female joined them. They seemed unconcerned that we were there, but they may have take an interest if we stepped out of the car. The rest of the day was less eventful; we saw hippos, warthogs, a variety of gazelles, antelopes, other odd deer-like creatures, hyena and so on.
There also is a soda lake at in the crater and it's full of pink flamingos. The scene is surreal. The lake produces a mist or haze around it and so it seems magical to look at the lake with all the birds.
At one point, he showed me an elephant skeleton. He told me he saw it fall down and then found out later that it was dead. It was reduced to a skeleton in just three days by the other wild animals around. The park rangers came later and removed the tusks and teeth I guess to reduce poaching.
...And then it was time to go back to Arusha and then home the next day. I only had a couple of more days before I had to leave for Kenya and so my brother Gregg, my sister-in-law Peggy and all the kids and I piled into the van for a days outing in Bagamoyo and then swimming at a resort hotel on the way home. Bagamoyo s a quiet little town with lots of beach. It used to be a place where they would hold slaves back when the slave trade was going strong. It was a little creepy to think of the horrors that probably occurred here, but the town was so pleasant that it seemed hard to believe it happened there.

Now I only have thirty minutes left so I'll have to write faster...
After a goodbye with my brother and his family that was a bit harder for me than I expected, off I went to Nairobi. I landed in the evening and I was a little nervous about finding a hotel at that hour, but isn't that part of the adventure? Anyway I hadn't even gotten through immigration before I was caught in the net of a safari company who had a good deal. I somehow found myself in the safari office at the airport paying for a three day camping safari to Saburu National Reserve and then another three days in Masai Mara National Park.
I only had time to go to the hotel, sleep and leave the next morning for Samburu. Off I went with one other customer - a Canadian - who probably had some possible problems with paranoid schizophrenia. I was glad to find out that he was only going part of the way where we would switch off and he would go on further to someplace else and I would meet up with another guy for our trip to the Reserve.
My new traveling companion wasn't much of a conversationalist, but the animals were wonderful.
In three days, we saw huge herds of elephants, many reticulated giraffe (of which there are none in the Ngorongoro Crater), vervet monkeys (with bright blue balls!), huge crocodiles, genet cats, baboons and so much more. In a lot of ways, the landscape looks somewhat like west Texas and so, for me, it seemed so strange seeing these animals wondering around. No one put them there. They just belong there, but I'm not used to the idea of such animals getting to roam free like that.
At one point we came upon about five safari vehicles...must be something big...to find out that we had just missed a leopard. We knew it was there because we could hear the monkeys yelling at it in the trees and we could see the footprints, but those guys hide so well. We gave up and off we went to look for anything else we could find. Most of our time was spent sitting in the car which was difficult, but there is no way that you can safely get out of the car... even to pee. Still it was worth it.
Filthy from dessert dust, and looking forward to a looooong hot shower and a good night's sleep, I headed off to Nairobi. We got there in the evening and I was sorely disappointed by the accommodations the safari company had promised me. The place was on the 9th floor and the elevator was broken. There was no water whatsoever and there was no glass in the window. The sheets and blankets didn't look too clean either. I almost went to another hotel, but I couldn't stand the thought of hauling all my stuff down nine floors onto the streets of Nairobi to find a cab. It's not the safest town in the world.... not even close. So, I opted for a night of email and in the morning a glorious swim and hot shower at the Hilton, which was within walking distance.
I met up with the tour group that I was going with. There were seven of us (a bit cramped) and no less than four vegetarians! This made eating at the campsite a little easier. I only have about nine minutes left and I could ramble on for hours.
Let's me just say that the Masai Mara was more of what I had seen already in Samburu. In a week or two, there will be the wildebeest migration with over a 1.5 million animals in the park. I've heard it's like nothing you can imagine with animals as far the eye can see in every direction. Too bad I missed it.
Next time I'll tell you about my visits to Masai viiliages, their schools, etc, and my impressions of Nigeria.
Got to go.

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Photos

View from my hotel room
on top of the rim. It wasn't cheap. I would have never paid those prices at home, but this was my one chance to see the crater and the view was really beautiful.

Zebra
Two types that I saw... these are Grevy's Zebra's. I don't remember what ther others were called. Their stripes are different.

Dangerous but innovative...
If you don't have your own motor, use someone else's...

Fruit sellers
When the bus stops at any bus stop, throngs of fruit sellers offer up fruit and snacks through the bus window.

Masai people trying to sell thier wares.
They wait for safari vans to come through and stick their hands in the windows.