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Published: August 21st 2008
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Monday, May 5, 2008 We were awakened early the next morning in order to eat and leave soon after the sun came up. Instead we found it was cloudy with occasional chilling rain. We finally set off at 9 a. m. The fog was so dense at times that it was difficult seeing where to drive on the mountain road. The lanes were even more narrow, due to construction. In some areas only one was open, so we had to be especially careful, not knowing if a vehicle was coming around the bend. We passed one truck that was stuck in mud at a precarious angle. I kept glancing at the sign posted inside our Land Rover: “Hakuna Matata” which means “No Problem” and relaxed a bit.
Our two drivers, Peter Mmbando and Priscus Shirima, were skilled at maneuvering across rocky trails and later through shallow rivers. The roads were so bumpy that many notes I took were illegible. It was like being on a ride at an amusement park.
Visibility at the site overlooking the crater was limited, and we could barely see our hands in front of our face. Charles decided we should continue on our
way and come back in the afternoon. We drove to the Ngorongoro Center where we could purchase maps, books and other items. It seemed the price of everything in print started at $10 and went up from there, so I didn't get anything. We saw several 3-dimensional models of the area and Majura gave us a sense of where we were going.
Although I had been under the impression Sub-Saharan Africa would be hot, at this high elevation it was cold and windy. The fog gradually lifted as we continued our journey.
We walked to a spot where we could see the land and lake below. Charles, who is the Academic Coordinator of the Archeology Unit at the University of Dar es Salaam, told us the earliest geological studies were done by the Germans. He pointed out the main areas that we would be passing later in the day.
We turned around to see a group of Maasai teenage boys coming towards us. They appeared from nowhere, and each had beaded necklaces, bracelets or blankets to sell. All were wearing sandals, some of which were made from rubber tires. Colorful blankets were wrapped around them, and some
had knit caps protecting their ears from the weather. Each had a knife hanging from a belt around his waist and carried a staff that looked as though it could also be used as a spear.
They wanted to be paid if we took their picture and were the most persistent “salespeople” for their wares I had ever seen. We talked to them for a while, and I believe at least one of us bargained for the necklaces before we left.
As we drove, we could see animals in the crater below us. They seemed to live together in harmony. We passed round huts in the Maasai small family compounds called bomas but were advised not to take pictures. Sometimes residents stone the vehicles, so we tried to be as inconspicuous as possible.
We stopped to get our bearings as a young Maasai woman watched from a safe distance. It was sometimes difficult to determine boys/men from girls/women, because both wore what looked like a skirt or dress, had earrings through large holes in their lobes and had short hair or shaved heads. I knew this one was female, however; she was pregnant.
The vehicles took
several detours because of road work in the middle of the desolate plains. We entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and were greeted by the amazing view of Olduvai Gorge. The name is a corrupted version of the Masai word “Oldupai,” a shrub that grows all around the region.
According to the resident geologist, the area is 55 kilometers long (approximately 34 miles). The oldest of the five geological layers -volcanic rock—is 2-1.75 million years old. Gray layers are volcanic ash, and ones that are red have a heavy concentration of iron. The whole area was once at the same level as the top of the formation. Through the ages, the structure has been eroded by wind and water until it appeared as we saw it, about 295 feet above the ravine.
We ate box lunches that were brought from the hotel, while we learned about remains of primitive man (fossil hominids) that were found in the area. Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife Mary made many discoveries at Olduvai Gorge.
She became the director of excavation. Among her many finds were the famous 3.6 million year-old Laetoli footprints preserved in volcanic ash, and Stone Age tools. In
1959, she uncovered the skull of Australopithecus boisi, later called Zinjanthropus, thought to have lived 1.8 million years ago.
The Oldpai Museum houses a replica of the prints, showing pictures of a hominid's foot and how they differ from the ape's. It also has many of the tools Mary and her team found at the site as well as skulls of Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
We walked down to the area where the discoveries were made. Charles explained that Habilis, sometimes named “Handy Man,” had cognitive abilities to make and use tools. Later humanids had bigger brains, and with the development of the larynx, were able to pass along knowledge to others.
We climbed back into the vehicles and drove to a fascinating barchand (arc-shaped) dune made of black volcanic ash. Due to prevailing winds, the entire hill, called “Shifting Sands,” moves--by some estimates, about an inch a day.
Two young Maasai boys were tending a large herd of cattle. The older one was teaching his brother to jump straight up, which is one of the steps of their tribal dance. They were apprehensive as we approached them. We asked to take their
picture and gave them coins. They looked bewildered. Turning the coins over several times, they indicated they didn't know what to do with them. Water might have been a better choice for a tip. They spend many long hours in the hot sun.
Throughout our travels we often saw individual boys as young as seven years old taking charge of cattle, goats or sheep far from any boma. No adults supervised them; they were entirely on their own. Sometimes donkeys mingled with the rest of the herds. A few donkeys carried bags filled with food or water; the latter was a scarce commodity.
Maasi live in harmony alongside the wild animals. Each goes its own way without interfering with the other.
As we drove along on the eastern Serengeti Plains of Northern Tanzania, we came across a variety of wildlife. Herds wandered across the fields. Before taking a trip to the Krueger Park in South Africa years ago, someone asked me if I liked the zoo. When I answered that it was one of my favorite places, he responded that after seeing the animals in their natural habitat, I'd change my mind. He was right.
The same
thing was true this time. The animals are slim and muscular—and free to roam in the vast open spaces. We saw everything from elephants to ostriches to wildebeests in numbers too high to count. Although our vehicles had the tops raised so we could stand and take pictures, we sometimes got out and walked around for a better composition.
Numerous zebras were everywhere—mingling with the ostriches, flamingos and other animals. The large wildebeests often walked in single file as though they were in a parade.
We stopped at a watering hole for hippos. At first we didn't realize they were there, because they were submerged; all we saw were black humps. They snorted when they came up for air, and we often counted five or six together, with other groups further down in the lake. Every now and then, one would open its mouth wide. For fourteen years I was a dental hygienist, but I had no urge to clean its teeth.
Colorful birds were nearby. We looked back toward the hill and saw Charles being interviewed by a television crew. We didn't find out the details, but hopefully he gave a bit of promotion to the
International Year of Planet Earth.
We were exhausted as we headed back to Karatu for dinner and a full night's sleep.
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