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Published: January 25th 2009
After breakfast we went for another game drive in the Serengeti. We saw more Leopards, Cheetahs, Vervet Monkees, Topees, kori Bustards, Guinea Fowl, Giraffes, Elephants & Cape Buffalo. We returned to Seronera Camp for a dinner of chicken & salad,it was a lot better than the previous night's dinner.
Then we decamped & drove to Longooku Maasai boma (homestead) on the outer rim of the Crater. This was touristy but great. The Massai performed traditional dances & invited us into their bomas. These are surprisingly large inside but quite dark & modest. Then they sold us some tourist tat, which involved being brought into the centre ring of the village where deals are concluded.
The Massai are fascinating, they are a warrior race who live communally. Everything is owned collectively, they even share their wives between their blood brothers, their peers who were initiated into manhood at the same time. If a warrior comes to a boma with the door closed & a spear stuck in the door, it means somebody is there already & he must find another wife that night. Although older men are not allowed to sleep with younger women. The matches must be of the
Simba Camp
On the rim of Ngorongorosame general age. We finished off with a visit to their modest school.
After this we drove up to Simba (Lion) camp on the top of the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. It was twilight as we finished pitching our tents, I felt the infrasonic rumble of an Elepant about 20 ft away in trees. I could make out the silhouette in the fading light waddling off. This camp had a Massai armed with an AK47.There was a kitchen crew there & after we ate dinner we lit a fire & had some drinks. The Party did not last long as it started to rain heavily.
Early the next morning we started our descent into the Ngorongoro crater which is the largest unbroken & unflooded caldera on the planet, formed millions of years ago when a massive volcano collapsed. It is 3188 metres above sea level & 610 metres deep. With a diameter of 20 miles, it has an area of about 320 sq miles. It is home to thousands of animals, except crocodiles, including the Big 5. It has a salt lake called Magahdi (salt).
The rain had moved to the Serengeti & the weather in the
crater was now perfect . We had a flat tyre & fixed it. We saw Zebras, Wilderbeast, Rhinos & Lions. We saw a lot of Spotted Hyenas who outnumbered the big cats. Apparently the Lions here are very weak because of interbreeding, the crater walls act as a barrier for new Lions & their DNA to enter their gene pool.
There is a swamp & a couple of fresh water pools there. I was surprised to see about 30 Hippos in one pool. But the most memorable thing I saw was an old tuskless Elephant standing at another fresh water pool surrounded by reeds & tall grass. Our guide, Hamidi, told us that they go into the water to die, so that their relatives will not be distressed by the sight of the corpse. And, indeed we could see large elephant skulls & skeletons nearby being bleached by the sun. It was in fact an Elephant graveyard, something I always thought was a myth.
We spent all day there, as we were driving up the exit road when the weather started to deteriorate. By the time we reached Simba camp it was torrential downpour. We had to decamp &
we were soaked. By the time we drove back to Snake Park camp to the truck & our packs we were almost dry again. I had a shower & did my laundry. We would spend 1 more night here. After dinner Kanyon our tour leader told the alpha males that they would be thrown off the tour if they got out of line again. I was glad I only booked Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar. Some people confided that they were dreading continuing all the way to Cape Town with these 6 buffoons onboard.
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