Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 11

Safari

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area July 29th 2008

Sunset at Serengeti

myway

Safari... read more

Ngorongoro Park, Tanzania

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area July 13th 2008

P1160353

Travels with Tom and Alice

July 12, 2008 Ngorongoro Park, Tanzania We spent the night at the Kensington Camp near the Ngorongoro Crater. As this is at a fairly high altitude it was, to say the least, a little “fresh” in the tent and very cool in the morning. There are a lot of Masai that live here as they were moved from the Serengeti when the national Park was created 40 - 50 years ago. They seem to survive in their small mud huts and wearing only there traditional garb ( like a loin cloth with a blanket on top ). The switch-backs, fog and mist on the road down into the crater made for an interesting start to our day. This is really an amazing place. A lot bigger than it looks from the rim. There are most of ... read more

Masai village - Boma

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area July 7th 2008

Masai village "cultural extortion experience"

RTW Adventures of Key Perth Green

Masai village in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area: On your way to any safari, your drivers are going to stop in one of these Masai village as part of a "Cultural Experience". Its a scam. Just be wary of it. There is nothing "cultural" about this other than the experience of being 'taken for a ride'. Before you are allowed inside the village, you are accosted outside the village gates by an English-speaking Masai wearing a fake Rolex and the whole getup, demanding that you pay him $50 directly before you are allowed inside their Boma (village gate). I thought this was supposed to be a cultural experience of where they live and work! After you pay, you are allowed inside the village they will do a quick 3 minute song and dance and immediatly start pushing ... read more

Ngorongo Crater and the Serengeti NP

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 20th 2008

The Crater from above

Tash01

Left early for another trip in 4x4s to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngongoro Crater. Our guide Lawrence was a Rastafarian (later to be known as “Lawrence the Rastasafarian”) We visited the Ngongoro Crater Conservation Area. The area is known as the “Cradle of Mankind” because they found one of the oldest (could be the oldest) evidence of a human like specie from approx 3million years ago. The drive up was petrifying as the fog was super thick and the road was winding. We eventually made it in though and it was so worth it. It is like a natural enclosure for the animals. It is totally flat and the grass is really short so the animals don’t have anywhere to hide as such. The lake is full of flamingos. There was so many that ... read more

Home Stays, Meru Peak and Safari

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 14th 2008

Roller Coaster Ride through the Crater

USM Tanzania

Tuesday- The 10th the group went to the meru district hospital and met the District medical officer who was the only M.D. in the entire hospital which served 250,000 people and 150 new patients a day. He explained the Tanzanian Medical System which allows "doctors" known as Assitant Medical Officers who don't have a medical degree to perfrom surgeries without the M.D. present. The Hospital was made up of of many small seperate buildings connected only by dirt and gravel paths. Not only was the layout and the qualifications of the "doctors" shocking the hospital didn't have a washer and dryer so they hand to hand wash everything including towels, bedsheets and clothing. A Tanzanian women was lucky enough to have Dr. Salaymeh assist on her operation. Although he was shocked at the conditions he was ... read more

Leaving Ngorongoro

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 13th 2008

tkintanzania

The night before I was told we were to leave at 6am, sharp. I know that really, there is no way we are leaving that early. This whole "No hurry in Africa"-rule has a tendency to win out so I knew that more than likely, we would leave around 7am if not later. But okay, I am ready by 6 am anyway. So I'm crawling out of my behemoth-sized tent (I slept in an extra empty tent so I could save time by having everything packed and ready from the day before) and it is very dark still, as the sun doesn't come up until about 6:30am... Someone walking by shines a light at me. It's Dr. Musiba. He is still in his shirt and sleeping shorts and holding a bucket of hot water for washing ... read more

Ngorongoro Crater

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 11th 2008

Coming into Ngorongoro Crater

Les and Peter

After we left Lake Manyara we went West to the village of Karatu. Karatu is close to Ngorongoro National Park, home of the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is about 20 km wide and is one of the largest calderas (hole formed by a volcano) in the world. It's an expensive park and every trip into the park costs $100...which we payed 4 times! Oouch! Regardless of the cost it was amazing (I've used that word alot) but it was. In just 20 km we saw a black rhino, lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetas, gazelles, wildebeests, elephants, serval cat, antelope, warthogs.....jackel, hyena...I think that was it...oh and did I mention Baboons and Maasai!? Hopefully the pictures can tell the story.... read more

How many heads of cattle?

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 11th 2008

tkintanzania

So... yesterday I went to a Maasai ceremony. It was a surprise outing, and I am so glad I was able to go to one before leaving, especially because the very week after I leave there is a milk ceremony and Maasai wedding that I would have missed. Boo :( Anyway, the Maasai ceremony was for a little boy's circumcision - I think that's the time they are promoted to Or'Morrhani, the warrior class - maybe? Anyway the Maasai, on special occasions, paint their face with a type of powder that looks like red ochre. The substance is made from local plants, smashed and plastered and pasted and dried until it looks like cumin or paprika. It's as red as the dirt on the ground but harder to get out of clothes - and kind of ... read more

on safari

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 6th 2008

coryandquinn

Jambo! I can't remeber where we left you last so I apologize if this is repetitive or pieces are missing between then and now. We left on safari from Arusha on Monday and travelled southwest to Lake Manyara to begin our exploration. The first part of the drive was peaceful and we were all busy settling in, speaking to our driver/guide and learning about the region when a tembo (elephant - actually 4 of them) rumbled out of the bush along side the road we were driving on. They were on Cory's side of the vehicle and literally an arm's reach away. We were all quite excited but anxious as well. My heart raced and my reaction time to grab the camera was a bit slowed as this was really the first large animal we had ... read more

Samehani bwana, mimi puteya! Unaweza saidia? Iko wapi campi ya wazungu?

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 2nd 2008

tkintanzania

Translation: "Excuse me sir, I am lost! Can you help me? I'm looking for the camp of the white foreigners." --- Me re-learning Swahili and being taught this by the drivers up arrival into the Crater Area. Of course, the problem here is that most people don't speak Swahili, the speak the local Masaai language, Maa. :) We finally arrived at Endulen the day before yesterday. What should have been a 12-hour car ride turned into 20+ hours ("No hurry in Africa") so we had to spend the night in Arusha, about three hours away from the crater rim. We stayed at the same lodge as last year, "The Crater Rim View Inn" (ambitious name) and the staff recognized us immediately. Wonderful tropical fruits for breakfast and canopied mosquito-netted beds were nostalgic and for those of ... read more

Brief history of Tanzania

Shortly after independence, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and po...more history

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