Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 12

We saw ZINJANTHROPUS. Yes. We really did. If you don't know what that is, you are an idiot. Or not an anthropologist. It is that big a deal. We saw him up close and personal (that is, I was able to touch the glass case he was in because hello, he is only one of our oldest ancestors) and I am totally, absolutely planning to exhaust the bragging rights to everyone and their mothers, strangers walking by, and people I share the light rail with that I wrote my name down on the holiest book to anthropologists (besides the Bible, Torah, Koran, etc.) containing all the people who have ever worked on or have been priveleged to see Zinjanthropus since he was unearthed. Why yes, I am pretty awesome, thank you. I already know you are ... read more

Pictures from our 2nd day on Safari in the Ngorongoro Crater.... read more

After another game drive in the morning, we had lunch at the camp site, then packed up everything and headed towards Ngorogoro crater, on the way out we took a small detour and found two cheetahs, they were laying down on a large mound and no more than 20 feet from the trucks. The crater was vastly different from the Serengeti, we camped on the rim which was very cool at night. We had zebras grazing around our tents during the night. This camp site also had caged rooms for cooking and eating. There were a lot of people staying at the camp site and the dining cage, although very big, was quite crowded. There were showers but only the women's was hot, so a few of us men sneaked in late at night and had ... read more

A short distance from the discovery of three million year old remains of "modern" humans (Olduvai Gorge), Ngorongoro Crater is a perfect site for the legendary 'garden of Eden'. In addition to being the home of approximately 25,000 large animals - wildebeest, buffalo, rhino, hippopotamus, lion, elephant, hyena, warthog, leopard and cheetah - Ngoronogoro is also the world's largest, unflooded, unbroken volcanic caldera. Following our departure from the Serengeti, we camped on the crater's edge, which at a height of approximately 1,200 metres above sea level, was very, very cold. To make matters worse, my stomach had turned on me and at about 11pm I had to clamber out of the tent and make my way through the cold, dark night to what passes for toilet facilities at the campsite. After successfully navigating my way through ... read more

My plans to write a detailed blog on our trip with Martin is proving a little more difficult than I thought. The internet is not readily available in some of the magnificent spots we have been staying. So I am just going to give a general overview while I have the chance and just hope I can get in contact again a little further into the trip. This tour has exceeded our expectations in all ways. It goes without saying that Africa is amazing,just as I always knew it would be. We are thoroughly enjoying our tour with Martin and Adventures Abroad. It is interesting to watch him at work. He is a great tour leader and everyone loves him and even those who have not travelled with him before have heard of his reputation. I ... read more