Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 7

Advertisement


POOR TIM As excited as I am about today I am so tired, I was freezing cold last night so got very little sleep and poor Tim had a really, really bad tummy so was up most of the night. I set the alarm early so I could see the sunrise and when I got up it looked amazing, you could see the whole crater and there was a little bit of cloud just below the rim. But it was so cold outside and I was already freezing so thought I’d have a shower get dressed all snug then go outside. It was only 15 minutes that passed and when I went out a huge fog was rolling in and you could see only half the crater. By now Tim had woken up so I chatted ... read more
2. The dining room
3. These chairs should be at Giraffe Manor
4. Maasai


WE NEVER STOP LEARNING We are trying to learn a little Swahili as we go and we now have a little list of words we can, or try to say. Hello - Jambo Goodbye - Kwaheri Thankyou very much - Asanti - sunna Your welcome - Kariwu Yes - Ndeo No - Habana Milk - Maziwa Tea - Chai Sleep well - Lalla sallama And for all you people who are literate in Swahili, I know its possibly (okay, most likely) spelt wrong, but this was a lesson from ‘Swahili for Dummies’. We have breakfast at 7:30am and then at 8am we’re off for our game drive on route to Lake Manyara. ELEPHANTS, CHEETAHS AND MORE… This morning we see everything from yesterday including a bigger family of Mongoose and the smallest deer in Africa, its ... read more
2. Mass exodus
3. You have been warned!
4. Giraffe


May 6th The Serengeti Six were on cloud nine after the previous days wildlife activity. We had seen most of what is called The Big Five. This nomenclature is used widely on safaris and it relates to the land mammals you see, it consists of elephants, lions, rhinos, buffalo and leopards. These are considered the most dangerous and also the hardest to kill, if you were inclined to be such an asshole. We woke up early again, had breakfast and tea at the campsite and watch the sunrise over the Ngorongoro Crater. We chatted about the Big Five and the hope that we would see a cheetah. The previous night there were buffalo grazing right next to our tents so we had only the rhino to cover all the bases of the Big Five. To see ... read more
2-Dalu the Chef
3-Amazing campsite
4-Beautiful mother nature!

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area March 24th 2010

After another day or so of volunteering I hit the road again and headed up North to Moshi. I took an 8+ hour bus ride that was actually quite an interesting ride. It is unsafe to travel at night (narrow two-lane roads, lots of passing), so you have to go during the day, which means it is HOT. And lets just say they stop once for everyone to go to the bathroom on the side of the road, meaning no toilets. Yes, I chose to hold it. They do stop at a highway restaurant for 15 minutes. I survived the ride and was so happy to arrive in Moshi. I got to the NGO volunteer house and everyone was so welcoming, the staff and other volunteers. I actually went with some of the volunteers to their ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area March 21st 2010

After the Serengeti, we hit the road for the Ngorogoro crater - a former volcano and now a conerservation area. The sunken area where the volcano was once active is now a haven to a range of wildlife attracted by the greenery and wetlands. It really is an amazing sight as the former volcano covers a huge area. We see wildebeast, zebra, flamingos and plenty of other birds. Perhaps the most impressive sightings are a lioness sat next to our safaris truck and a couple of rhinos (albeit these were in the distance but are still an impressive sight). We have lunch where I'm attacked by an African Black Kite bird - swopped down from long distance and aimed stright for me at eye level, just avoiding it's claws for my food! The illness suddenly kicks ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area January 9th 2010

The schedule had another game drive next day morning and then drive to Ngorongoro crater after. Since we had seen most animals, we decided to skip the morning game drive in Serengeti and instead head to the crater in morning. It had rained quite a bit at night and I was quite worried that we will see more overflowing streams. The drive out of campsite was smooth. There was a overflown stream, but jeep sailed through it. On the way was the biggest surprise of all. We saw a cheetah. Its a rare shy animal and we were quite lucky to spot one. It was just sitting there on a rock, looking from side to side waiting for a hunt. Since we ... read more
Rhino and cub
Food

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area January 1st 2010

I had a bad start for the year. My car had starter problem and I had to join a group of dutch to go down into the crater. I was quite pissed .... Instead of starting at 6:30, we started at 8:30 am! My fellow land-roverites were friendly. A mom with 2 teenaged kids - everyone was very well traveled and very well spoken. Ngrongoro Cater is the place where most of the Discovery/National Geographic safari game videos are shot. Its a small flat caldera (part of volcano) surrounded by tall mountains from all four sides. It has a very large density of animals, and one can find all major animals there. They are easy to spot, because the topography is flat, and there are hardly any trees to give animals ay cover. There is a ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area November 13th 2009

Sadly, my time at the Children’s Village is coming to an end. I leave here on Sunday,…it will be so hard to say goodbye to these amazing kids…they are all so precious. I’ve decided to sponsor little six-month old Baby Grace, who lives in Serengeti house with me. Her mother died during childbirth, she was born very premature and when she first arrived here she was still just teeny-tiny. She now has these big pudgy legs, and adorable chubby cheeks, which I just love to muckle onto. She smiles at me every time I see her, and the mommas told me the other day that she only started smiling around the time that I arrived here….she just melts my heart! It’s probably a good thing that none of the kids here are up for adoption (they ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area October 28th 2009

It’s fascinating to see how hype spreads like wildfire through this village. It started with the sound of big trucks in the distance and weeks of anticipation awaiting the arrival of two forty-foot containers filled with donations coming from the states. As the truck came into view with kids jumping up and down, singing and dancing, the spectacle erupted into 70 kids chasing after the enormous flatbed towing these two massive containers, the rest of the way in through the gates of the village. Throw in the excited smiles and giggles of about 30 staff members and all the volunteers crowded around taking pictures and videos of all the hoopla and you can imagine quite a scene. A week later and we are still sorting through and unpacking the boxes, with kids peering through the windows, ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area October 25th 2009

Four volunteers including myself went on safari to Ngorongoro Crater today, and saw lots of great animals! Elephants, lions, hippos, zebra, hyenas, wildebeests, buffalo, gazelle, ostrich, crowned crane, flamingos, warthogs, jackals, baboons, and a serval cat. Here are a few highlight pics! ... read more
Ostrich
Hyena
Thompson Gazelle




Tot: 0.162s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 6; qc: 92; dbt: 0.0869s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb