Blogs from Africa - page 28

We drove about an hour to Lake Eyasi, although we didn’t see the lake. We were visiting the Bushman or Hadza culture, courtesy of a group that had migrated from the Kalahari generations ago. They live in the forest, foraging for fruits and roots and killing animals with arrows. Not realizing that we had arrived, I wondered where they lived, since only fairly small amount of low forest was in view; after walking a short distance and hearing about Hadza life, I decided the forest was bigger than it looked. We met only a handful of people; presumably, the others lived well out of sight. The fees for the tours pay for the children to attend primary school, which is compulsory. In all other ways possible, they avoid modern developments in any form and follow their ... read more

Ngorongoro Crater is not a crater, but a twelve-mile-wide caldera with no breaks in the walls, the largest in the world. I regretted not taking any photos in full light from my balcony, but there was no time after breakfast before leaving at 6:30. The day more than made up for it. At the gate to Ngorongoro, Lucas obtained our permit and other paperwork. Later he explained that per person the permit fee was $80, plus a conservation fee of $70, added to the $350 for the night at the hotel, plus $300 per vehicle – a sizeable portion of the cost of our whole trip! We descended an 11% grade on a fairly good stone rode. Between the large bushes, trees and grasses, we could see the wide golden plain surrounded by a rim of ... read more

I was so tired last night that I went immediately to bed, slept nine hours, woke thirty minutes before the alarm, and had breakfast on time at 6:00 to leave at 7:00. I pretend I am in a different time zone. Rather than exiting the Serengeti Park directly, we took a detour to see kopjes. These are strange, worn granite outcroppings, seemingly rising randomly from the flat landscape. In fact, they are the visible evidence of the volcanic history of the plain; underneath the surface are many more giant granite rocks and deposits. The ash and sediment of the volcanos to the east formed the soil of the Serengeti. Erosion has revealed the highest rock surfaces. Now these are fissured and marked by caves, which lions like to use for their dens. By this time, we ... read more

Up at 4:00 am and away at 4:45 on the usual bumpy roads for an hour and a quarter. Despite some lingering apprehension, I was committed to the hot air balloon ride. As we arrived at the Miracle Experience balloon site, the sky was deep pink, lightening to shades of blue. When the thirty-two customers and seemingly as many staff had gathered, we were introduced to our enthusiastic pilot, Rosa. (She was pleased to meet me, because she worked in Calgary for a year.) Her colleague, pilot for the other balloon, gave us a safety briefing – repeated in more detail beside the balloons. Initially the balloon was inflated by huge blowers. Our strange entry into the basket was required by the design: it was rectangular, on its side. Four compartments held four people each, plus ... read more

We got up before dawn to drive (no walking in the wild!) to a nearby hippo pool. Dozens of hippos were already in the cool water. For almost an hour, we watched as individual and pairs of hippos walked out of the terrain on the other side. The night is spent munching grass, and the day is spent chilling in pools in the slow-flowing rivers. The hippos congregated in extended family groups, thus, some small groups stayed away from the main group. Adults cozied up, making them look like slippery boulders. Only the ear twirling (insects) and occasional bobs (air) revealed their animal nature. Baby hippos were especially charming as they found moments to explore, and then they snuggled up to mom. Their silly-grin-shaped mouths gave them inexpressible cuteness. The biggest hippos pushed their way into ... read more