Tanzania 1

Tanzania 18/9/13

It was quite chaotic at the border with lots of security and many signs saying not to take photos and certainly not a good idea to do so. There were scores of trucks waiting to go through customs, people trying to sell trinkets and others just hanging around it seemed. We had been told it might take some time to get through but were herded through the visa application and control quite quickly. Then we met our new drivers – Harley and Marley. They have both worked a lot with Clive and know him well.

We started to get to know the new drivers as we set of to Arusha – a town of  1 ½ million people. We had lunch at the Arusha Hotel which is near a roundabout which is the midway point in Africa – halfway between Cairo and Capetown. The hotel is very colonial. I didn’t see anyone in a pith helmet but they wouldn’t have been out of place!

We travelled with Harley who was a mine of information about Tanzania. The area we were in was originally called Tanganyika. It was conquered by Germany in the late 19^th century and became a British mandate after WW1. It became independent in 1961. In 1964 Zanzibar and Tanganyika merged and became Tanzania. Zanzibar was originally under Arab rule and 99% of people who live in the old area, including Dar es Salaam, are Muslims whereas the old Tanganyika is about 45% Christian and 35% Muslim with a mixture of others including Hindus and those with traditional beliefs, which includes many of the Masai people.

Tanzania is bordered by 7 other countries – Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. That makes for a diplomatic nightmare in border control I’m guessing.

There is an army of 60.000 in Tanzania but no conscription.

The economy is mainly based on agriculture but there are also vast amounts of mineral deposits.

It is also known for a precious gemstone – Tanzanite that is only found in Tanzania. It is blue and shines like diamonds and is a similar price. Beautiful to look at – in shops only!

We passed many sights on quite a long drive. Lots of these pictures were taken out of the  window of the vehicle. I think they give a bit of an idea of the area.

                                                Lots of donkeys pulling quite large loads.

                                             Masai settlements similar to the one we visited.

                 Driving through Arusha there were lots of people and opportunities for retail.

                                                         Do you want new furniture?

                                                                        or clothes

                                       or maybe wheat? (I thinks it's wheat but am not sure.)

                                                      Transporting can be challenging.

                                We bought some red bananas from a roadside stall - delicious.

                                                                    More art options.

After Arusha we drove on a paved road - well that is paved with frequent intermissions of incredibly rocky bumpy tracks on the side where the paved road was being repaired or built. Harley drove well and all was well until there was an especially big bump. Harley stopped and inspected the van and found that a shock absorber had broken. I'm not experienced in these matters but knew it wasn't good.
After some phone calls we continued in a slower manner. We were fortunate that we were near the end of the bumpiest part when the incident happened.
Well suffice to say we continued on with Harley's expert driving and the addition of the shock absorber on the other side also breaking but eventually made it to the top of the crater where we were able to look down and then to the Serena Ngorongoro Lodge where we spent the next 2 nights.

                    

19/9/13

We spent the day in the Ngorongoro Crater. The rim of the crater is complete and the volcano did not erupt and form a peak but fell into itself so there is a flat interior. It’s called a caldera and is one of 6 in the world and the most intact. From out hotel room we looked down 600 meters onto the crater floor.

A mechanic had been out and replaced the shock absorbers and springs on the vehicle by 8.30 so we were good to go. It was very good service considering how far away we were and that the Park is closed to vehicles overnight. 
We drove down a very steep dusty road into the caldera. There are tracks up the rim where animals can get out and Masai people can take their cattle down for water but it’s all very steep. 
We went to a lake where there were quite a lot of flamingoes – a mixture of lesser and great about 300 meters away. We watched as 2 hyenas sat and watched them. Nearby were 4 jackals. One of the jackals seemed hungry and kept stalking the flamingoes. He made one dive for them but they flew off and he missed. Clive predicted that if he was successful the hyenas would have come in and taken the catch from the jackals. This didn’t happen. Just a lot of animals eyeing each other off.

                                                     This Kori Bustard wandered past.

Driving on we saw 2 female ostriches pushing at each other to get the other one out of the way. Harley had never seen this behaviour before. It soon became apparent why. There was a male ostrich approaching and both females wanted to mate with him. He chose one and got on top of her with his wings out. It was extraordinary to watch. After it was finished the second female presented herself to him but he rejected her and walked towards us. We soon saw why. A third female ostrich appeared and he mated with her quite close to us. Bob got some good photos. We’re told the females all lay their eggs on one nest. The dominant female sits on them all during the day but ensures that her egg is in the centre and best cared for. The male sits on the eggs at night. They raise any of the eggs that hatch together and with the other females in the group.

The mating theme then continued with us seeing a male and female lion. They mate frequently over a few days and lie down exhausted for most of the rest of the time often not eating during this mating period. They were lying down when we first saw them but got up and mated after a few minutes. It was all over very quickly - but Bob got the picture!

We had a picnic lunch in a large open area near a lake. We had to eat in the vehicles because yellow tailed hawks come down and take food from your fingers and can harm you with their claws. There were about 70 vehicles there because it’s high season now. The crater is large and did not feel crowded. Nearby in the lake and around it were several hippopotamus all very close together. Sometimes you can see their heads, sometimes their bodies and sometimes they go completely under water.

On rocks about 200 meters from where we had lunch were about 6 female lions sunning themselves on rocks taking no notice of us.

We watched several hundred wildebeest in a long line going for water with hyenas and jackals amongst them – maybe looking for young, sick or old beasts.

                     We also saw zebras in profusion, one elephant in a swamp and lots of birds.

                                         
                                                    This warthog posed for us.

We had a long drive back to the hotel as the only exit from the crater is on the other side of the crater from our hotel.

It’s very dry at present. The roads are very dusty. If you have a car coming towards you sometimes you cannot see through the dust for several seconds after it passes. It helps a little to wear a scarf over your mouth but our clothes get dusty ++ every day. All part of the experience.

                  These acrobats gave a spirited and athletic display at the Lodge before dinner.

20/9/13

We left the Serena  Ngorongoro Hotel on the rim of the crater at 8am and drove down the outside of the crater heading for the Serengeti. 

                                    These giraffe were grazing on the side of the crater.

We passed lots of Masai people. Again young boys who look about 7 or 8 with goats or cattle on their own. We also saw Masai women with donkeys going for water and others hanging their washing on bushes after washing it in a stream. Many of them make gestures asking for food when tourists pass or sometimes ask for water.

These donkeys were not on duty and allowed to graze although on pretty slim pickings I think.

                  More Masai villages and this Masai man wearing blue - a variation on the red theme.

We stopped at the Oldupai Gorge where early remains of humans have been found as well as of animals. There has been a lot of research done in the area over the years, in particular by a couple Louis and Mary Leakey who devoted their lives to it. There are footsteps preserved in volcanic rock which show humans were in the area 3 ½ million years ago. Skulls have been found from early humans. Research is still being done as money is available. It has been an important site in furthering the understanding of human evolution.

I had been asking what happens to the Masai people when they get elderly and can’t be so active any more. I was told that the community cares for them. There were two elderly Masai men sitting at the Gorge Museum when we got there. They wanted money to have their photo taken. They said – “$1 (US) for one.” I guess that’s their way of contributing to their community.

We had an excellent lecture about the Gorge. The black lady who gave it was very clear about her expectations of us to sit and listen. I didn't feel like arguing with her. Someone’s mobile went off in the middle of the lecture and I wondered how the lecturer would deal with it. I turned around to find one of the Masai elders reaching under his cloak. It was his phone ringing! And no the lecturer didn’t growl at him!

Many of the Masai people seem to have mobiles – even if they appear to have little else. Mobile coverage is excellent here and I guess it makes their lives much easier. They can recharge them with a solar charger as they don't usually have access to electricity.

At the end of the Ngorongoro Park we saw young Masai boys who have recently been through circumcision and are in a process of becoming Masai warriors. They stay in the bush for a year fending for themselves as an initiation although they do get quite a lot of help from their families. They wear black clothes and paint their faces in black and white. They agreed to be photographed for $1 American per photographer. The man on the right was an elder who teaches them.

We then left the Crater Park and drove into the Serengeti. It is one huge grassy plain. There are some granite rocks occasionally but it’s mainly flat and grassy. The grass is low and dry at present as it’s not long before the rainy season starts.

On the way to our hotel we saw 2 male and 1 female lion on the road right beside us. The male was in great condition and looked very handsome. They were not concerned about the vehicles and people in them and continued on their chosen way around us. It was exciting to have them so close.

Clive took this. It's supposed to be artistic with me with the lions in the background. mmm - maybe!

                   He looks quite gentle and kind don't you think but my advice is don't push it.

We also saw eagles, bustards, antelopes and giraffes. Generally there are not a lot of animals around at present because they’re migrating. I enjoyed having time to concentrate on less "big ticket" items such as birds and this lace monitor which can be overlooked when there's so many big animals to see.

                                                      These are Topi antelopes.

                                                     Amazing trees. This is a Boab.

This is a Whistling Acacia. Ants live in these pods. If giraffe attack the trees the ants go in their noses and annoy them so generally the giraffe leave the trees alone. A mutually beneficial arrangement.

Clive had been saying that we would see more impressive hippos than we'd already seen. We thought the ones we'd seen were quite impressive but then we when we got into the Serengeti we drove to The Hippo Pool and Clive was quite right. It's a fairly small body of water - especially at this time of year - but it's crowded with hippos.

         They could have spread out a little more it seemed but choose not to. An amazing sight.

                                                  A good landing pad for the birds too.

I spotted this leopard tortoise as we drove past from the vehicle. Apparently it's not common to see them. I was very proud!

We had lunch at the  Seronera Wildlife Lodge – our home for the next 2 nights. It is quite a structure. It is built into granite rocks and the dining room and lounge area have big granite rocks – some with animals painted on them for walls. 

There are lots of hyrax around. Little mole like animals whose nearest relation is elephants. We were really excited when we first saw them at Nakura Lodge but didn’t realise how many hundreds we were yet to see. They are very smelly when they’ve peed in an area but mostly are quite cute.

We went out on a game drive late  and saw elephants very close up, a rhino in a small stream and later one eating grass in a field. We saw lions on a log but a long way away and a variety of birds. 

Back to the hotel for dinner.

The hotel runs on generators so power is switched off  in the afternoon for a couple of hours and from midnight until 5am. The hot water also is only on early morning and evening. It didn’t come on in the evening until very late and it was hard to clean the days dust off but eventually it did work. It must be a nightmare running a hotel in the middle of a National Park like this.