Monday, March 06, 2006
Serengeti and Ngorongoro
What a beautiful, relaxing, happy weekend we had on safari. The game drive started before we even got to Ngorongoro on Friday - the further north we went the more wildlife we saw by the highway. We saw giraffes, baboons (you can see the babies on the left), elephant tracks, and antelopes by the road, on top of the usual Maasai goats and cows that roam around everywhere!
The scenery was breathtaking and got significantly greener as we got to within an hour of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was refreshing to see so much green after being in a much drier climate for two weeks. The rain season is about to begin here (it's very late), and the grass and crops are struggling to wake up after being too thirsty for too long.
Unfortunately for me, I was not feeling well at all on the morning of our departure. Wednesday night I started feeling really bad - I suspect it was the first symptoms of an amoebic infection. About a week and a half ago I inadvertently drank about half a litre of tap water before I realized it tasted funny... Anthony had filled up one of our empty water bottles with tap water, and even though he put his name on the label so we wouldn't mistake it for "clean" water, I didn't see it. I felt fine for a week but a lot of these illnesses can take about a week to develop, or so I've read. So I found myself starting a course of antibiotics and packing the Imodium (just in case!) the morning we left. I was nervous about going on a camping safari with an intestinal parasite... The antibiotic definitely made me feel nauseous for the first few hours of the drive - but luckily it had passed by the time we got to Ngorongoro and I felt ok the rest of the weekend. They don't really let you out of the car to pee in the bush in these parks - you never know what might pounce on you!
So Friday night we set up camp on the rim of Ngorongoro, had dinner, and went to bed rather early. Saturday morning we left the camp at dawn and spent 4 hours in the crater, then drove about 2 hours to Serengeti while millions of wildebeest,
zebras and antelopes grazed as far as the eye can see on the plains by the road. Saturday night we camped in the Serengeti and went to bed really early, which is great because we were awakened at 4:30 in the morning by the creepy "ooooo-ooooop!" of hyenas near the camp. It was a bit nerve-wracking to be honest, but oure guides assured us that we'd be safe in our tents or in the food area. These campsites all have caged areas for humans to eat and hang out in... A human zoo of sorts, to keep the animals from stealing our food, or eating us instead.
Nevertheless, they told us about a tour company cook who got much too drunk on Konyagi, the favorite liquor of Tanzanians (I have yet to try it), one night months ago and fell asleep halfway in his tent, with his leg sticking out. They say his leg was attacked by hyenas while he slept and later needed to be amputated. He was either really, REALLY drunk, or they were messing with us. My guess is option #2!
Sunday we did a four hour game drive in the Serengeti, came back for breakfast, and then got on the road so we'd have a few minutes to check out Olduvai Gorge on the way back. Throughout the weekend we saw lions, cheetahs, zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, warthogs, a black rhino, elephants, a leopard, jackals, giraffes, hyenas, baboons, hippos, more species of birds than I could ever remember, and more.
Some thoughts on our weekend, as my time is limited:
The African sky is bigger than any sky I've ever seen. At night it's because you can see the stars all the way to the horizon. During the day it just seems to envelop you whole. I love this.
"Siringiti" is Maasai for "endless plain". It's an appropriate name to which I would add "endless pleasure". I think one could spend a lifetime in this park and never get tired of it.
The higlight of the trip was watching these lions mate in the Serengeti. They were maybe 20 feet from us, probably less. Lions mate for 5 days straight, away from their pride. They don't eat during this time. On days 1, 2, and 3 they mate every 15 minutes or so. By days 4 and 5 they're tired, and go at it less and less. This must have been day 5 because the female had big wounds on her back. We waited almost 45 minutes to see them get up and mate... for 15 seconds! Talk about a quickie.
Nevertheless, it was amazing to watch. The male shot us a look when they were done that seemed to say "happy now?", then he went right back to sleep next to his lady.
I have a list of thoughts in the notebook I keep with me, that I want to add to my blog sometime... Some things I've noticed about Tanzanian culture that either irritate, fascinate, or inspire me. I'll try to get this done soon.
This picture that was taken right before we left Serengeti. Clockwise from left: Me, Amos (our driver), my mom, Solomon (the best cook in Tanzania), Anthony (tour guide and giant brat), and Richard, a goofball friend of theirs who jumped in on our picture. Lots of laughs were had all weekend!
More to come, baadaye!
(pronounced bad-eye, Swahili for "later"). ¶ 3/06/2006 07:30:00 AM
What a beautiful, relaxing, happy weekend we had on safari. The game drive started before we even got to Ngorongoro on Friday - the further north we went the more wildlife we saw by the highway. We saw giraffes, baboons (you can see the babies on the left), elephant tracks, and antelopes by the road, on top of the usual Maasai goats and cows that roam around everywhere!The scenery was breathtaking and got significantly greener as we got to within an hour of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was refreshing to see so much green after being in a much drier climate for two weeks. The rain season is about to begin here (it's very late), and the grass and crops are struggling to wake up after being too thirsty for too long.
Unfortunately for me, I was not feeling well at all on the morning of our departure. Wednesday night I started feeling really bad - I suspect it was the first symptoms of an amoebic infection. About a week and a half ago I inadvertently drank about half a litre of tap water before I realized it tasted funny... Anthony had filled up one of our empty water bottles with tap water, and even though he put his name on the label so we wouldn't mistake it for "clean" water, I didn't see it. I felt fine for a week but a lot of these illnesses can take about a week to develop, or so I've read. So I found myself starting a course of antibiotics and packing the Imodium (just in case!) the morning we left. I was nervous about going on a camping safari with an intestinal parasite... The antibiotic definitely made me feel nauseous for the first few hours of the drive - but luckily it had passed by the time we got to Ngorongoro and I felt ok the rest of the weekend. They don't really let you out of the car to pee in the bush in these parks - you never know what might pounce on you!So Friday night we set up camp on the rim of Ngorongoro, had dinner, and went to bed rather early. Saturday morning we left the camp at dawn and spent 4 hours in the crater, then drove about 2 hours to Serengeti while millions of wildebeest,
zebras and antelopes grazed as far as the eye can see on the plains by the road. Saturday night we camped in the Serengeti and went to bed really early, which is great because we were awakened at 4:30 in the morning by the creepy "ooooo-ooooop!" of hyenas near the camp. It was a bit nerve-wracking to be honest, but oure guides assured us that we'd be safe in our tents or in the food area. These campsites all have caged areas for humans to eat and hang out in... A human zoo of sorts, to keep the animals from stealing our food, or eating us instead. Nevertheless, they told us about a tour company cook who got much too drunk on Konyagi, the favorite liquor of Tanzanians (I have yet to try it), one night months ago and fell asleep halfway in his tent, with his leg sticking out. They say his leg was attacked by hyenas while he slept and later needed to be amputated. He was either really, REALLY drunk, or they were messing with us. My guess is option #2!
Sunday we did a four hour game drive in the Serengeti, came back for breakfast, and then got on the road so we'd have a few minutes to check out Olduvai Gorge on the way back. Throughout the weekend we saw lions, cheetahs, zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, warthogs, a black rhino, elephants, a leopard, jackals, giraffes, hyenas, baboons, hippos, more species of birds than I could ever remember, and more.
Some thoughts on our weekend, as my time is limited:
The African sky is bigger than any sky I've ever seen. At night it's because you can see the stars all the way to the horizon. During the day it just seems to envelop you whole. I love this.
"Siringiti" is Maasai for "endless plain". It's an appropriate name to which I would add "endless pleasure". I think one could spend a lifetime in this park and never get tired of it.
The higlight of the trip was watching these lions mate in the Serengeti. They were maybe 20 feet from us, probably less. Lions mate for 5 days straight, away from their pride. They don't eat during this time. On days 1, 2, and 3 they mate every 15 minutes or so. By days 4 and 5 they're tired, and go at it less and less. This must have been day 5 because the female had big wounds on her back. We waited almost 45 minutes to see them get up and mate... for 15 seconds! Talk about a quickie.Nevertheless, it was amazing to watch. The male shot us a look when they were done that seemed to say "happy now?", then he went right back to sleep next to his lady.
I have a list of thoughts in the notebook I keep with me, that I want to add to my blog sometime... Some things I've noticed about Tanzanian culture that either irritate, fascinate, or inspire me. I'll try to get this done soon.
This picture that was taken right before we left Serengeti. Clockwise from left: Me, Amos (our driver), my mom, Solomon (the best cook in Tanzania), Anthony (tour guide and giant brat), and Richard, a goofball friend of theirs who jumped in on our picture. Lots of laughs were had all weekend!More to come, baadaye!
(pronounced bad-eye, Swahili for "later"). ¶ 3/06/2006 07:30:00 AM
