Travels in Africa - Ngorongoro Crater Safari part 1

Prior to climbing Kilimanjaro, Robert and I had attempted to research how we could come down from the mountain, take a Safari across the Serengeti, get dropped off in Mwanza, a western Tanzanian town, and then get back to Rwanda via public transportation. We had a few stipulations: we wanted it to cost in the ballpark of what a flight from Kilimanjaro airport to Rwanda would cost, and we needed the entire trip to take only four days - our flight from Rwanda out to the US leaves Friday, January 12th.

I had arranged with Julian, our operator for Kilimanjaro, to leave on a Safari on Monday. After our celebratory lunch in Moshi on Sunday after coming down from the mountain, Robert and I had a short meeting with Julian and realized he'd quoted us a per day price as opposed to an all in price. Our grand plans of seeing the Serengeti were slipping from our grasp, and since it was Sunday there was almost no way to begin piecding it back together.

We enjoyed our afternoon in Moshi, checking emails, taking a nap and resting our legs. Just as the late afternoon turned to early evening the six of us who climbed the mountain met at Hotel Kindoroko's roof top bar for a few celebratory beers. The views of Kilimanjaro were covered by clouds and we recalled how just seven days ago we'd seen the mountain from the same perch and wondered what our trip would behold.

Our gathering turned from drinks to dinner and then more drinks. It was a lot of fun to be able to unwind and continue to get to know those we'd ascended Africa's tallest mountain with. By 10pm we were all worn out. We were still on camping schedule. We retired to our rooms, and I had little trouble falling asleep.

By 8am when we gathered for breakfast the sky was crystal clear, and we were once again presented with spectacular views of Kilimanjaro, Mawenzi and the ridge we'd descended over the past few days. No matter how many times you see it, it's still amazing. I get a similar feeling evry time I see Mount Rainer in Washington state, though I haven't ascended her peak.

I was still exhausted and used the morning to relax and write. Robert was adamant about finding an alternative to our planned safari. It was a struggle for him to find any decent information and after a few hours I all but suspected we'd be on the same flight back to Kigali that Matthew, Victoria, Travis and Reagen were taking. It wasn't deparing until four and their ride wasn't leaving the hotel until one thirty. Around 10am, after a couple of hours of dead ends, Robert asked if I wanted to explore a bit of Moshi with him.

We stopped in a cell phone shop so Robert could "top up" his SIM card, but it seemed as if everyone else in Moshi had the same agenda so we spilled back onto the streets. Just next door were the offices for Tanzania Voyages, an outfitter which takes clients on safaris.

We were greeted by an English guy named Mark who was about our age and we explained our current situation. He explained the few options we had, given our budget, and we told him they sounded great provided we could make it back to Rwanda by late Thursday evening. We took a ten minute walk across town to the one travel agent who utilizes the worldwide travel agent system/language. She informed us that the direct flight between Kilimanjaro airport and Kigali, Rwanda, now operated thrice weekly: Monday (the flight all our climbing companions were on), Wednesday and Friday (which would be too late). We now had to walk back to the safari company and confirm the price and logistics.

We confirmed that we would take a safari to Ngorongoro (In-gore-in-gore-o) Crater, camping outside the park at a private campsite the first night and then on the crater rim the second night. We would be able to do a game drive the second day as well as the morning of the third day before being dropped at the airport for our flight to Kigali on Wednesday. It was still going to be pricey, though not as pricey as the confusion we'd had with Julian. In addition we would ensure ourselves to be back in Rwanda in time to fly out to the US. In fact, we'd have an entire day to spare!

For what seemed to be the 10th time, but was actually only the fourth, we walked from one end of Moshi to the next, being hassled by touts and sales people the entire way. We hit an ATM, bought our tickets, and spent the final walk back to the safari company justifying our decision to spend more money than we'd hoped in the end. Nevertheless, we were within striking distance of a few African National Parks which contain all members of the "Big Five" animals (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Cheetah and African Buffalo). We would be foolish to pass up this opportunity.

We went back to the hotel, showered, checked out and were then introduced to our driver and our cook. Our driver's name was Armani and our cooks name was Anuari (pronounced like January without the "J"). We had trouble remembering both of their names.

We took off from Moshi on our Toyota Land Cruiser. We made a stop in Arusha to try to find Robert a new memory card for his camera and to stock up on water for our trip. There was an early afternoon thunderstorm which rolled through Arusha which caused a bit of traffic related chaos in this city where many safari outfitters are based, but by the time we were back on the road and headed west the afternoon skies were clear and the air outside was cool.

The drive itself was rather uneventful. The passing scenery looked very similar to that of California when it's green. Rolling silhouttes of small mountains stood in the distance on either side of us. The flat floor of the valley we traversed was decorated with acacia trees and a few other indigenous African species. It was pleasant to just sit back and enjoy the view.

We reached the first camp site by 5pm and there were a few overland trucks on site. We set up our tent and I took a nap after exploring the grounds of the attached lodge. It was actually quite fancy and it had a very beautiful, well manicured garden. I awoke around seven and joined Robert and Armani, whom we'd taken to calling Tae between each other (because of his resemblance to the actor Tae Diggs) who were discussing "life" as they waited for dinner. The coals the cook was using to heat our vegetarian fare seemed to be cooking more slowly than he'd imagined. We were served our soup after 8pm.

The meal we were served was identical to that on the mountain. All of the brands of "fixings" (margarine, peanut butter, ketchup, hot/chili sauce, etc) were the same too. We were glad that Matthew and Travis weren't with us, as they'd grown incredibly tired of the expedition meals we'd been served on the mountain. We chased dinner with a beer in the lodge's bar and hit the rack, eager for what tomorrow held.

After a quick breakfast we paid our park entry fees and headed into the Ngorongoro Crater National Conservation Area. Our driver explained to us that unlike in the Serengeti, the national park whose eastern border butts up against the eastern edge of Ngorongoro, people were allowed to reside in the conservation area. This distinction was made for the Masaii people, who inhabit areas in both Tanzania and Kenya within the Rift Valley. These indigenous tribes rely on the fertile grasslands for their cattle to graze. Their presence within the vast conservation area was noticeable but not a detraction.

We ascended the bumpy road on the outside of the crater. There were the obligatory baboons welcoming us at the gate and just inside the park, but our efforts to spot any wildlife past that point stopped with avians. The small road was lined with thick forest. The trees had insane branches spiring up from their hearty trunks. The bush was dense, all in all. After a half an hour of climbing we reached the crater rim road. There we were granted our first views of the crater.

The sun was still low in the sky at 10am. The fluffy white clouds overhead cast angular shadows over the crater below. The crater was immense, a monstrosity if you will. It spans 250 square kilometers and contains a large lake at its cenetr, though it barely occupies a quarter of the entire area. We could see its entirety and I chuckled to Robert that I felt we should be able to see all of the animals from where we were. He pointed out a tiny white dot deep on the crater floor and said it was one of the many land cruisers. If our eyes could differentiate between trees, rocks and animals the only thing we'd have a remote chance of seeing from the top would be an elephant.

We snapped our obligatory "crater overlook" photos and continued on the crater rim road towards the Serengeti plains. Ten kilometers down the road we passed the Ngorongoro Crater Rim Lodge, whose $600 per night rooms (inclusive of your own butler) make it the most expensive place to sleep in Tanzania. We continued on another five kilometers to the Simba A public campsite. We dropped our cook there, who we'd taken to calling "Claw-9" between ourselves. This nickname was a throw back to one of the guys running the show on the Nairobi to Dar es Salaam bus. Our cook's small, tough frame combined with his loud, raspy Swahili made us think he could take on anyone or anything in his way, a role we presumed the original Claw-9 played alongside the friendlier "Stripey" for the bus company.

From the campsite we continued until we intersected the road towards the Serengeti plains. It first descended into a huge bowl surrounded by rolling hills on three sides. There were a few Masaii villages sporadically settled on the hillsides and there were tons of of small brown, black and white specks on the plains at the bottom. As we descended we stopped every so often for our driver to point out the vast numbers of zebra and gazelle amidst the Masaii's cattle, sheep and donkey. Without the animals the lush green grasses would have been beautiful. The animals just added to the allure.

We emerged on the open walled side of the bowl and continued descending even further. The bush on our sides were lined with acacia trees, prime feeding grounds for giraffes. Within moments we saw a herd of zebra grazing amongst the trees. Almost immediatelt upon spotting them we saw a family of giraffe. They were cool and collected just picking the leaves from the top of the trees. They paid us little mind, but were kind enough to allow us to take a few pictures.

As we followed the road further and further towards the Serengeti plains we continued to see herds of zebra and families of giraffe on both sides of the road. Though we'd seen these animals in South Africa and Kenya it was still exciting to observe them. We'd even popped the top of our land cruiser enabling us to enable full-on safari mode, heads poking out of the top for photos and binoccular sightings.

Eventually the road opened up and we could see the vast plain of the Serengeti. We were still in the Conservation Area but were about to enter the plains where one of Africa's most famous events occurs: the great migration of the wildebeast. It's so famous, in fact, that it was just dubbed the seventh of as many wonders of the modern world. Just as we'd noticed specks of various colors when we were descending into the three sided bowl, our eyes began to focus on tons and tons of dots scattered on the plains. As we ventured closer and closer we could make out thousands upon thousands of wildebeasts, interspersed with about half as many zebra and a quarter of as many small, Grant's gazelles.

Our luck would have it, and our tour operator told us such, that the great migration was currently in Ngorongoro Conservation Area. That boded well for us and our budgets because we didn't have to venture into the Serengeti, incurring another hefty entry fee. In Tanzania four wheel drive land cruisers must stay on already maintained paths. Drivers in Kenya are supposedly allowed to drive off road in pursuit of getting a better look at the animals in their parks. Fortunately there was a spur from the main road out towards the grazing wildebeasts. We followed it to its end and then our driver cut the engine.

The sound of the animals communicating was different than expected. They emitted a mix between a honk and the croak of a frog. Not only was it marvelous to hear the animals but it was great not to hear the thousands of rattles and shakes the car makes as we drove over the very uneven roads. The calm winds blowing on our faces were much quieter than the steady flow of the open windows and open top, too.

We paid specuial attention to many pf the animals within ten feet of the vehicle, but there were tons and tons of them between us and the road we'd turned off of and countless others further out towards the plains. Though the birthing part of the migration was only a month away, it was hard to tell the difference between the males and females by size alone.

The experience to see this many animals was unique, but not as exciting as when they must cross the Mara River between Tanzania's Serengeti and Kenya's Masaii Mara National Parks after the birthing season. After we'd taken in as much as we'd needed our driver asked us what we were interested in doing next. Knowing little other than the Serengeti lay further to the west and the Ngorongoro Crater back to the east, we asked for assistance from him. He was generally unhelpful, only stating that there would be more wildebeast, zebra and gazelle if we went further toward the plains and that crater contained all of the other animals we'd expressed interest in seeing: lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, etc.

We weren't exactly sure what to do. We asked about the possibility of going into the crater both this afternoon as well as the next morning. Tae informed us that wasn't possible because in addition to the $30 per person, per day fee we'd already paid, we paid a one time $100 crater entry fee. We'd have to pay that a second time if we wanted to go back the next morning. Nevertheless, I thought we should spend our afternoon in the crater. I didn't want to drive aimlessly around the Serengeti plain within Ngorongoro just to see more wildebeast. We just saw the great migration, as far as the world is concerned there's no more wildebeasts to see! In addition, our decision making had worked out for us thus far, why shouldn't it do so now?

We entered the park around noon. There is a one way descent road and an accompanying ascent road on the side of the park closest to us and a two-way road on the opposite side. Our descent was very steep and it was fascinating to see the grass lands of the gigantic crater get closer and closer. As we neared the end of the road and were about to be spit out onto the crater floor we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife. just like before black specks slowly came into view. We'd hoped our first sightings would be something new, but zebras and wildebeasts were the first animals we focused in on.

We continued on the road and began to spot other large animals. We saw African Water Buffalo, Thompson's gazelles and large antelope that looked like elk. There were set roads within the crater and we followed those like all of the other vehicles. I am not going to go through the entire sequence of how we came upon each of the animals that we saw, but will explain the various animals and the habitats we saw them in.