Safari!!

All 26 of us (23 students + 1 coordinator + 2 teachers) loaded into 4 safari vehicles and drove to Karatu, a town right outside of Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Each vehicle fits 5-7 people and has a soft top that pops open so that you can stand on your seat and stick your head outside. It was nice to drive out of town and through a rural area where there is a large Maasai population. We saw lots of Maasai herding their cattle alongside the road, dressed in their traditional clothing. We also got great views of the bombas (traditional round huts) that they live in. I really enjoyed driving through an area where the Maasai were so prevalent because their culture is so intriguing to me. It is so far removed from Western culture and is purely African. I just finished reading an autobiography written by a Maasai who was educated in the United States. The author gives an inside perspective not only on the Maasai but also on the potential of clashing between both cultures .

We arrived in Karatu around 8:30 and headed to dinner after a half hour of confusion over who was staying at which hotel/guesthouse (it would be very difficult to find somewhere that can sleep 26 people). There was an issue over which rooms were considered singles and which rooms were considered doubles since most of the guys were not eager to share a double bed. Luckily, our tour guides had pre-arranged dinner at a nearby restaurant since we were all starving by the time we made it there. And they had plenty of delicious food for us, all for under $5 each.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast at 5:45 am. We even all made it there relatively on time. The Bed and Breakfast that I stayed at served us omelettes with tomato, fresh homemade bread with jam, bananas, and tea. We then began the drive to Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoror Crater was formed 2.5 million years ago after a huge volcanic eruption. It is 16 km by 19 km in size. It is one of the best places to see wildlife since all of the animals are relatively trapped inside of the crater. It would be a huge undertaking for them to trek over the edges of the crater. The wildebeast in the crater only migrate locally within the crater, whereas all of the wildebeast in the Serengeti migrate ever year between Tanzania and Kenya.

After entering the park gate, you drive for about an hour on the rim of the crater before you get to the road that descends into the crater. Unfortunately, it was extremely foggy on this road when we were there in the morning, so we were not able to catch any views of the crater at this point. We could only see more than 10 feet away from the car once we began to descend. The floor of the crater is mostly barren grassland with a large central lake. This lake is strikingly silver in the center because it is so salty. However, animals are able to drink at the edges of the lake where there is freshwater. I don't quite understand how this works, but it was very interesting to see. The landscape of the crater is very unique since the crater bottom is a flat, round area surrounded on all sides by mountains. It was surprisingly cold and cloudy most of the time that we were at Ngorongoro, so it made it slightly less enjoyable since I was not prepared for the cold. Luckily I was able to procure a Maasai blanket to wrap around us.

The ascent out of the crater provided us with some breathtaking views and a thrilling ride.
It was a steep dirt road with the wall of a mountain on one side and a long drop on the other side. We rode with our heads out of the roof and took lots of pictures with the crater view in the background. We had to repeatedly duck our head inside the car whenever thorny branches were hanging over the road. By the way, there were huge thorn bushes/trees all over the park. The thorns were as big as toothpicks. I am pretty sure that these are the bushes that the hyenas fall into in The Lion King. Most things on safari can relate back to The Lion King in one way or another.

On Saturday evening, we all went to a restaurant in order to celebrate the Fourth of July with food and beverage. The 5 EWH-ers who aren't US citizens put up with us somehow. Most of us sat outside at the restaurant since they had a nice grassy area with lots of tables. When you show up to a restaurant in Africa with that many people, you cannot expect to get your food in a very timely manner, so we just sat around enjoying each other's company. After we had all eaten, a massive game of Flip Cup ensued; about 20 people were playing in all. After a group sing-along to the Michael Jackson music video that was playing on the tv inside, we headed back to the hotels/the bar next door. It was definitely a memorable 4th of July. I will be sad when everyone splits up this weekend to move to their host hospital for the next month.

On Sunday, we went to Tarangire National Park, which was a very scenic hour and a half drive away. When we had driven this before, it had been dark out, so it was great to be able to enjoy it during the sunlight. The views of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Lake Manyara were unbelievable. Tarangire is known for all of the baobabs (the tree that Rafiki lives in on The Lion King). They have huge trunks which rot out and fill with water. Elephants rip the bark off during the dry season in order to get water. Tarangire is home to lots of elephants and giraffes, both of which we got to see in very close proximity. A family of elephants crossed the road right between our vehicles after the papa elephant let out an intimidating growl in warning. Later, we drove right by a family of elephants, scaring one of the babies. It let out a surprising loud noise and then ran away. Luckily, I caught this on video. It was a beautiful sunny day while we were at Tarangire which made it even more enjoyable. It was a stark contrast to the cold cloudy weather of the previous day. We began our drive back to Arusha in the afternoon back through Maasai country. I stood with my head out the top of the car for much of the trip until the wind got to be too much.

Animals that we saw:

Ngorongoro Crater:

Elephants {tembo}, lots of hyenas {fisi}, lots of wildebeast, water buffalo, crowned cranes, Kori bustard (largest flying bird), monkeys {kima}, flamingos, lions{simba} (although from far away), maybe a rhino from far away, hippos{kiboko}, gazelles, lots of zebras {pudamilia}

Tarangire National Park:

Lots of elephants, giraffes{twiga}, baboons {nyani}, cute squirrel things, impalas, dik diks, water bucks, wildebeasts, lots of zebras, mongoose

More later…