7 PLACES VISITED: 1) Tarangire National Park, 2) Mto Wa Mbu, 3) Karatu, 4) Serengeti National Park, 5) Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 6) Kiloki Masai Village, 7) Ngorongoro Crater.
5 OVERNIGHTS: 1) Cabin at “Sunbright Campsite & Safari Lodge”, Mto Wa Mbu (Elev 967m), 2-3) Facility Camp at “Nyani Campsite”, Serengeti National Park (Elev 1529m), 4) Facility Camp at “Simba 2 Campsite”, Ngorongoro (Elev 2312m), 5) Room at “Arusha Backpackers”, Arusha (Elev 1468m).
2 RUNS: Mto Wa Mbu (2)
60 UNIQUE WILDLIFE: 1) Vervet Monkey, 2) Blackfaced Impala, 3) White Heron, 4) Egyptian Goose, 5) African Elephant, 6) Burchell’s Zebra, 7) White-headed Buffalo Weaver, 8) Lilac-breasted Roller, 9) Red-billed Hornbill, 10) Blue Wildebeest, 11) Lion, 12) Cheetah, 13) Common Warthog, 14) Fish Eagle, 15) Yellow-belly Stalk, 16) Maribou Stalk, 17) Mamacop, 18) Helmeted Guinea Fowl, 19) Rock Hydrax, 20) Olive Baboon, 21) Masai Giraffe, 22) Grey Falcon, 23) Springbok (Thompson Gazelle), 24) Kirk's Dikdik, 25) White-belled Bastard, 26) Common Ostrich, 27) Grey Owl, 28) Spotted Hyena, 29) Serval Cat, 30) Topi, 31) Leopard, 32) Lappet-faced Vulture, 33) Cape Buffalo, 34) Hippopotamus, 35) Striped Mongoose, 36) Nile Crocodile, 37) Olive Baboon, 38) Secretary Bird, 39) Tawny Eagle, 40) Superb Starling, 41) Black-backed Jackal, 42) Rock Hydrax, 43) Hooded Vulture, 44) Little Bee Eater, 45) White-headed Buffalo Weaver, 46) Black-winged Stilt, 47) Three-banded Plover, 48) White-backed Vulture, 49) Grant’s Gazelle, 50) Black Crake, 51) Cape Teal, 52) Blacksmith, 53) Waterbet, 54) Sacred Ibis, 55) Honey Badger, 56) Brown Jackal, 57) Pink Flamingo, 58) Southern Red Bishop, 59) Kori Bastard, 60) Black Rhinoceros.
BLOG POST TRAILER:
Welcome to the post that puts TANZANIA in the NUMBER ONE position as my favourite overall African Country!!! Why you ask? Easy. As you will read in this post and the one before, TANZANIA offers the traveller a bit of everything. The emerald-green waters of Zanzibar Island, for those looking for a tropical paradise to laze and sunbath in, the mighty Kilimanjaro for all types of climbers, the city buzz of Dar Es Salaam, the culture of the Masai in their own genuine village, the extraordinary beauty of the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti plains and finally six major Wildlife National Parks, three of which offer Africa’s “Big 5” and the possibility of seeing these in one game drive! To date, TANZANIA is the place to come to if you have time for only one country!
For me, TANZANIA “just" edges out NAMIBIA by a freckle and it was a tough decision to put TANZANIA in front because of the striking Namibian landscape. But when you read this post and see the pictures you will understand why. The second part of my Tanzanian adventure begins in the same place that the first part ended - Arusha. As I mentioned in Part 1, Arusha is not a glowing city laid out for the huge tourism that it does each year. On the contrary it is very rough and untidy, more reminiscent of poor, gritty, market-stall, dusty, garbage everywhere, West Africa, than progressive Southern and Eastern Africa. Having said that, it is still a good base for safaris and closer to them. I booked a five day, four night safari with a company called “Bestday Safaris” based in Arusha.
The Managing Director, Peter Charles is very capable and always smiling. His contact details are at the end of this summary. Peter’s staff were very friendly and the whole tour went very well. I travelled with three other customers, headed by our driver and guide, “Gleisner”, nickname “Six” and put cook “Rama”. Sara is an Italian-born tertiary student from Pisa in Italy, who just finished her masters degree in Social Sciences in UGANDA over the last 5 mths and is spending two weeks break in TANZANIA before returning home. Udaya is also a tertiary student, originally from India, finishing his PhD in Mechatronics in Italy, which is where he met Sara. They decided to travel to TANZANIA together. Jeiel (JL) is an Industrial Chemist, just out of uni, working in Africa for an NGO to set up a program to remove harmful lead from paints used by the locals. Our transport was a big six cylinder, four litre diesel Toyota Landcruiser, remodelled to sit six customers in the back with sliding windows and a pop-up roof for open air photography. We slept in beds on the first night and in tents for the other three! I was not expecting that because of the price we paid but I told Peter this on my return. The tents were new and matts and bag supplied.
The food on this trip was good with a few too many carbs and not enough veggies which is always the case on these “camping” safaris. Meat was scare with chicken and minced beef taking centre stage. Pity because Tanzania does have plenty of cheap beef and game. Also conveyed this to Peter. My adventure began with a pickup from the Arusha Backpackers Hostel at 9:30am on Friday 17 June 2016. The others were already on board.
We spent most of the morning driving out to our first park: the “Tarangire National Park” which is not large but contains high concentrations of wildlife, specialising in elephants and lions. This park, like Serengeti and Ngorongoro all have Africa’s “Big 5” which is very rare indeed - not even the famous Etosha or Kruger have the Big 5 any more. Apparently there are more elephants in Tarangire per square kilometre of park than in any other. At 2,850 square kilometres, that’s a lot of elephants!!! Tanager is also famous for its many Baobab and flat-topped Acacia trees, which are readily associated by the rest of the world with Africa - even those who have not beed to Africa. We saw 20 different species of wildlife in 4 hours that afternoon (listed in the DETAILED BLOG) before sleeping in news at a lodge in the town of Mto Wa Mbu, which is also where I ran in TANZANIA for the first time since my calf injury in MALAWI.
The next day we travelled past the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater (details later) and across the Serengeti Plains to the Naaibi Gate of the vast Serengeti National Park. The landscape here is unique and amazing. A vast flat ocean of grass flowing and waving in the wind like the crest of waves frothing at their tops in a watery ocean! It was overcast that day with huge overlapping clouds with menacing dark grey bodies and spears of sunlight coming through them like Masai spears or God’s miracle! What a sight. Just look at the photos in this post! The Serengeti National Park covers 14,763 square metres and is also punctuated by many varieties of flat-topped and umbrella-shaped acacia trees. Along with the grass it is classic iconic Africa that you see in all the documentaries. It is here that I really felt that I was in the African wildlife wilderness - it actually looked like the type of landscape that elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalos, rhinos would live in!!! And boy did we see them.
Because we spent all the morning travelling to Serengeti and visiting the Olduvai Gorge, we had time for only a 3-hour sunset safari in the late afternoon to acquaint us worth he residents of Serengeti and managed to see 15 of them in this short time, including 8 lions (which featured cubs I never saw wild before). This was a “taste” of things to come and what a feast it was. I picked the 5 day package because you get to spend two nights in Serengeti. Olduvai Gorge was interesting. I had become acquainted with this place in the National Museum of Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam where I saw reproductions of the part skull, part jaw bone and few teeth that Mary Leaky discovered in this gorge in 1959 which is the only evidence in the world of the “missing link” between the first two stages of four stages of hunan evolution from ape-like creatures called “hominids” to our current form of “homo-sapien”. There is evidence for stages 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 but this find completed the evidence from stage 1 to 2. Fascinating. I learned here that their are scientists who pursue evolution but believe the evidence between stages is inconclusive, especially the missing link.
Olduvai Gorge is also where stage 1 bones of a female were found that are nicknamed “Lucy” - dated 6 million years old! As I gazed across the gorge I could not help thinking - is this the place were we are all from? Somebody better find Eden quick if we are to have a “counter-offer”!!! Back to the Serengeti. Our first night on the great plain was a symphony of animal sounds. I am used to these now and counted amongst them a lion, hyena, jackal and badger. There are no fences and they are all free to enter the camp but this is very rare since wildlife armour scared of us than we are of them.
Only in cases of extreme hunger and drought have they been known to bother campers and by the time those conditions arise, armed guards are appointed overnight. Our morning safari began at 6am with a spectacular sunrise whilst we were filling one of our tyres with air - I walked into the bush to get a better subject for my sunrise shots than a garage! “Six" came running after me shouting. Please come back - the garage man says there is a lion in the area! I remembered the lion I heard last night so I figured it was true. That morning we were chasing leopards. Instead we saw some lions - not bad. At round 10am, Six noticed a dead gazelle high up in a tree branch. How on earth did he see it? I realised later that he would look into every tree with his binoculars while we were stationery and shooting wildlife. The method paid off. I kill in a tree is a sure sign of a leopard nearby. Leopards hunt at night and if lucky do not devour their kills immediately - they store them in trees so eat gradually just in case the next kill is days away - smart guys! They will sleep and rest during the day, always with straight line of sight to their kill in the tree. We all started to look through the long swaying grass through our zoom lenses around the tree with the kill on top. Then suddenly it occurred to me.If I was a leopard and wanted to keep my eye on my fries, why would a lie in long grass?
I would lie in another tree! Sure enough, a few trees down and we struck gold - Six spotted the sleeping leopard hanging limp, like a Christmas Tree decoration on a branch. Unfortunately he had his back to us and the head was not visible. We drove over to the other side but he was too far away. We returned to the original, closer spot and waited just in case he moved. No go - this guy was definitely asleep and in it for the long haul. We moved on and headed north to see a phenomenon called “The Great Migration” which is characteristic of the Serengeti. The term applies mainly to Blue Wildebeest but also includes zebras and meters of the antelope family. Wildebeest give birth to their young in February/March and these then travel to other part of Africa to make a life of their own in May/June of the following year - independent little buggers. They travel in the hundreds of thousands creating a spectacle as they exit the Serengeti that is probably visible from low orbit (let alone a balloon or helicopter flight). It was June so we had a great chance of actually seeing this.
Just a few minutes into our northern journey saw 12 other cars parked on the side of the road - this was ALWAYS a good sign of a big cat! Gold. It was another leopard, standing up on a branch! Fully visible and relatively close. We even filmed it coming down off the tree and disappearing into the long grass. This gem was then followed by another unique sight of 20 vultures ripping a fresh Wildebeest road kill to a skeleton in front of our very eyes - documentary stuff! We knew we had arrived the migration zone when the normally light yellow green distant Serengeti plains looked dark like they had a mass outbreak of freckles. They were no freckles but thousands if not millions of Wildebeest. They were camped everywhere like they were ready to go somewhere.
We had arrived during the “marshalling” stage just prior to the migration itself, no one knows how long it is because it varies from year to year based on weather and overall numbers. It was good to be there to see this incredible sight. From here it was a long drive back. We would not have time for a sunset safari but we did do one yesterday and we all voted to use the time to see the migration - we could not do not. A good decision. We had seen a total of 36 species over the course of the day. This is very high compared with other parks I visited. Another night of sounds and in the morning we made our way to the Ngorongoro Crater which took most of the day and afternoon having visited a genuine Masai Village.
The village is called “Kiloki Village”, population 123 and is the largest in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area or NCA. The NCA differs from a National Park in that people are allowed to live in it but not touch the wildlife. No one can live in a National Park. The Masai are tall and thin and can jump very high in the air - this is their traditional dance. Strangely the Masai do not eat game. They keep sheep, goats and cows and eat the milk and meat from these. For this reason they are nomadic and will travel to other parts of the NCA were they have prebuilt huts. There are 20-30 others scattered throughout the NCA. They use donkeys to transport their stuff from dwelling to dwelling when they move.
I met, “Mbai Tolwo”, the Chief’s son who introduced me to his family and friends. His English name is “Noel”. I interviewed Noel and then performed “cultural exchange of dance” - they did the dag dance and I jumped in the air - hilarious - they were very much into letting me do what wanted. The Masai drink the fresh blood of a cow mixed with its milk via a non-fatal “tap” in the animals neck - this is to give them strength and agility. It originates with the Masai Warriors before a battle but is continued now for those going out to graze animals to give them strength. It is part of a ritual (without religious meaning) and that is why they could not offer me some when I asked - I would need to stay the night! I actually looked to that when I was alone on this tour but when the others booked I could no longer fit it in. Bugger!
That would have been one heck of an experience. From here we ascended sharply from around 1500m at the Masai Village to a peak of 2365m. The views were incredible looking out onto the ranges surrounding the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater or caldera rim was just above 2000m and in cloud. We pulled into the camp at 5:30pm with enough light to set up our tents in the spooky mist. The NCA is 8,300 square kilometres and contains up to 25,000 animals at peak.
Many will migrate here to drink the water in the centre of the 19km diameter caldera. It is literally a wildlife paradise and the third park in this area that contains Africa’s “Big 5”. The Caldera was formed from a collapsed volcano some 1-2 million years ago - it is NOT from a meteorite which is why "crater” is misleading. There are approx 5,000 Masai living in the NCA raising cows, sheep and goats. We packed up and departed at 6am into the tick misty cloud of the rim and descend down into the caldera some 600m from a height of 2300m to the floor at 1700m. (PHOTO BELOW is my favourite to date: Lion in Caldera)
The place is simply spectacular and mystical. You can see the clad ear walls all the way around but there is a microcosm of lakes, forests and plain grass inside. A haven for animals and the only place that you are most likely to spot Africa’s Big 5 in one game drive. We did exactly that. It is an amazing story that began with he sighting of an elephant and lion literally minutes apart. It took some time to spot the distant Black Rhino and the others were very relieved to be able to photograph it - I had seen one before but for them it was the Big 5 completed over the course of two days.
Then, as we left this majestic place the very rare happened. We actually frightened a leopard out of the side of the road, half way up the caldera rim with lush green rainforest on both sides. This is the only place that the leopard hunts - not on the caldera floor so to see it and then have it walk away on the road instead of the rainforest was a miracle! That completed our Big 5 in a single 4hr drive in Ngorongoro - we had to leave at 1pm to head back to Arusha. What a way to finish off this marvelous safari. Out of five distinct drives in three parks we calculated that we had seen 4 of the Big 5 for 3 of them and all the Big 5 for this last one - amazing. Also we had seen a total of 60 different species over the course of 4days - another record for me. Add Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro to the mixed is it no wonder that made TANZANIA the number one country to visit to date.
BESTDAY SAFARIS CONTACT DETAILS:
Peter CHARLES, Managing Director, Bestday Safaris Ltd, Address: Zaramo Street, Near Main Bus Stand, Namvua Plaza, 2nd Floor, Room No.320, P.O.Box 16883, Arusha, Mobile: +255 767 130448 or +255 713 130448 or +255 784 130448, Email: info@bestdaysafaris.com, Website: www.bestdaysafaris.com
BLOG POST DETAIL:
DAY 218 of 273, Fri 17JUN16, 211km, Solo12, Room at “Arusha Backpackers”, Arusha (Elev 1468m) to Cabin at “Sunbright Campsite & Safari Lodge”, Mto Wa Mbu (Elev 967m, Run1) TANZANIA. Beaut sleep. Up once but none of the noise or tossing and turning of the other night. Just as well because today it was back to the wildlife and safaris - one of the real highlights of Africa.
The “Bestday Safaris” custom-fitted Toyota Landcruiser turned up 30min late at 9:30am with three other passengers on board. I was the fourth on this expedition. Sara is an Italian-born tertiary student from Pisa in Italy, who just finished her masters degree in Social Sciences in UGANDA over the last 5 mths and is spending two weeks break in TANZANIA before returning home. Udaya is also a tertiary student, originally from India, finishing his PhD in Mechatronics in Italy, which is where he met Sara. They decided to travel to TANZANIA together. Jeiel (JL) is an Industrial Chemist, just out of uni, working in Africa for an NGO to set up a program to remove harmful lead from paints used by the locals. What a trio. Our driver “Gleisner” with nickname “Six” is an easy-going guy, maybe too easy! Our cook was “Rama”, another joker, always laughing but boy can he cook!
We set off towards Tarangire National Park in the south-west and it was not long until the Rift Valley came into sight. This is a huge mountain chain extending 6,000km (almost as long as the Nile) from the top of LEBANON to the bottom of MOZAMBIQUE much like the Andes in South America. It comprises several peaks above 3,000 metres so it is a serious range. The valley is forms is very wide with scattered scrub and orange dirt. The acacia’s and baobabs slowly started to increase as we approached the park. We arrived shortly after noon and by 12:30pm we were in full-on safari mode, driving slowly with the pop-out roof expended to allow stand up uninhibited photography. What a scene. This park is full-on Africa - full of flat-topped and umbrella shaped acacia trees as well as hundreds of baobabs of every shape and size. A fantastic setting for wildlife. And what wildlife! 
Here are 20 animals that we saw during our four hour safari: Vervet Monkey, Impala, White Heron, Egyptian Goose, African Elephant, Zebra, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Blue-breasted Lilac, Red-billed Hornbill, Wildebeest, Lion, Cheetah, Common Warthog, Fish Eagle, Yellow-belly Stalk, Maribou Stalk, Mamacop, Guinea Fowl, Rock Hydrax, Olive Baboon. Tarangire was a surprise - a good park all round and one of very few that offers “the Big 5” - this is impressive given its smaller size.
The sun was overwhelming, even at 1000m and we all snoozed. It was a bit of a shock to pull up to our campsite at Mto Wa Mbu at 5:45pm and jump out and run after a week of non-running and a 3-day climb just 2 days ago. I was dressed fort and pulled off my pants and shirt and off I went. There others thought I was joking when I tried to explain that the tourist and runner in me was like Clark Kent and Superman. One and the same and ready to change from one to the other in a split second! It was a tough run but I am so glad I did it. Finally my first in TANZANIA after being here 11 nights! I ran past the town and it was sue busy - don’t know why since it is low season! What was everyone doing? Just out of town was a line of very tall, thick rainforest trees with almost white leaves.
I also noticed a strange bad smell. Then it hit me. I looked up and there they were - millions of huge stalks sitting on top of these trees and poo-ing everywhere down below! Then the road started to climb until I ran past the entrance to the Lake Manyara National Park. An extra special view unfolded below me. I could see the lake int he distance and the huge Rift Valley below. The town of Mto Wa Mbu was clearly visible in this valley. This very scenic view helped me ignore the pain of my run and before I knew it I was back and glad! Just enough time for another cold African shower despite the nice tent-style room with very comfy bed. Dinner was excellent. Leek soup, spicy crumbed fish fillets, avocado/cucumber salad, ratatouille and soft-boiled flash-fried potato balls. Gourmet stuff. Conversation was great too. I just happened to find a cask of Tanzanian dry white wine from “Dodoma”, the government capital of the country. Everyone enjoyed this wine - it was actually quite good. Apparently Dodoma is at 1500m which explains how grapes may survive there given the proximity to the equator. It was a great evening and a great start to our safari.
DAY 219 of 273, Sat 18JUN16, 204km, Solo12, Cabin at “Sunbright Campsite & Safari Lodge”, Mto Wa Mbu (Elev 967m, Run2) to Facility Camp at “Nyani Campsite”, Serengeti National Park (Elev 1529m) TANZANIA. Up at 5:30am for another run. I did not feel my calf yesterday but today would be the true test since I rarely feel an injury after an extended period of rest. I ran in the opposite direction to yesterday and this time no scenery since I was running back across the flat Rift Valley. It was very cloudy but high cloud and not likely to rain. The locals told me that hardly ever rains in winter. Close to the half way point I started feeling my calf but it did not pop. I was a little upset since the bastard had not totally healed. I was up for a rest day tomorrow so there was relief in sight. I would have to cut my runs down from 5 to 4 a week to stay on top of this. I could not afford a pop before KENYA or any new country. TANZANIA was safe but could I duck and weave this thing for the rest of my trip - 2 months is still a bit of time to cheat an injury and there were no physios in sight! Breakkie was supposed to be at 7:30am and I arrived at 7:45am and there was no food or people in sight. Not good. What a contrast to the truck which ran like clockwork. I discovered that the others had turned up at 7:30am but the food was still being made so they went back to their rooms. It was after 8am when we all sat down to eat and by the time everything was packed up we did not leave until after 9am - Not good given we all agreed to leave at 8am. (PHOTO BELOW: Lake Manyara National Park):
That was one hour removed from the magical Serengeti. I had a word with Six and we agreed this was not good and we would need to have brekkie an hour before departure to get away on time. The others agreed too. We took the same road out of town that I had run. Past the gate to Lake Manyara National Park and to a point even higher than my run. Got out to shoot the fantastic view, twice. On the way up with baobabs and at the top of the rise for sweeping view of the lake itself. Now I know why Peter recommended Tarangire over Lake Manyara as the other park to visit. Lake Manyara National Park is thick with trees - you could clearly see this. It would be much harder to see the animals. Tanager was very spacious and open. Good move. Apparently Lake Manyara is better for birds and also allows walking and canoeing safaris. Tarangire is only car.
We checked our tyres in the town of Karatu at around 10am. We were now at 1500m and the sun was still hidden behind a blanket of cloud. Just on 10:30am we arrived at the entry gate to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area or NCA which is different from a “National Park” in that the Masai peoples are allowed to live in it. There are some 50,000 in the crater and farm cows, chickens. We would only drive past the crater today on our way to the Serengeti Plain but would visit on the way back to Arusha and stay here on our last night. It is here that we would also visit the Masai. I will feature the Masai later - they have villages all throughout the NCA.
The crater road is red dirt and the rise to the rim surrounded by lush green thick rainforest. It was cloudy and misty today and by the time we reached the top we could not see much. We topped out at 2350m. I explain the crater later when we visit it. After the caldera rim you pass landscape that looked like the Scottish Highlands with today’s mist. Green, rocky, hilly, no more rainforest and clouds and mist licking the peaks. Then back to the rainforest adjoining the caldera. This changing of landscape was strange. Finally we arrived at the turnoff that goes down into the crater. What a commanding view this turnoff had of the crater interior which is actually a caldera or the mouth of an ancient collapsed volcano. “Crater” is a misnomer and it should renamed “Ngorongoro Caldera”! As we passed the caldera we saw 4 wildlife: Masai Giraffe, Grey Falcon, Springbok (Thompson Gazelle), Kirk's Dikdik.
From here the landscape changed again with flat-topped acacia starting to predominate! Before we set out on this safari, I had made a request to Peter to add the famous “Olduvai Gorge” to the trip since it was on our way from Ngorongoro to Serengeti. I mentioned it to Six as well and he obliged. At around noon we pulled into a landing that fronted the gorge below and had the old museum and a new museum that was under construction. Put simply, "Olduvai Gorge" is proported to be the place where humanity first evolved 6 million years ago from “Australopithecus Afarensis", an early “hominid” or “human-like animal” the first of four stages of human evolution, the last of which is “Homo Sapiens” or us!. Up until the 1950’s there had been skeletal remains found of all four stages and the transition points between each stage, EXCEPT stages 1 and 2.
Olduvai Gorge is 48km long and 90m deep, where in 1959 paleoanthropologist Mary Leaky discovered part of the skull of a 12 year old boy that evidenced the transition between stages 1 and 2 and therefore became known as "the missing link” thereby strengthening the theory of evolution since all four stages now had some element of evidence. I say “element” because many scientists claim that the evidence is insufficient to conclusively prove that all four stages are inextricably linked. Fascinating. This is also the place where Mary Leaky unearthed the footprints of 3 “stage 2” homonids in a place called "Laetoli”. This further cemented the theory of evolution since the footprints clearly indicate a toe that is “in line”with he rest of the foot rather than to the side like in most apes.
It is so significant that Mary made a plaster cast of it and RE-BURIED the original to preserve it forever! I saw reproductions of the skull and teeth that evidenced the transition between stage 1 and 2 in the Natural Museum of Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam (a photo of the teeth appears in Post 26). This place was totally fascinating and I could not help staring at the gorge below me and thinking - did we really come from here. Somebody better find “Eden” quickly if this place is to become the birthplace of every human being!!! From here it was another two hours before we got to the Naaibi Gate (Elev 1731m) of the Serengeti National Park. It took 30min to register our party and this is low season. There were lots of other 4WDs. I cannot imagine what it is like in high season (July-September).
It is an impressive entry since it is marked by a big stone hill that you can climb and take in the vastness that is Serengeti. It is literally “a sea of grass”, extending like an ocean without waves (trees) in every direction. Serengeti National Park covers 14,763 square metres and is one of VERY FEW parks in Africa where you can see the “Big 5” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino) in one day!!! It is also punctuated by the flat-topped acacia tree seen in every African documentary known to humankind! I was so glad to be here finally. The park of parks. We entered the park at 4pm and drove for 3hrs on an evening safari ending up at a campsite of tents only at 7pm. Sunset was at 630pm and it was a marvellous introduction to this wonderful place. Many elephants and zebras, as usual, but the highlight was 2 male lions, 3 female lions and 3 cubs on a rock. They were right next to us! What a site.
Another highlight was four Spotted Hyenas, all next to the 4WD! Amazing. I have never come this close to a Hyena - they are usually very shy. The last animal we saw in the fading light was a Serval Cat. Very rare. Even Six took out his mobile phone to snap photo and was impressed! It was cloudy all day today and I am glad. The photos you see are testament to how much definition and depth clouds can ad to an already vast place. The other thing we noticed was how many animals were on the move. Serengeti is the place of the “great migrations”. The most famous are the Wildebeest who fill the place with calves in February/March and then these younglings march out in May/June to “make a life” in every corner of Africa. Amazing. We had just missed this march - it happened early this year bit we did catch the migrations of the zebra and springbok who were making there way across the park in the thousands! Here are all the 15 animals we saw on this inaugural Serengeti Sunset Safari: SSS-for short!!! - Springbok (Thompson Gazelle), White-belled Bastard, Burchell’s Zebra,
Common Ostrich, African Elephant, Articulated Giraffe, Lions (8), Blue Wildebeest, Lilac-breasted Roller, Helmeted Guineafowl, Common Warthog, Grey Owl, Spotted Hyena, Serval Cat, Koke's Hartebeest. Our camp was very simple. No beds tonight. Just tents. Oh no! They were huge. Despite this I put up mine in minutes compared to the others - thanks to the truck! The facilities were very basic. Another cold “dribble” shower but who is complaining - it is water! By the time I showered and sat in the car to blog it was already 7:30pm and I suspected that dinner would be late. Rama is a good cook but he is slow and has no concept of time. This is why brekkie was 30min late today. Delicious but late. Now I know why Roberto raved so much about the Serengeti.
This may well turn out to be the best park to date but I had to let it play out. Dinner was a nice focus. The camp was dark and the large concrete eating shed with pitched tin roof (like a mess hall) was the only place that was lit and had other safari groups in it - a bot of a social centre you might say. Next door was a similar building but with a large tiled platform in the middle and concrete benches all round - this was the kitchen. Each cook had his spot and own gas burner and outside was a huge water tank and sink for washing. Once done they slept in sleeping bags along the side benches. After dinner everyone went to bed since we would leave 6am for a morning safari. I watched a bottom a movie given it was about 9pm when we retired. Tomorrow was a big day since the Serengeti is a BIG place and we would be on the road sunrise to sunset!
DAY 220 of 273, Sun 19JUN16, 189km, Solo12, Facility Camp at “Nyani Campsite”, Serengeti National Park (Elev 1529m) TANZANIA. I heard the most animal sounds during last night more than any other to date! Roberto warned me that this would probably be the case in the Serengeti. The first was a lion. This was good news since it means it was close and we would probably see it tomorrow. Then came Hyena, Jackal and even elephants in the distance. Then a host of insects and birds closer to sunrise that I couldn’t identify. Waking up was no problem. Rama the cook was spot on time this morning. My talk with Six had worked! Now it was the turn of the others to show late. I started brekkie on my own and by 5:45am the others turned up.
Thank goodness Rama was staying back at the same place where we were spending another night, because there is NO WAY we would have packed and been on the road by 6am. It was very important to be out the gate before first light. Animals will not wait. Once that sun light hits they move! Unfortunately the morning did not get off to a good start. We spent sunrise pumping up one of the car tyres instead of shooting animal and bush silhouettes in the rising sun. I had to leave the car and walk into the bush to get some decent shots - much to the horror of Six and the mechanic who feared a lion may meet me in the waving grass. The morning then improved 10-fold. We discovered a kill in a tree which indicated the presence of a Leopard. These guys hunt at night and store their kills high up in trees so that they can sleep during the day and not loose their food. Unlike Lions they not gorge themselves immediately after a kill and then sleep and not eat for the next 3 days. A Leopard will score their food and eat a bit at a time over an extended period, just in case they cannot kill when they get hungry.
Many say this is because they are smaller and open to less options in terms of prey. We sat in front of this tree with a kill along with 2 other cars looking around in the tall grass below just in case we could spot the Leopard. Wrong. If you were a Leopard and had just killed something and stored it in a tree and wanted to keep an eye on it whilst you slept - where would you put yourself? Right! Up in another tree with a clear line of site to your food! Six applied this logic and spotted our hunter 3 trees away, limp and sleep, high up on a branch. What a detective!
Unfortunately the head was hidden and the body was in shadow. We waited patiently for an hour just in case it moved because we knew how hard it was to spot a Leopard in the Serengeti. No go. It was in la la land. We then headed north towards Kenya and the Masai Mara in order to witness one of the greatest spectacles of nature - "The Great Northern Serengeti Migration”. Countless documentaries have been about this.
How MILLIONS of mainly Wildebeest, but also Zebras and Springbok and Impala move from TANZANIA to KENYA just after the rainy season. In the case of the Wildebeest, they give birth in the centre of protected Serengeti in February/March absolutely exploding their numbers. These younglings grow a bit and in May/June they leave their birthplace to s make their own lives in KENYA. That is the extraordinary thing about Wildebeest. The young achieve independence way before they can reproduce and leave their parents early! The result is literally millions of these huge but ugly creatures stomping their way across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti into the Masai Mara in KENYA which is essentially the same landscape - just different names for the different countries. The common denominator being “Masai”, that awesome trie that fear nothing and live on both sides of the border. We had resigned ourselves o settling for the northern ride when BANG, we came across 12 cars watching a fully aware, standing Leopard on another tree, about 2km from the one we saw. What luck. I wondered. I got the shits because we stayed too long watching the first sleeping Leopard but if we hadn’t would be have seen his one that posed, cat-walked (pardon the pun) and then eventually climbed down the tree - excellent footage! Everyone was overjoyed.
To add joy to happiness, just moments after this great Leopard encounter we happened upon 5 lions in a row sitting under a tree! 4 females and a male - lucky guy! They were on the roadside and not far from our camp - I was right. I heard them last night and knew they would be nearby in the morning. Despite the absence of fences in our camp no one really thinks about lions visiting your tent because I still maintain - they are ore afraid of us than we are of them!!! We are not part of their natural habitat or diet. A lion has to be absolutely starved of their usual diet to have to eat a human. Once they do - and THIS IS VERY RARE - they MUST be killed - like a dog attacking someone - must be put down. As we left the lions I was in a daze - so many great animals, including elephants that I thought - wait a minute - we have just seen 3 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant) out of Africa's “Big 5” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino) from 6am to 9am - in the space of one normal morning safari in any other park. Amazing. Could we seethe other two - Buffalo and Rhino in the same drive on the someday in the same park? Almost.
The Buffalo appeared almost 15min after the Lions. But the Rhino were not here - they were at the bottom of the park (south) and our great migration was at the top of the park (north). A decision. See the Big 5 in one drive become famous or see the Great Migration and know that we did a once in a year thing and not be famous. It was an easy decision. The Great Migration. This is what the Serengeti is famous for and we will see Rhinos in Ngorongoro tomorrow or the next day. I have already seen Rhino so it a decision even easier for me. So North it was. And with a vengeance. We drove for hours and hours to get there - almost to the KENYA border. The day got hot and the scenery spectacular with acacias and flowing grasses everywhere. We were still riding between 1200-1500m so it was very dry. Our lunchtime spot was at the Hippo Pool around 1pm.
A junction of two rivers with a hundred hippos at the intersection, sleeping semi-submerged in the low waters. It was bloody ugly and smelly. They were lying on top of each other, farting, shitting, pissing and flicking water over their bloated bodies with their tails. The sounds were those of the dying instead of the living. Each cow must have been hundreds of kilos and the water was so full of shit and fart that light a cigarette and the whole place would have gone off like an atomic bomb!!! I actually as amazed at how easy it was to see so many hippos in one place when I compare it to the Okavango Delta where a close hippo encounter was a rare and major effort. Here it was plentiful and easy - like farting in the wind!!! What opposites. I am glad I saw these creatures AFTER lunch instead of BEFORE - I might have never lunched again! From here it was north and north and north. On our way we came upon a dead Wildebeest, probably killed by a car with a thousand vultures all over of it ripping it to pieces. OK - a little exaggeration - there must have been 20 vultures (two different kinds) plus 4 Maribou Stalks. Stalks you ask? What do they want in the company of vultures?
The answer is fascinating. Apparently the Maribou’s have very sharp beaks that can break open the carcass much more easily than the hooked beak of the vulture. This was a fresh kill and the vultures actually let the stalks have the first notes in order tobreak through the tough hide of the Wildebeest. Once the guts poured out of the cuts the stalks had made, it was on for young and old. What is really sickening about the vultures is that they insert their entire heads into the body to get at organs and meat. You can see the outline of their ugly shaped heads and necks under the skin of the dead Wildebeest much like the outline of a rabbit being swallowed whole by a python! It was great filming since the carcass was on the road next to us and we were there for quite some time. Around 2:30pm the grassy plains became dotted with black spots and the back spots opened up into VAST fields of Wildebeest as far as the eye could see. Hundreds, thousands and maybe the millions that Six sweared existed.
They were everywhere. Racing in front of the car, trampling off to the sides, sleeping under umbrella acacias like bats under a fig and occupying every available grassy plain within view. It was like an invasion. A Hellinic-Trojan war on a massive scale. These beasts may have not been in motion but by golly they were ready assembled and ready-to-run. A war-time campaign of beasts. I cannot imagine what this scene would look like under FULL-FLIGHT! We spent quite some time here, weaving our way around the marauding besties of very size shape and disposition.
Some of the bigger males confronted our car and once they realised how big it was, moved reluctantly to the sides. I remember my thoughts at this time and what I said to Six that made him laugh and cry - “look at all this meat - most of Africa is hungry and here we are watching its food run away!!!” It hit a chord with him. It made him think. Are we that dumb! What are we doing? Is this preservation gone mad? Not even the lions were here taking advantage. Too much. They would make a few kills and eat so much that they couldn’t move until next year’s migration. But in the mean time - 60% of Africa’s 1.1 billion people were living below the poverty line. Go figure! This for me was equally as beautiful as it was frustrating. I had seen the Great Migration assemble. And indeed it was great as the photos in this post attest - those “spears of light” coming down from he clouds like Masai spears was an awesome sight to behold. The ride south was smitten with sleep and bumps. It is only when you snooze that you realise how ought the road really is. Your neck flicks from side to side like it is going to snap. And it hurts!
Around 5:30pm our camp emerged out of the grassy wilderness and I was glad to arrive at camp at a daylight hour. Enough to see my way to my tent, shower and sit down in our mess hall to wine, olives and cheese to celebrate the second best African National Park to date! This park had the Big 5 and we had seen 4 of them in just one morning drive and enough Wildebeest in the afternoon to feed a continent! The Serengeti. Here are the 36 credits of this day-long safari: Springbok (Thompson Gazelle), Topi, White-belled Bastard, Burchell’s Zebra, Common Ostrich, Leopard (2), Lappet-faced Vulture, Cape Buffalo, Hippopotamus, African Elephant, Articulated Giraffe, Lions (11), Striped Mongoose, Egyptian Goose, Nile Crocodile, Kirk's Dikdik, Blackfaced Impala, Olive Baboon, Blue Wildebeest, Maribou Stalk, Lilac-breasted Roller, Secretary Bird, Helmeted Guineafowl, Common Warthog, Tawny Eagle, Superb Starling, Black-backed Jackal, Little Bee Eater, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Black-winged Stilt, Three-banded Plover, Masai Giraffe, Koke's Hartebeest, White-backed Vulture, Grant’s Gazelle, Black Crake, Cape Teal.
DAY 221 of 273, Mon 20JUN16, 186km, Solo12, Facility Camp at “Nyani Campsite”, Serengeti National Park (Elev 1529m) to Facility Camp at “Simba 2 Campsite”, Ngorongoro (Elev 2312m) TANZANIA. Another night of wildlife symphony and a cool dark morning with a setting moon and cloudless sky. I will miss this. Happy to get started at 6:30am after a brief beverage at 6am. We headed out towards the south this time tools for Cheetah. Sunrise was terrific as usual. We saw a host of animals but it was hard to spot the Cheetah in the long swaying grass - perfect hinting ground for this slender animal.
We knew it was there since the Springbok on both sides of us were all bunched up together and looking in the same direction. I had seen this before when there was a predator nearby. The other clue was a passing jackal - these guys are always trailing a big cat to “eat the crumbs from the master’s table” since they are too small to hunt in their own right and what they can catch is few and far between. Impala and Springbok are the most common amongst the smallest in the antelope family ad these are too big for a jackal to hunt. Even Six confirmed this since he and other drivers were often asked to run over one of these for the jackals to eat, especially when their numbers were in decline. Interesting solution. Other drivers confirmed the presence of the Cheetah via radio but they had seen it yesterday.
The best we could do is head to the same areas and hope for the best. My experience in Etosha was that Cheetahs do not stand still - they keep moving so unless there was still food in yesterday’s area, I doubt we would we see the same Cheetah. Sadly for the others this turned out to be true. We headed back to camp, arriving at 10am but with a respectable list of 18 spotted wildlife that morning: Springbok (Thompson Gazelle), Topi, White-belled Bastard, Burchell’s Zebra, Common Ostrich, Articulated Giraffe, Kirk's Dikdik, Blackfaced Impala, Olive Baboon, Lilac-breasted Roller, Secretary Bird, Helmeted Guineafowl, Common Warthog, Tawny Eagle, Rock Hydrax, Superb Starling, Spotted Hyena, Masai Giraffe.
It took us 2.5hrs to have brunch and pack up. These guys were so slow. I would have gone for a run but there was nowhere to run. It is forbidden to run in the park because of the wild animals and I did not take a chance with the rangers because Peter/Six would pay a fine and may loose their licence. I was glad to be on our way at 12:30pm since we would visit a Masai village this arvo on our way to Ngorongoro and I knew it would take some time to get there. Just when we thought we had finished with the Serengeti, it surprised us again. We saw 4 of the Big 5 just leaving the park! In the space of just 1hr we saw a lion, leopard and cheetah. The buffalo came later at the exit gate. Throw in elephant, impala, springbok, ostrich and topi an 7 and there is a total of 7 animals just on our way out! It was much cooler today with plenty of cumulus in the sky to keep our photos interesting. We crossed the Serengeti plain and entered the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) which is 8,300 square kilometres and contains up to 25,000 animals at peak.
Many will migrate here to drink the water in the centre of the 19km diameter caldera. It is literally a wildlife paradise and the third park in this area that contains Africa’s “Big 5”. As a matter of fact this is the only place in Africa where it is possible (but very hard) to take a single photo containing all the Big 5 animals - this is due to the limited size of the caldera and the fact that it is the only place with water for many miles, especially during drought. The Caldera was formed from a collapsed volcano some 1-2 million years ago - it is NOT from a meteorite which is why "crater” is misleading. There are approx 5,000 Masai living in the NCA raising cows, sheep and goats.. Their villages are surrounded by a round thatched fence and inside are thatched huts with thatched roofs. The walls of the huts are dried grass reeds that have been bent around to make an oval shape. Dried grass thatcher is then weaved in and out of these reeds creating a wall that looks like the side of a weaved basket. Finally some mud is added to close the gaps and dried.
The entry actually has a vestibule to prevent wind and dust from entering inside - clever! I know all of this not because I read it or saw it from the window of our car but because I actually visited a real village about an hour out of the Serengeti into the NCA. we arrived just at 4:30pm and stayed an hour. It was a terrific visit. I met, “Mbai Tolwo”, the Chief’s son who introduced me to his family and friends. His English name is “Noel”. The village is called “Kiloki Village”, population 123 and is the largest in the NCA. There are 20-30 others scattered throughout the NCA. Each of these villages have other smaller villages associated with them because the Masai are nomads and will move between pre-built dwellings to graze their animals depending on weather. Strangely the Masai do not eat game. They keep sheep, goats and cows and eat the milk and meat from these.
They also use donkeys to transport their stuff from dwelling to dwelling when they move. Another strange thing is that they do not grow anything. No veggies or greens except what is in the stomachs of their freshly slaughtered vegetarian animals! Boy, does that put a new spin on the “vegetarian” diet. Reminds me of the movie “My Fat Greek Wedding” where the mum claims that Lamb s vegetarian because it eats grass! The Masai were dressed in their traditional clothing which is mainly long flowing garments to protect them from the cold at elevations around 1300-1800m. The photos do all the describing. I also dressed traditionally - in my Ungowa-Bondi speedos! I explained to Noel that this is what I wore growing up in the beachside suburb of Bondi Beach in Sydney and he got it - so much so that I asked him if I would offend and he said “no no - they will like this - never seen it before!” He gathered his companions and explained my unusual dress and they all laughed and welcomed me. Later Noel told Six that most visitors wanted tower Masai clothes but this was the first time that a visitor insisted on wearing his own “traditional” garments even if it were no garment at all!
They were clearly amused and it made for a great change of cultures. There I was interviewing the son’s chief in my togs and a Masai stick that they gladly lent me. We then exchanged dances and sang some songs - it was definitely a highlight of my trip. I had realised one of my goals - a cultural exchange with a genuine tribe of Africa! Noel explained many interesting things to me. The Masai drink the fresh blood of a cow mixed with its milk via a non-fatl “tap” int he animals neck - this is to give them strength and agility. It originates with the Masai Warriors before a battle but is continued now for those going out to graze animals to give them strength. It is part of a ritual (without religious meaning) and that is why they could not offer me some when I asked - I would need to stay the night! I actually looked to that when I was alone on this tour but when the others booked I could no longer fit it in. Bugger. That would have been one heck of an experience.
One of my interview questions was dumped because it asked: “How many animals do you have” - counting animals is bad luck in Masai culture because it implies “greed” and “anxiety”. “Greed” because it is a little like counting money. Do have enough? Does my neighbour have more or less than me which leads to greed. The Masai believe that greed also “curses” the animals and they can die. Noel and I took a walk around the village and he pointed out who lived where and how the huts were built and maintained. It was a great experience and would have been even better staying there. From here we ascended sharply from around 1500m at the Masai Village to a peak of 2365m. The views were incredible looking out onto the ranges surrounding the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater or caldera rim was just above 2000m and in cloud. We pulled into the camp at 5:30pm with enough light to set up our tents in the spooky mist. I decided not to shower since this was our last night and it was cold and I was sick and tired of having cold showers in these campsites! I sat down to blog in the big mess hall and we dined at the same spot around 8pm. The mess hall was full - mainly young American high school students holidaying briefly after completing voluntary programs with NGO’s in TANZANIA. Once again we hit the sack early given our 6am safari in the crater tomorrow.
DAY 222 of 273, Tue 21JUN16, 223km, Solo12, Facility Camp at “Simba 2 Campsite”, Ngorongoro (Elev 2312m) to Room at “Arusha Backpackers”, Arusha (Elev 1468m) TANZANIA. Apparently a buffalo was grazing right next to my tent during the night! I was used to the sounds of Africa by now and did not notice anything. I did go out to pee at 1:20am in the thick cloudy mist and it was surreal. I slept very well that night snuggled into the bag in my thermals. I got up at 5:15am and swung into action like I was on the truck! I was pissed off that we had paid USD900 for this safari and were sleeping in tents 3 out of the 4 nights and having cold showers to boot - I would let Peter know that this was not value for money.
I realise that the park fees are expensive but the experience should match the overall perception of expenditure. Despite this the wildlife experience was exceptional. And it did not stop here.
Ngorongoro Crater is probably one of few places in Africa where you are most likely to see “The Big 5” given its limited area. And boy did it deliver. We spent 6am to 1pm in the crater and back to the rim and indeed saw “The Big 5”. I could not wait to tell you. When we descended into the crater the clouds licked the rim. Below it was clear but the whole crater had low clouds above it. This by no means reduced the visibility or experience. Photos look awesome with huge menacing clouds in them. It did not rain. A few sprinkles on occasion. It was about 15C in the crater so we were sufficiently dressed up. The crater wall averages 600m. It rises to an average of 2300m from the floor average of 1700m. It is roughly circular with a diameter of 19km which is tiny for a wildlife reserve. This makes the animals seem more plentiful and you are seeing them constantly, one after the other. There are wooded forests on the slopes of many parts of the crater walls but most of the centre is flat with long flowing grass. There is a large lake in the middle and few small ones off to the sides. There are also many birds here. The hardest animals to find and spot is the Leopard and Black Rhino.
Our sighting of the Black Rhino came around 9am which is what we were specifically looking for when we entered. The only downside is that it was far away but you could make it out in the photos. It was all alone in the grass and not near a road. We had our closest encounter with a male lion which was just 5m from the car - it was so close I took the panorama in the post and you could clearly see it with its “kingdom” in the background. It is still my favourite African animal.
The face of a male lion can be so wise and laconic on the one hand and vicious and terrible on the other. Bout best of all is the way it carries itself - there is definitely an air of superiority and fearlessness about it and it “knows” that it is “king” of the animals with nothing or no one to fear. There are no Giraffes in the crater. They can be found back from the rim only and come close to the raod - we spotted a few on our way here from the Masai village yesterday. The other surprise animal today was the Honey Badger! Have not seen one since Etosha. Far and away our best experience was leaving the crater at around 1pm as we got close to the top of the rim. I was asleep and heard a great commotion. When I opened my eyes I saw a Leopard jump up just outside the door of the car across from where I was seated. 
What a blast. We were all talking about how we had seen 4 of the The Big 5 three times in a row including today and how great it would be if saw a Leopard today - the Big % in one drive! We got our wish and so close despite the thick lush green jungle around us. The chances of seeing a Leopard cross the road is rare and the road is the ONLY place you will get a full body view of it. We were so happy. I could not wait to tell Roberto. Ngorongoro and the Serengeti had lived up to its reputation! This sighting and the ability to see the Big 4 twice in a row and The Big 5 makes TANZANIA the best single country for Wildlife National Parks and Game Drives to date. Given that TANZANIA also features Kilimanjaro and the emerald-green waters of ZANZIBAR makes it my favourite country to date - just a pimple in front of the natural beauty of NAMIBIA. My favourite single Wildlife National Park is still South Luangwa in ZAMBIA given its variety, quantity and close proximity of spotting.
Here are the 29 stars of the “Ngorongoro Show”: Helmet Guineafowl, Blue Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, Thompson Gazelle (Springbok), Grant Gazelle, Crown Crane, Yellow-billed Stalk, Blacksmith, Waterbet, Sacred Ibis. Common Warthog, Ostrich, Zebra, Fish Eagle, African Elephant, Honey Badger, Lion (3), Spotted Hyena, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Black-winged Stilt, Three-banded Plover, Brown Jackal, Lilac-breated Roller, Pink Flamingo, Southern Red Bishop, Kori Bastard, Black Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Leopard. The drive back to Arusha was a backtrack of the roads that brought us here. It was overcast the whole way but dod not rain. Spent most of it blogging and culling the over 1000 raw photos taken in the last 5 days! My job for this post was set for me and most of it would be tackled on the long bus to Nairobi.
If that was not enough there was another 12hr bus from Nairobi to Kampala just around the corner. I convinced the others to stay with my at the Arusha Backpackers tonight - they are all due to fly to Zanzibar tomorrow. When they heard the cost of AUD15/night plus great WIFI and guaranteed hot showers, it was a very easy sell job! We arrived there at 5:30pm under a cloudy sky with a bit of spitting rain (very interment and light). Peter was waiting for us and I found out from him that I would be leaving for Nairobi at 8am and arriving between 1-2pm so I decided not to trade my third run in TANZANIA for my first run in KENYA - wise considering I did not know which way my calf would sway.
The other reason or skipping the run is that I was out of local currency and needed to buy dinner, wine, cheese, olives, toothpaste, soap and tips for Six and Rama. I dumped my bags in Room 102 of my favourite single room hostel to date and hit the streets. Tried to get a free email download outside the camera repair shop (it was shut) but they had turned off the internet. The supermarket had what I needed except the hot food was limited so I went to the takeaways around the back. Lucky for me there was a mum and dad BBQing beef kebabs with their son for only AUD0.75 a pop. They were very big, juicy and lean. I hit the jackpot and bought ten of the buggers! What a feast this would be to celebrate my Big 5 safari! Could hardly wait to get back to my favourite hostel for a hot shower, emails and this feast! How time flies.
It was wise not to run tonight. It was 7:30pm by the time I sat to catch up on emails over wine, cheese and olives. The internet was slow but I got through them. By 8:30pm I was in my snug little room enjoying my feast and a movie. It was the right finish to an extraordinary safari - the one that put TANZANIA on my number one list of best overall country… tomorrow it was off to Nairobi, the capital and largest city of KENYA.
PS: REFLECTION:
If I had my time over again I would have travelled Southern and East Africa alone. I reckon I could do the West alone but would need much more time to organise it and to actually do it. Time I did not have.
PPS: INTERESTING FACT ON AFRICA:
The mobile phone is the most important common denominator across all the African countries that I visited to date. There are people with no bank accounts and live in shacks but they have ONLY mobiles. Most are 2G and 3G with some 3G+ and 4G only in South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Some African countries have adopted a Brazilian system known as “M-PESA” that is like “BIT-COIN” in the western world. Normally you buy a SIM card and then buy voice and/or data to put on it. With M-PESA you then buy “digital credits” and then exchange these with other people for goods and services. This replaces the need for a bank account for most poorer people. In Eastern African M-PESA is also known as WAKALA.
