Lions, Rhinos and Butts…Oh My!
Day 277
Thanks to my bravery and my scaring off the buffalo we did manage to survive the night. We were rewarded with one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. To be honest I am not usually awake for sunrises so I don’t have much comparison. There is something about the sun in Africa, always so fiery orange and today was no exception with red hues streaking the sky. The green tree tops on the slopes of the crater poked through the morning mist to create a perfect sunrise for our final day of safari.
We piled into the truck for the last game drive of our safari. The Ngorongoro crater promised to be a highlight. Picture a volcanic crater that collapsed on itself and is 260 sq. km in size, creating a sort of natural enclosure for animals. We passed through the control gate and began to wind our way down the steep road to the craters floor. Below we could see animals but from this distance we couldn’t distinguish what they were. Soon enough we reached the floor of the crater which is dry grassland at this time of year. There were a few impala and zebras near the roadside but not far off we could see another turck was viewing something else. Since they were stopped it must have been something good. A cheetah, lying in the tall grass it was tough to spot but soon after we arrived the cheetah rose and began to walk around. We asked the driver if we could just stay and watch for awhile, we thought maybe the cheetah would make a run at the nearby impala. The cheetah didn’t do that, but it was incredible to watch this powerful looking animal walk around. We eventually moved on from the cheetah and passed the usual zebra, impala and wildebeest. At a waterhole we saw a group of hippos lazing in the water, hippos are actual a rare sight around here since there is little in the way of water in the region. The scenery was beautiful which added to the drive. The crater rose steeply all around us and seemed to be a perfect round shape. It really did feel like the animals were trapped in here.
Driving to the far side of the crater we saw 2 black rhinos in the distance. The black rhino is very endangered and this is one of the only places in the world where you have a decent chance to spot one. Just over a small hill from here we came across an incredible sight. We’ve seen thousands of zebra and wildebeest over the last 3 days but we’ve never been in the midst of a heard. As we drove down the slope we were surrounded by zebra and wildebeest, they were so close to the truck you could reach out and touch one. The heard stretched on far into the distance and up another hillside. At this close range we all discovered that zebras have very strange butts. It seems to be a popular tourist shot while on safari to snap a shot of 3 or 4 zebras butts all walking side by side. The swirls of the stripes do make for an interesting shot. I guess you just have to be on safari to understand. I’ll eventually upload some photos and you can see for yourselves.
Further on we saw a bunch of trucks all stopped viewing something the same spot. This was probably the most trucks we’ve seen stopped in one stop on the entire trip so far. We moved in and saw 3 lions walking around. On the opposite side of the road was a large buffalo that they had earlier killed, but strangely it didn’t look like they had eaten much of it. Now it was being devoured by vultures. Maybe they just didn’t like the taste of this guy or someone forgot the hot sauce? We moved on slowly and not more than 500 meters away we yelled at the driver, “stop, another lion!” This was the one thing I had hoped we’d see today that we still hadn’t. A huge male lion with an enormous mane rose up out of the grass and walked toward the truck. I couldn’t beleive the size of this lion, so tall and his mane was just massive. I got a rush when he walked right up to the roadside, stood on a mound of dirt and just sniffed the air. Then he walked down on the road, right beside our truck. He continued on to the truck behind us and took a piss right there on the truck! Damn, I wished our truck could have gotten pee’d on. This sighting topped the safari, I was satisfied even if our driver was a complete fool.
We were surprised when less than 1 km passed the lion we stopped next to a water hole for a picnic lunch. With no fences we all couldn’t help but worry we’d see that lion one more time but this time we’d be out of the truck. The biggest thing we had to centend with was these crazy kite birds swooping down from the tree above trying to snatch our food. One came right down at me and I wasn’t really sure how close it was. Then the same bird circled back and swooped in on Jordana. It came so close she felt the feathers grazed her skin.
After our lunch the highlight was some more black rhinos at a much closer range than before. After that sighting I think we all were getting a bit blaise about the typical zebras and wildebeest sightings. We all sat in the truck rather than hang out the top as we drove for the road out of the crater. The exit road was just as winding as the entrance but it was through much denser forest. The air grew cool and fresh as we rose. Just as we thought we were near the top and at the end of the safari we were treated to one of the best things we’d seen all trip. Another full gorwn male lion was walking on the road right at us. As he approached we were all out snaping photos, we realzied with the incline of the road he was going to pass level with our open windows. “Close the windows!” We all shouted and rolled them up. He walked right past and quickly he was around the corner. We all talked about how close this was to our camp. From this spot we arrived at our camp 5 minutes later. I guess we now know how some animals get out of the crater, they use the road.
We returned to the camp where the cook had everything packed up and the truck was then loaded. We started the drive back to Arusha and arrived in the late afternoon. Jordan and I checked back into the Naz hotel and the first thing we did was shower. I’ve never seen so much dirt come off me before. 4 dusty days without a shower, the water was dark brown. I had to soap and wash my hair twice to feel clean again. Doesn’t a shower feel that much better when you are ridiculously dirty? After we were clean we met up with the group for one last dinner together. Chinese food at a great place run by a Chinese guy. Even with the very poor driver we all agreed it was a fantastic safari and we definitely got lucky having a group where we all got along well. In the morning we were all off our seperate ways. Vorn the Aussie was off to climb Kilimanjaro, the Swedes were headed west to Lake Victoria and Jordana and I were catching a bus north to Nairobi, Kenya. We said our goodbyes and had a last toast to a great safari with some cold Tusker beers.
Tags: Arusha, ngorongoro, safari, Tanzania
Michael Coroneos
Who’s person you checked into the hotel with in Arusha?? Should I be worried? 😉