As we approach our overnight stop at Marangu, our truck starts to climb uphill, and in the distance we can see the mass of cloud which covers the imposing peak of Mt Kilimanjaro - Africa's highest mountain. At dusk the cloud clears and we get a glimpse of the magnificent snow-capped summit, as we hear tales of painful ascents from fellow travellers, and Andrew fends off an attack of killer ants.
Saturday 11 October sees us drive to Arusha, Tanzania's third largest city and gateway to the safari circuit of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. We spend some time looking around and pay a brief visit to the site of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, before driving on to our camp just outside Arusha, at Mesarani Snake Park. The Snake Park and campsite are separate thankfully, though the enclosure housing half a dozen huge Nile crocodiles is only 10 metres from our tent!
The next day we spend the morning visiting the local Maasai village. Of course we're hardly the first tourists to go through there, but it gives us an interesting insight into their culture. After lunch we hit the road in a new 4WD truck to handle the roads, and after camping for the night at Karatu, on Monday 13th we drive around the Ngorongoro Crater rim en route to the Serengeti. After lunch at the entrance to the Serengeti National Park, the game drive begins.
At first in the Serengeti there are few animals to be found, but the plains are amazing in their own right. Serengeti means "endless plains", and the name is apt. The grasslands seem to stretch on forever under the vast blue expanse of the sky, which seems even bigger for the endlessness of the plains. Soon we follow a couple other vehicles to a collection of rocks, where we find a lion and lioness sunning themselves. Nearby two males lie asleep on another rock. It is amazing to see these majestic animals in the wild. Not far down the road we're fortunate to see three cheetahs sleeping under a tree, five metres from the road! Driving on through the afternoon we see a leopard in the distance up a tree, more lions, giraffe, elephants, hippos, and herds of zebra, wildebeest and antelope.
Our camp for the night is at an unfenced campsite in the Serengeti. Our guides assure us that the animals don't usually come near the campsite, but also tell us stories of elephants walking through the campsite, and lions killing a zebra near the toilet block! During the evening a few hyenas sniff around the campsite for food, and at night we go to sleep to the sounds of animals in the bush beyond the camp.
On Tuesday the 14th we take another game drive around the Serengeti in the morning, before driving back on the ridiculously bumpy road to the Ngorongoro Crater. This is an amazing place for Mariska to spend her birthday! Our camp for the night is at Simba campsite on the rim of the crater, with a magnificent view of the large flat crater below. After dinner, with a glass of red wine, the group launches into Happy Birthday for Mariska, and the Danish girls sing a traditional Danish birthday song. Some armed guards walk past, and when we ask if they've had to shoot animals in this campsite before, they reply 'Many times'. The elephant near the showers decides to keep his distance though, and as far as we know some grazing buffalo and a cold wind are the only things to come through the camp that night.
The next morning we're up at 5:00am so we can get down into the crater early. The sun rises over the crater as we pack up our tent, before our group gets into three Land Cruisers for the steep descent into the crater. The Ngorongoro Crater is about 20km in diameter, and 125km around, and is a large flat expanse of grassland, with just a few patches of rocks and trees, one river and a lake. The Maasai people still inhabit the Conservation Area around the crater, and still venture into the crater to graze their cattle. Apparently the Crater has the highest concentration of predators in Africa, and we feel a little sorry for the zebra, wildebeest and antelope that we encounter - it's really a bit of a smorgasbord in this enclosed space! We spend a few hours driving around the crater, encountering lions, a cheetah in the distance, hippos in the river, flamingoes at the lake, hyenas, and vultures feeding on a dead zebra. In the afternoon we make our ascent out of the crater, and head back to our camp at Mesarani, near Arusha. Being the last night, the campsite staff cook dinner for us, and the group sits around recounting tales from the last four weeks.
The last day of the tour (Thursday 16 October) sees us up before 5am, and we're soon on the road for the 6-7 hour drive to Nairobi in Kenya. We cross the border once again without incident, and arrive in Nairobi just after lunch. Group photos are taken, email addresses exchanged, and the group disperses. It's been an amazing four weeks, we've seen some spectacular sights, met some great people, and had a lot of fun along the way.
After attending to a couple errands in Nairobi, the two of us make our way to our accommodation. We are staying at the home of the mother of a friend of Mariska's, and we're met with a hug by the housekeeper Charles before being treated to a great local dinner of ugali (maize porridge), beef stew, spinach and chapati.
Photos below: Zebras graze on the endless plains of the Serengeti; Lions of the Serengeti; The magnificent Ngorongoro Crater; Wildebeest/dinner in the Crater
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