The Tree of Life
The Ngorongoro Crater is a caldera, not a crater. I’m not sure what that means, but it’s true.
Either way, there used to be a huge volcano here, until it exploded and caved in the earth. ‘Ngorongoro’ was so called because it’s the noise that the bells around the Maasai’s cattle make walking up and down the hills, and I also heard that it is the Maasai word for something like “hole in the earth”. The Maasai use the outside of the crater and the hills around it for their livestock to graze. Inside, Ngorongoro is only 264 sq.km. (whereas the Serengeti is almost 15,000). It’s relatively small, but it is the most densely populated area for the Big Five in Africa. Fertile land and lots of other animals to eatš The edge of the crater is 2,000 feet higher in elevation than the center.
Maasai herd
Crater rim
view
ostrich + zebra
posin’ w/tha big booty
one boy and one girl
hungry, hungry hippos!!
toilet, in the craterā¦ for some reason, it’s ‘safe’ to walk around here
grey crowned cranes – love theseš
more cranes
ngorongoro street
hyena skulking about
You can’t see them, except for maybe a faint pinkish color, but this is the very shallow lake that has thousands of flamingoes hanging out on it! We couldn’t get any closer unfortunately, but it was cool to see nonetheless.
millions of flamingoesā¦.!
#4 of 5 Big Five: Cape (African) Buffalo
cape buffalo
with bird friends
this one was particularly curious, staring at us
These were impressive to see in person, and very formidableā¦ easy to see why they’re part of the Big Five. I love their crown of hornsā¦ all that beastliness, and the horns make them look noble at the same timeš.
lone elephant on pano
Fantastic Mr. Fox
wildebeests
wildebeests & zebra friends
somewhere back there is the Universe (G-O-D)
sun rays
warthog pumba
clouds
it was cold. no hairbrush. sucker. marko. i call shotgun.
I needed to add this soundclip about impala mating because: 1.) to display Marko’s lovelyĀ accent 2.) what he’s describing is interesting.
some kinda eagle
wildebeestes
baboons. lady friend had JUST given birth to that bundle of joy in her armsā¦ the umbilical cord was dragging on the ground!!
squad makin’ moves
wildebeests
lions 9
squad! sleep!
colorful Maasai market nearby Ngorongoro
Giraffes aren’t in the crater because it’s too steep for them to climb into (I think)ā¦ so the only ones we saw were on the crater rim, creating a majesticĀ skyline…
do you see the giraffes?
Our campsite WAS ON THE CRATER RIM. When we arrived, these wonderful, ugly storks were standing watch…
marabou storks guarding campsite
marabou stork = avian version of old british man
And it also had a wonderful tree that reminded me of The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom in Disney World (which, I would later come to find, that tree is modeled after a baobab tree in The Lion Kingš! – this is some type of fig tree).
tree of life
Most amazing tree.
Tree of Life at Walt Disney World
Tree of Life at Ngorongoro
and, when you get to see the Tree of Life, you should spend time with it
and why not get upside-down next to it and rub your feet on it?
Love Love Love.
#5 of 5 Big Five:Ā Rhino (too far away for a pic, but we saw him!)
Alas, my safari ended. But it was a magical four days that I’ll never forget.
Next up: Ā Beach :: Zanzibar
The Big Five :: SERENGETI
In the Serengeti!!!!
First, I must mentionā¦ the starlight sky the night we slept inside the Serengeti was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I felt like the entire Universe was within my reach and that I could pluck each star one at a time and put it in my pocket. Absolutely amazing. Pictures aren’t possible, but I’ll never forget it.
We left the Twiga Campsite and the next morning made way to the Serengeti. We stopped for a view of Lake Manyara on the wayā¦ vendor at overlook site smelled like a liquor cabinet at 10amššš¼
lake manyara + drunk rasta
Then we drove through Ngorongoro Conservation Area to get to Serengeti…
park entrance
ngorongoro
ngorongoro
More Ngorongoro tomorrow! Serengeti checkpoint and overlook…
view of serengeti
view of serengeti
rainbow lizard
We got to see a lot of the classic acacia treesā¦ they are stunning against the backdrop of the plain.
umbrella thorn acacia treeš (do you see the leopard?)
pride rock inspiration (apparently)
I must re-watch The Lion King movie. I didn’t realize it was shaped by the Serengeti and Swahili. Really cool. Rafiki? Swahili word for ‘friend’… Campsite named Simba, Pumbaā¦ ‘hakuna matata’, which people really do say all the time here; I noticed most in Zanzibarā¦ lions, hornbills, widebeests, baboons, warthogs, hyenasā¦ and the Elephant Graveyard, which we saw!
hippos (HI-PO)
#2 of 5 Big Five = LEOPARD lazing in tree!
can you spot the leopard
acacia and giraffes – beauty
beautiful giraffe – they’re able to eat the thorniness
elephants @ dusk
bird friends on back. pose, gurrrrlll!
birds in tree – dusk
secretary birds… i think
The terrain of the Serengeti is so different to the Tarangire or Ngorongoro – they are all three so unique. And they are bordering eachother, one after the other. Such a sight to see.
That night, we camped at the Nyani Campsite, in the center of the Serengetiā¦ uNFENCED! Maybe Marko didn’t like me, but he told me to set up my tent on the edge of the campsite:/
treehouse camping! someone has the right idea!
I was sitting on a stool, in the dark, listening to music, alone, by my tent, and I thought, “Hmmm, I better shine a light to make sure that no critters are around me. So, I turned on my iPhone flashlight on and shined to the edge of the wilderness, and there, behind a bush, was a set of glowing eyes reflecting back at me! I thought, “Ughhh, it is looking right at me. But maybe it’s just reflectors that they set up at the edge of the campsite for markers or something.” So I kept watching, to see if it moved, and it didā¦ It turned it’s head… Then looked back at meā¦ Then, I decided to stand up because I was really scaredā¦ And it stood up and walked towards the toilets building on the other side of the camp. Sooooo scared. It was very stealthily walking. Marko told me the next day it was probably a hyena because the lions don’t bother with the campsitesā¦ but, I mean, it could’ve been a lion stalking me in the bushes. It looked too smooth and stealthy when it walked to be a hyena. Scary, exhilirating, no fence camping in the Serengeti. Unforgettable!
That night, I was Jared’s (our cook) sous chefš It was so fun. He was amazingly resourceful, making the great food that he did with such limited equipment and supplies. Really amazing. I chopped the veggies and set the table. He didn’t know hardly any english, and I don’t know any Swahili, so there was a lot of pointing and figuring it out, but it worked! And it was so fun.
This is the kitchen in a day shot, with all the cooks from the other safaris:
serengeti kitchen!!
And, below, working in the kitchen that night. The campsite didn’t have any electricity, except for a few lights inside the kitchen and the bathrooms that are powered by small solar panels, that’s why it was soo dark.
Jared making popcorn:)
serengeti kitchen! jared making spaghetti, and sous chef taking photosšš¼
The next morning, we woke up early so that we could see the sunrise over the Serengeti plain. Marko took us to a nice point with acacia trees in the distance on the horizon. Beautiful.
beautiful sunrise over the Serengeti
a new day dawnsĀ over serengetiā¤ļø
That morning, all morning, we did a game drive in the park. Saw lots of good stuff!
OSTRICH
zeebs
view of road from picnic area
view
picnic area
superb starling
These starlings are everywhere in arnd around the park. But they’re so metallic-y colorful, seems like they should be more rare! This one was not shy, like a lot of the wildlife in the park. I was centimeters away from it with my camera, and it just watchedāŗļø
rafiki
ain’t skeered
We found leopard number 2 – a quick sighting because he was climbing out of the acacia tree and went into the tall grassā¦.
can you spot the leopard?
And I had ANOTHER aggressive monkey attack! This time, he got into a boxing match with Marko. So unassuming initiallyā¦ but I knew he was up to no good…
unassuming velvet monkey (see cute friend in background:)
silently plotting, moving closer
now on car, still faking like it’s non-threatening (ew, colorful junk)
here the MFĀ comes…
OMG, the attack!
away with his prize, on top of car
revelling in the loot
He found two bananas stuffed down into a crevice inside the truck, and I didn’t even know they were there. He went straight to them! And then fought Marko (as he was on the cell phone and everyone else was freaking out), snatched the two bananas, and ran. Fat hog.
#3 of 5 Big Five = LIONS!
lions
They were pretty far away, but there were two laying in the grass under one tree, one was up in the tree and climbed down, and a fourth one under a second tree nearby.
mongooses:)
zebras
secretaryĀ birds
As we were leaving the park, we had a second, incredible lion sightingš Four them piled up on some rocks, just a few feet away…
sleeping but peaking at us
baby
mama
getting comfy
back to sleep
SIMBA!!
amazing beauty
he looks so friendly from here
bubye, simba
This lone elephant was up on a hill, climbing on the rocks, to try and reach these leaves. He looked so out of placeš He needs to go back to elephant school to learn how to be an elephant againš
confused elephant
That was all for the Serengetiš¢ At the end of the day, with the lion sightings, we had seen 3 of 5 Big Five, with Cape Buffalo and Rhinocerus still left. Sad to leave the Serengeti, but it was amazing!
thomson gazelles..? and ostrich
impalasā¦.? or thomson gazelles? shit, i still don’t know
After this, we made our way to the Ngorongoro Crater for the last night and day of safariš
Next up: Ā Ngorongoro Game Drive + Tree of Life
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