Having finished our climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro and four days of work on the Uraki water project, our attentions shifted to a safari out in Lake Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and the grasslands of the Serengeti National Park.  Quite frankly, having spent 8 days climbing and descending Kili, we were ready for a few days of riding in the safari truck and seeing some beautiful scenery and a multitude of animals.

Day 1 (September 29^th)

The original plan was to spend the four days on safari with Lema but since we had already taken so much of his time with the water project and that his family was arriving from the US in a few days, we all agreed he should stay back in Usa River and get caught up on business.  This gave us the opportunity to meet Armani, the newest SPS safari guide.  With introductions made, Alfie, Gautam, Al, Thong and I all packed into the SPS safari vehicle (a Toyota Land Cruiser modified to allow us to stand up through the roof and watch the wildlife.)  After a quick stop in Arusha for lunch supplies, we headed northwest for a three hour drive to Lake Manyara.  This portion of the trip was on a paved highway but each village, large and small, had speed bumps that meant business!   Along the way, we spotted a number of Maasi tribesmen tending their livestock out in the grasslands.  Around noon, we arrived at Lake Manyara National Park, signed in and entered. We must have been pretty anxious to see and photograph animals by this point. Several hundred yards into the park we shouted for Armani to “stop the truck!”  There was a tired old baboon on the side of the road and we collectively shot about 70 pictures of the poor old guy.  Good thing we’re in the digital age and weren’t shooting rolls of Kodachrome. As the afternoon unfolded we saw giraffes, hippos, wildebeest, zebras, elephants, warthogs, monkeys, flamingos, white pelicans, all varieties of antelope, gazelle and birds, and of course, innumerable baboons. We kept our eyes open for the elusive tree-climbing lions but didn’t manage to spot one.  Our picnic lunch spot up on a bluff gave us a bird’s eye view to some drama unfolding in an elephant family as a female with youngsters ran off an ill-behaving young male which much fanfare. For the rest of the time, he stood about fifty yards away as if he were waiting for his “timeout” to expire.  Following the afternoon in the park, we wound up to the edge of the Ngorongo Crater to where our hotel was located.  Those who saw Robert Redford and Meryll Streep fly their Tiger Moth airplane along the cliffs in “Out Of Africa,’ would recognize the view along this road.  Twenty more minutes brought us to the Bougainvillea Lodge, a great hotel near the entrance to the crater.  A few Serengeti beers and a nice dinner wrapped up a great first day.

Day 2 (Sept. 30^th)

Day 2 started early since we had fours hours of travel on rough dirt roads ahead of us.  The route took us along the high rim and down the shoulder of the Ngorongoro Crater and then northwest thorough some beautiful but desolate grasslands. Along the way, we continued to see giraffes, gazelle, wildebeest and Zebra.  For the first time, we came across ostrich, hyenas, fox, kori bustards and jackals. This took us to the Serengeti Park entrance where we stopped for a picnic while Armani signed in. As we drove on, we ultimately approached a river and the animals started to appear.  First a solitary male lion, more elephants, giraffes and wildebeest. Next appeared a group of African buffalo (Cape buffalo) and then several large groups of hippos.  With the approaching sunset, Al’s attention turned toward positioning the truck to get the perfect acacia tree framed in a shot of the sun going down.  Armani was able pull it off just as the huge orange sun settled behind the hills.

Arriving at our mobile camp at dusk was one of the few times we didn’t know what to expect. Some were expecting small tents like those on Kilimanjaro and some were expecting the grand British platform tents.  What we found were individual canvas tents that were about 12’ by 8’ with a nice wooden cot, an attached toilet and shower (canvas stall w/a 5 gallon bucket that the camp operators filled with water.)  Each tent had some solar LED lights and a canvas awning with a basin and a mirror to wash up in the morning and evening.  A nice surprise was the fantastic dinner we were treated to that evening and the next.  A few more Serengeti beers around a roaring camp fire capped another great day.

Day 3 (Oct. 1^st)

A communications snafu brought Gautam and me out of our tents an hour before the required wake up time this morning. Others just looked at their watches, turned over and slept for another hour but we got washed up and over to the mess tent for a cup of coffee.  While another hour of sleep would have been nice, we were rewarded with the distant sound of lions grunting and roaring. After an early breakfast, it was off for the morning game drive. Armani’s objective was to find a Cheetah. We raced up and down a whole network of dirt roads and paths in search of a Cheetah without any luck.  More animals and numerous new species of birds were there but no Cheetahs. The action slows with the heat of the day so we returned to camp to take a nap and wait for the late afternoon game drive.

The afternoon drive began with a trip to the river where we saw (and smelled) another large group of hippos along with several crocodiles. Next we saw three female lions, one with cubs, stalking a zebra for a long period of time. Finally, the zebra wised up and moved off in the opposite direction.  About that time, one of the other safari drivers stopped and mentioned that a leopard was in a tree some distance away.  Off we went at high speed for about a half an hour and sure enough, there was the leopard lounging in the lower branches of an acacia tree.  After a bit, it came down out of the tree and started to stalk a nearby gazelle.  Like the zebra, the gazelle caught the scent and moved off in the opposite direction.

Arriving at the camp well after dark, we passed through a herd of zebra and then a group of giraffes several hundred yards away from our tents.  Like the night before, we settled in for another fantastic dinner and the some time around the campfire. Several times during the night, I woke up to the sounds of hyenas fighting over something in the middle of our camp. This brought the camp operator’s advice to mind; “if you hear animals outside your tent, don’t unzip the door.”  No problem!

Day 4 (Oct. 2)

Today we were up early again for the long drive back to the Ngorongoro Crater.  We were treated to the sight of an early morning hot air balloon launch as three balloons lifted off against the sunrise in the eastern sky.  Not too long after that, Armani (who must have been a hawk or eagle in his prior life) noticed a Cheetah sitting up on the top of a termite mound.  We watched for about fifteen minutes as the cat eyeballed a few Thompson Gazelles from his perch and considered a chase.  As before, the gazelles got the sent and moved on.  No chase.

From there it was back to the Ngorongoro Crater, pounding down the dirt road for four hours.  We were well rewarded for the drive though as we descended down the very steep road to the crater floor. Tens of thousands of flamingos were on the crater lake-bed while warthogs, wildebeest and a variety of cranes, hawks, eagles and other birds were found throughout the grasslands.  Just before lunch, we had lions taking advantage of the shade provided by our truck. Yes, lying up against our trucks! One young female even used one of the trucks as cover in order to launch a surprise attack on three warthogs that were grazing nearby.  She went too soon however and the warthogs scattered unharmed.  The next treat of the day was a solitary rhino. There was some debate about whether it was a black or white rhino with the main difference being the shape of their lips but I think the common consensus is that it was a black rhino with small lips. The last show was a dramatic mating dance between two ostriches …..this after the female rejected one suitor and ran off to another that she felt might be the better choice.  At this point, it was time to climb out of the crater (hubs locked, 1^st and 2^nd gear all the way up) and head back to the Bougainvillea Lodge for another nice dinner.

Day 5 (Oct. 3)

Today was spent driving back Usa River for a meeting with the Uraki Village leaders to discuss details of the water project.  A stop in Arusha included a nice lunch and some shopping at a Maasi market. Arriving back at the Mt.Meru Game Lodge, we all realized that having seen these African animals in their natural setting, it’s critical that we protect the space and habitat they need to survive.

A few hours later, it was off to the Kilimanjaro Airport for the long trip home.

Article source: http://www.summit4water.org/?p=572