Today we had to leave the Serengeti and continue on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We had time for one last morning game drive, during which we saw a huge bull elephant with one very long tusk. Our guide Estomih told us that this elephant had once attacked a tourist jeep that had approached too close to him during the mating season, and had rolled the vehicle over many times. Fortunately the occupants escaped with minor injuries. We were happy to admire him from a safe distance.
We also saw our good friends the mother cheetah and her cubs once last time, once again surrounded by tourist jeeps…
…before we spotted two other cheetahs in a different area of the park. For this couple of young males, we could relax and observe all for ourselves.
Estomih served lunch on the bonnet of our jeep, and we ate it whilst looking around carefully for any lions that might sneak up on us, but there were none. Indeed, this was the only day in our Serengeti stay when we did not see any.
Finally, after four days of amazing game viewing, it was time to leave the Serengeti National Park, and pass into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Unlike the park, the Masai are allowed to live in this area and we saw many of them tending their herds of cows and goats by the side of the road. We made a pre-arranged stop at one of their villages to learn about Masai life. We were greeted by a welcome dance…..
….before being shown how to make fire (actually a very quick process)…..
…..and then being invited into one of their tiny, simply huts to learn what the Masai ate – milk or cow’s blood in the morning, and meat in the evening, with no fruit or vegetables.
The visit ended with a slightly too insistent request to buy some of the huge number of carvings set out on a massive stall in the centre of the village. The Masai are good at commerce and have become quite expert at milking tourists for money in return for photographs or other services.
We headed onwards and visited a modest display about the attractions of the Ngorongoro area in small museum building just off the main road. There I learnt that the famous archaeological site of Olduvai Gorge was only five kilometres away down a dusty track. This is the place were the earliest fossils of hominid ancestors of man have been found, including the famous “Lucy” Australopithecus skeleton, and so can probably claim to be the birthplace of humanity. I asked Estomih whether we could go and visit the museum there, but he said that this needed to be booked in advance and that in any case it was late in the afternoon and it would close soon. I was a bit disappointed that I had forgotten to ask for this key site to be included in my safari itinerary.
My disappointment was short-lived though, as the road climbed into lush green mountains with beautiful views of lakes, trees and small Masai villages.
We made lots of stops to take photos, including one at the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater, our destination for the next day.
We reached our lodge as the sun was setting and the shadows lengthening, which was a shame because it was a really nice place and it would have been good to have enjoyed it for longer.
When the sun finally set, it became decidedly chilly, and we put on the warm clothes we had last used when changing planes at Amsterdam in Europe. After another nice evening meal we were soon snuggling in bed, delighted that the lodge had provided each of us with a hot water bottle.
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