November 2023 - IN To Africa: Serengeti Plains

After two wonderful nights in the Ngorongoro Oldeani Lodge, Gym checked out on the morning of November 21, 2023. Subsequently,  they all boarded the Land Cruiser and it climbed up to the rim of the crater for the second morning in a row. However, instead of turning right at the top and descending into the crater, Emmanuel turned left and drove down past a Maasai village towards the Serengeti Plains. It would be an unbelievable journey to the next safari camp.

Emmanuel and Kintai provided colour commentary as the Land Cruiser drove down Tanzania No. 17. Just because this is a numbered highway don’t think for a moment that it is paved. It reminded the author of descending from Kananaskis Country to Longview on Alberta 541 but the Tanzania No. 17 has no pavement and there are no giraffes in Longview. As they descended to the plains they paralleled the East African Rift (EAR), The EAR is a fault where the Victoria plate and the Somali plate are trying to move away from each other. Just before noon, they arrived at the Olduvai Gorge.

The Olduvai Gorge has become famous mainly due to the work of the Palaeontologist and Archeologist team of Mary and Louis Leakey. They excavated all of the most important sites of the gorge which provide much of the story of the evolution of humankind. There is an excellent museum on the site and you can look across the gorge to the Leakey camp which is now also a museum. Gym etal enjoyed a boxed picnic lunch overlooking strata’s I through V of the gorge, dating back 2 million years.

As the Land Cruiser drove away from the museum and turned onto T17, a 50-member herd of giraffes was lined up in single file on the western horizon. After snapping photos of that sight, the Land Cruiser continued down into the Serengeti grasslands. They were soon passing massive herds of zebra and wildebeest, literally thousands of each species following the regeneration of the grasslands that came with the recent rains. And as these cloven-footed animals moved on their annual migration, the predators moved with them. The Land Cruiser soon crossed a dry river bed on a concrete bridge, where a few other vehicles were parked for some reason. It turned out that a pride of lions was taking a nap underneath the bridge which was in the process of being repaired. The lionesses and cubs were lying underneath the bridge and the proud pride leader was processing a big meal of wildebeest sashimi from the previous night, in a large diameter concrete pipe.

After travelling a few more miles down the road,  Emmanuel turned off the T17 and the safari group spent a couple of hours on a game drive through the bush, leading to the Lodge at Turner Springs. They would spend the next two nights here glamping in tents built on solid foundations with enclosed toilets on one end and showers on the other. The furnishings were stylishly upmarket  and included another extremely comfortable bed.

Sundowners that night were consumed on the Serengeti grassland right in the middle of the camp which is not fenced. Dinner was served in the dining room tent on linen-draped tables with fine cutlery and classy dinnerware. That evening Kintai entertained the safari-goers with tales from his youth. He was brought up in a Traditional Maasai village where his father is still chief. He is the the first son of the second wife of his father, who was rich enough to have 19 children and four wives. From a very early age the boys learned to tend the goats, sheep and cattle of the village, protecting the herds with spears and machetes. More on this later.

Gym and his beloved sidekick spent a restful night in Turner Camp Lodge and awoke in the morning for a wonderful breakfast in the dining room tent. Gym was wowed by a scrumptious plate of Eggs Benedict, setting him up for a full day of game drives in the Serengeti.  As the group climbed into the land cruiser a huge male elephant entered the camp and started grazing where sundowners had been the previous night. The game drives from Turner Springs were as unique and wonderful as those that the safari had experienced in Tarangire and Ngorongoro.

Stay tuned!

The Land Cruiser from the author’s viewpoint

Photo op

The Olduvai Gorge has five distinct stratigraphic levels dating back two million years. In two key layers of volcanic ash the fossilized remains of early man were very well preserved.

Close-up of a hard red sandstone layer sandwiched by two soft volcanic ash layers. The ash layers preserved the fossils very well.

Remiscient of Simba’s rock perch from the Lion King

Camp Reception Tent at Turner Springs

A Turner Camp suite.

On a game drive in the Serengeti 

A distant cheetah contemplating dinner

A warm rock

Simba’s sweetheart

Leapard Turtle

Hippo hangout

A rare hippo out during the day

Elephant size chart

Sundowners (cocktails after sunset)

Masai television

Fire ants, don’t step here

 

 

November 2023 - In To Africa: Ngorongoro Crater

The deck of the bungalow was wet from the rain that had fallen during the night. But in spite of the rain, it was warm as our hero and his lovely sidekick prepared their day packs and then walked up to the main lodge to meet the rest of the safari party, in the breakfast room.

Ngorongoro Oldeani Lodge can only be described as posh. The duplex cabins were roomy and fitted out with all the upscale amenities that a North American would hope to have. The main lodge is stunning with high-ceilings and open air rooms, decorated with beautiful African art and artifacts. And the staff that knew all their guest’s names were over-the-top with their attention to a premium experience for all.

After breakfast the safari group left the lodge and travelled to the entrance of the Ngorongoro National Park. They were greeted at the gate by a welcoming committee of baboons. Then after checking in with the rangers they drove into the park and up a long bumpy road flanked on both sides by thick and wet jungle. We were climbing up the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.

The Ngorongoro Crater is an ancient volcano that has collapsed in on itself. The rim encircles a 100-square mile, mostly flat grassland  that is punctuated by a few small lakes. The rim rises up sharply to an unbroken rim, that is  2000 feet above the cauldera floor. The slopes of the rim are heavily forested. The enclosed area and the rim’s outer slopes are a rich habitat for a large population of animals both herbivorous and carnivorous .

After descending into the crater, the safari-goers had a great day of game viewing in the crater. The climax was coming upon a large clan of hyenas feeding on the carcass of a dead hippo. The hippo had apparently died of natural causes in a small freshwater pool and the scavengers were cleaning it up. The lunch was really fun. It was a BBQ picnic in an open air setting served on linen tablecloths and accompanied by South African wine.

The next morning the group checked out of the Ngorongoro Oldeani Lodge and climbed up the crater rim again. However, this time instead of turning right, down into the crater,  they turned left and descended towards the Serengeti Plains. 

Looking down from the top of the rim to the floor of 
the crater 

Kori Bustard

Freshly shampooed and blow-dryed.

On his way to a dinner party

Pink flamingos having fun

Hyenas filling up on a deceased hippo

Zebra scratching station

Grey Crowned Crane

Marabou Stork

The beautiful grounds of the Ngorongoro
Oldeani Lodge

Inside the main lodge of the Ngorongoro Oldeani Lodge 

November 2023 - In To Africa: Tarangire to Ngorongoro

On November 19,2023, the sun rose over Tarangire National Park, in a clear blue sky. The isolated showers of the day before had moved on and it would be a great day for spotting game and taking pictures. Gym and Mrs. Gym rose early as they were told to have breakfast at 6:45, so the the day’s game drive could  begin at 7:30. 

Gym noticed that the Micato group were not the only early risers that day, as he and his lovely sidekick, went into the front entrance of the main lodge. A large troop of vervet monkeys were loitering on the sloped roof of the building and a couple of bolder troublemakers were just outside the reception area. As our adventurers waited for the rest of the group one of the monkeys slipped in the back window and ran down some stairs hoping to find an easy route to the buffet table. A member of the staff gave chase but I doubt he was ever able to catch the little devil, so Gym kept a close eye on his toast throughout the meal.

After breakfast everyone had to check out, as the Micato group would not be staying in the Sopa Lodge another night. The plan was to spend the whole morning on a game drive in Tarangire and then get on the highway and transition to Ngorongoro National Park. 

The morning was just beautiful. It was bright and calm and the previous day’s showers had wetted the roads enough so that there was minimal dust. The conditions were perfect and around every corner there was a new movie set with different actors in each scene. Everyone got some excellent pics.

At just past noon Emmanuel drove through the Tarangire gates and out to the highway. The Land Cruiser was headed up around the other side of Lake Manyara to a new lodge near the town of Karatu. It was about a three hour drive. Just past the town they made their way to the Ngorongoro Oldeani Mountain Lodge. They checked in for a two- night stay and that night over a glass of wine, Kintai entertained the group with stories from his boyhood, growing up in a Masai village.

Troublemakers by the Lodge front door

And more on the rooftop 

Pumbas

Five foot long monitor lizard

Kori Bustard, a large ground forager

Ngorongoro Oldeani Lodge

Welcoming

November 2023 - In To Africa: Journey to Tarangire

On the morning of November 18, 2023, it was time to say goodbye to the Fairmont Norfolk. Our adventurers had to exit Kenya to start the formal part of their safari in the African wilderness. They needed to fly to Tarangire National Park where  they would begin exploring all the most famous national parks in Tanzania. The journey involved a flight by a regional airline to Kilimanjaro International Airport, passing through customs and immigration in Tanzania and then boarding a chartered bush plane for a second flight to a dirt airstrip in Tarangire National Park. Later in the day, from the Kuro airstrip, they would have their first game drive, as they made their way to the Sopa Lodge, located inside the park. They would then spend the night there.

Kintai, their Masai safari guide and  Daniel their driver in Kenya, were at the hotel early to pickup our hero, his trusty sidekick and Bree. Safari-goers and their luggage were then transported to the Wilson Regional Airport. At the airport, all passengers cleared immigration control and security and then boarded a 12-passenger Cessna Caravan for the one hour- flight south to Kilimanjaro. The plane was operated by Safarilink, a regional East African  air carrier that has a dozen Caravans in its fleet. The flight was one hour in length. Kilimanjaro Airport is just across the border from Kenya. The group landed there and cleared Tanzanian customs and immigration and then went through security again to get back into the departure lounge for the next flight. From there, it was a 35 minute flight to Kuro in Tarangire National Park. Emmanuel, the Micato driver in Tanzania, was waiting for us at Kuro. He had chilled  champagne on a table next to the runway.

As it was already late in the afternoon and they only had a few hours of sunlight left. But, on the drive from Kuro to the Sopa Lodge they made the most of of it. With Emmanuel at the wheel and Kentai in the copilot’s seat, we started our first game drive on the way to Sopa Lodge. In the 3 hours before dusk, we saw three of the “big five” African mammals. including the buffalo, lion and elephant. We also spotted scores of other animals in that pristine savanna. 

We spent the night in the Sopa Lodge where the service was wonderful. The staff all sang and danced for us, as we were finishing our dinner.

Safari link to Tanzania

Farms from the Cessna Caravan

Second flight to Kuro dirt strip

Caravan

Emmanuel on the left with the champagne and Kintai on the right

Our Land Cruiser

Maribou stork

Guinea Fowl

Impalas and elephants

Vervet Monkey

Sopa main lodge

Sopa pool which we had no time to experience