Ngorongoro Crater

The morning game drive for the Serengeti had us all excited for the afternoon drive back out to the Crater. The heat of the day seemed to have affected the animals, as we didn't see much. A Lion carrying a baby gazelle and a cheetah were the highlights. Some of our 4WD had gone on the sunrise balloon ride and most of us managed to squeeze in a short nap.
Just a small snack
It looks menacing but is just a yawn. A bit how we were feeling by this stage!

After a short detour we made a stop at Oldupai Gorge which is also known as 'The Cradle of Mankind'. It is here that the oldest humanoid fossils have been found. The museum is very interesting showing the different forms of archaeology explorations that have occured over the years. As we were about to leave, we encountered the faulty alternator again. This time with the help of around 10 Masai the 4WD was push started on its way

Note the girls are still in the 4WD

We got to Simba camp on the edge of the crater and kept an eye out for the bull elephants that we had seen the day before. Sadly (or fortunately), no repeat performance, but then we didn't leave our mattresses outside! The temperature here drops quickly and it wasn't long before we were all huddled around the fire. Our guide, Blessed, warned us that there were often Wild Pigs in the area looking for food and that we shouldn't leave anything edible in our tents - this included toothpaste. There was a rush for the 4WD's as all our supplies of chips, lollies and biscuits were safely locked away.

We did get some animal visitors after dark. The first were a group of Zebra grazing between the groups of tents. This camp site is very big and when news of the Zebra spread there was a large group of head-torches bobbing towards us. Later in the night when there were only 6 of us left round the fire the rumoured wild pigs arrived and headed straight for the scrap bucket in the kitchen area. It was very funny to watch the cooks chase them away, only to have them return a few minutes later.

For us the scariest moment was in the early hours of the morning when an animal (we think it was a pig or warthog) skidded into the side of the tent, giving Claire's head a light tap on the way. For the next couple of hours all we could hear was the snuffling of them as they continued to feed. We had the flysheet on so couldn't see out the window to see exactly what they were, and we weren't going to stick our heads out the door!

When we woke up we were surrounded in mist and it was freezing cold. All of us were concerned about the lack of visibility but the drivers assured us that in the crater itself the mist would have already lifted. We were very glad we used the fly sheet because it was soaked and our tent was nice and dry and warm. Back in the 4WD and rugged up in everything warm we owned we headed down into the crater.

Even though there are no fences, the steepness of the sides are enough of a deterrent for most of the animals to leave. There is still a migration pattern with the Wildebeest but just to different areas of the crater. Today was supposed to be the best chance for seeing a Rhino (our last remaining animal of the Big 5) and we spent a few hours looking. In the end we had to surrender and accept that it was a bit too cold for them as well. It got to the point where any dark animal in the distance could be a rhino and there is still dispute about whether there was actually one there. It was too far away for a good clear photo but our driver decided it was a buffalo.

The other end of the camp disappears into the mist as we rug up ready for the game drive

Even without the Rhino, we saw a Cheetah on the move, the never ending Zebra and Wildebeest migration, some Hippo's returning to their waterhole for the day, Flamingos in the distance on the edge of Lake Natron and a pride of 10 Lions including some cubs. The landscape here is quite changeable with an almost tropical area of trees and bushes and then large plains of grass like the Serengeti. At one of the waterholes (without Hippos) we took the opportunity to have a group photo of our 4WD as this was nearly the end of the trip for half of our group. On the way out of the crater we saw a few bull elephants. One of which had a broken tusk and our driver estimated his age at 60.

Cheetah on the prowl

A halt in migration for feeding

Was good to see these guys moving around. Wasn't long before they were all submerged again!

In dry season this is as close to the lake edge as you can get. In wet season you would be at water's edge.

Group nap for this pride of Lions

This elephant has led a tough life!

Back at Snake Park camp site in Arusha where we had our first experience of crowded camping. There were 4 other overland trucks there for the night which meant that there was no hot water and a very busy bar. This camp also has a truck garage and while we were on safari our truck, 'Limpopo', was serviced and repainted. This took a little longer then anticipated and there was still another coat of paint needed when we returned. It made accessing clean clothes interesting as first you had to find out who had the door handle for the truck and reattach it in order to get to the lockers.

Last group at Arusha as all the other companies had just left for the Serengeti.

While in the bar we heard that the Mozambique Spitting Cobra had just been fed some live mice. Since we had only seen a few stalkings and no kills on safari, most of the truck crowded in front of the enclosure and waited, and waited and waited....... The Cobra did make a few half hearted attempts but we think it was just tormenting them. Hunger got the better of us though, and someone was dispatched at regular intervals during the evening to check the progress. When we left the following day, there were still mice, although our guess is they were getting pretty tired of the narrow escapes.

The next morning while waiting for the last of the paint to dry we were taken on a tour of the local Masai Village. This village is directed more at tourists with an optional camel ride from the camp site. The village itself is more permanent with bigger huts and the general surrounds were much cleaner than we had seen in the Masai Mara. There is also a small hospital and school attached to the village. It was a holiday period while we were there so the kids were quite keen to hold our hands and try on our hats and sunglasses and generally interact with us.

Masai hut

This little girl made Claire jump and hop all the way back to camp

Lastly, since our washing had all landed in the dirt last time we were at this camp we had put our white clothes in to be washed. We aren't sure what the locals did but they were returned spotless with lots of tiny indents from being dried on the thorn bushes.