Judi Schulz

Our unforgettable African journey had taken us from Nairobi to Sweetwater’s and over the mountains to the Maasai Mara. On Boxing Day we set out for what was to be an eventful day of travel to get to Lake Manyara - we did not get that far, but rather had to overnight in Arusha. This unexpected stop however, gave us a glimpse into the real Africa – away from the glamour of the camps. Early the next morning we finished the journey with a flight from Arusha to Lake Manyara for our stay in a luxurious treehouse. As with all the lodges on our trip the staff, food and accommodations were first class. We saw so much wildlife here particularly elephants, hippos, buffalo, baboons, vervet and blue monkeys, many different birds and a variety of plant life. Here and at Tarangire is where you see the enormous and odd Baobob trees. Our encounter with the groups of elephants was particularly exciting and well worth the long trip to get here. I would definitely recommend a two night stay here as part of an East Africa itinerary.

On New Year’s Eve morning we had left Klein’s Camp in the Serengeti (see previous journal) for what became another eventful day of travel to get to the Ngorongoro Crater – it took all day but it was worth it. The drive up to the crater is spectacular and when you reach the top and look out over the crater it takes your breath away. We received a warm welcome at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, after which we were taken to our cabins, in the Tree Camp section, where a blazing fire and hot bath awaited us. That evening we had a spectacular Maasai welcome procession which went throughout the lodge’s three camps followed by a two hour show with dancing and music and various performances during which we were offered a snacks and refreshments. Following the show we were escorted to the tree camp dining room overlooking the crater for a superb New Year's Eve dinner. The whole room was decorated with candles and rose petals.

On New Year’s Day we went into the crater. What a feeling that was - the (only) road into and out of the crater makes any road look good! We see some amazing things here! We saw Euphorbia trees with big honey bee hives- they pollinate the trees. Then from a long way off we saw something big standing in the grass. As we got closer our guide finally identified it for us; a male Kori Bustard. It is apparently the largest flying bird - they can weigh as much as 19kgs. He had his feathers fluffed and was doing a mating dance to attract a female. We saw lots of flamingos, ostriches and other birds as well as hippos, buffalo, cheetahs, jackals, baboons, vervet monkeys and many more animals. We then came across real life drama in the grass – two hyenas were chasing a baby gazelle when a cheetah decided to join the hunt - the hyenas won, but luckily the end played out beyond our sight line. So many times we found we’d be watching something out one side of the jeep when someone would look the other way and alert us to something exciting on the other side.

The next day we went further into the Serengeti in search of the migrating herds. Along the way we passed many Maasai people walking with their cattle, goats and donkeys – there are about 50,000 Maasai living in the concession. We came across large groups of wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, gazelle, buffalo and even a few dung beetles. As we were driving, one of these lovely creatures blew in through the driver’s open window – he ducked and looked over his shoulder to see the beetle fly right into my daughter’s neck – needless to say a commotion ensued.
We went on to Olduvai Gorge where we learned about the Leakey’s discoveries here and then on to the shifting sands – a mound of black sand which moves several metres a year. We had a great view of the Serengeti and the herds of wildebeests from the top.

Our last night at the Crater lodge we spent in the lounge/dining room overlooking the crater watching and photographing the ever changing sky. We spent some time trying to play African Trivial Pursuit – we were more successful with the photography than the game.