1/28/14: SAFARI DAY 3: SERENGETI and THE BIG FIVE

The Big Five is a term that big game hunters used about the necessity of killing certain animals on the first shot. If not, the hunter becomes the hunted. We had already seen elephants, lions, rhinos, and Cape buffalo. All that remained was the leopard. We would soon complete this list.

Muba warned us we were in for a rough road to the Serengeti and he was right, but we had already traveled over much rougher ones that someone had labeled highways. Joanie, and consequently Yehudah, had had a rough night, so we didn't get off as early as planned, though Yehudah did get in his bird walk with Henry. Within a few kilometers, we got to the National Park gate where Muba paid for transit through the Ngorogoro Conservation Area to Oldupai Gorge on to Serengeti National Park and then back to the Crater. He had to do some business at headquarters and we asked him to look for a park service calendar. Yehudah had seen one back at our lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park and had been asking around ever since. It's curious that we hadn't seen any calendars for sale anywhere. We struck it rich. He came back with one so large it wouldn't fit in our suitcases without being rolled up and the pictures are so fantastic we wish we could get one for everyone. Well, you'll see it hanging in a place of prominence when you come to see the slideshow or just visit (it's in the kitchen!)

 

We drove part of the perimeter of Ngorogoro Crater and had a great view from above of how fabulous it is with the bowl of the caldera filled with thousands of animals and the lake pink with flamingos. Being a conservation area and not a national park, the Maasai are allowed to live in villages as they have for centuries. They can only graze their cattle, sheep and goats in the crater during the daytime. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the things we learned was to pronounce Serengeti as sirin-getty and Olduvai is actually Oldupai and comes from the Masai word for the sisal tree. At the Oldupai Museum we learned more about the Leakeys and the dating of much of what has been found in the area. Though "Lucy" (the human skeleton from 3.5 million years ago that was found when the Beatles had just released their song "Lucy in the sky with diamonds") was found in Ethiopia, many of the discoveries near here were from the same time period. The human footprints at Laetoli 35 km. away were preserved in the mud following a volcanic eruption and are from a species of hominid that did not evolve and died out. These were only viewable at the museum as a plaster cast, but will eventually be housed in a museum. The Oldupai discoveries are from 1.6 million years ago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entrance to Serengeti is several kilometers south of the official gate and our first big tart was waiting for us a short distance away. A wildebeest was lying by the side of the road in the last of its death throes.  A short distance away, a spotted hyena waited for the vehicles that had gathered to move away so it could have its meal in peace. The occupants of the vehicles who had witnessed the kill looked a bit shell shocked. We all pulled back aways which allowed the hyena to start eating, starting with the entrails. It had initially brought it down by biting the belly, so it had already opened the cavity. We had seen quite a few hyenas on the road nearby, but the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for them to pick up the scent. Consequently, a huge meal awaited this hyena. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed to the top of a small hill by the park office and got our first view of the famous Serengeti Plains as well as several Malibu Stork in the top of a tree and several lizards scooting around the rocks. The Serengeti was not about to disappoint us and we were seeing herds of animals almost constantly as well as the migration of hundreds if not thousands of wildebeest. Muba told us that it was unfair for Maasai Mara to get all the publicity for this event since they only spend at most 2 months in Kenya. He teased that they were on their honeymoon there but actually lived in Tanzania. It was also interesting that their zebra buddies are their constant companions. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Our day wasn't over yet! Eagle eyed Muba spotted a couple of lions a short ways off the road on a kopje. When we got there, we counted 18 including 6-8 cubs! 

 

 

 

The king of the pride was no where to be seen and a long line of zebras passed with no concern for their safety. We learned why you never got out of the vehicle when it was surrounded by tall grass, when a young lion suddenly emerged a few feet from our observation post. 

 

The lionesses on top looked both regal and relaxed as they lay across the rocks in varying degrees of napping and alertness. It was a great vantage point to look for prey while absorbing the cool breezes. But night was falling and we were still some distance from Rongi Camp #4. We were sure to be out past the park's curfew. Muba looked only mildly concerned. 

  

 

 

Even out here in the bush, we were met with wet washcloths, not warm ones this time, and glasses of juice. Our abode would be a spacious 3 room tent, with a queen size bed in one, the shower and an open closet with bathrobes in another, and a toilet and sink in the last. Very nice for camping. Joanie commented that her daughter would find the toilet facilities quite acceptable. The camp is adjacent to one named Prince Charles, renamed after the royal visit. After a nice dinner and an escort back to our tents, we fell asleep to the sounds of hyenas barking around the camp.