1/22 “Wake Me Up Ngorongoro"

These are written in retrospect. Still catching up…

Left Arusha at 3PM for a 3-hour drive to Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest unbroken caldera, a World Heritage site, and a place referred to as Noah’s Ark.

En route, we passed Maasai villages, people and cattle--and some of the most stunning scenery you could imagine. I realized that I had no idea what Tanzania would look like. All I had to draw from were 30-year old memories of Elsa on the Serengeti in ‘Born Free’. Much, much greener and hillier.

We arrived at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge at about 6:45PM. I immediately felt guilt at the poshness. I guess India made me a much easier to please traveler.

“Would you like walls with or without bloodstains, sir?”

Looking like a lodge straight out of a ‘60’s Viewmaster, it was really pleasant with all you can eat food.

Up at 8AM for our first game drive. As we descended the crater wall, animals started to appear out of the mist-- hundreds of them. Long story short? In a 4-hour game drive, we saw gazelle, Cape Buffalo, Golden Jackal, black backed jackal, spotted hyena, baboon, elephant, lion, black rhino, flamingos, zebra, ostrich, kori, hippo, serval, bat eared fox-I’m forgetting stuff I’m sure.

From Ngorongoro, we headed to the Serengeti through lush, rolling meadows, Maasai, plains. By the time we got to the Serengeti, we’d also seen the Great Wildebeest Migration-the pah dah dump pah dah dump pah dah dump pah dah dump pah dah dump – the only noise, dust and animals everywhere, in every direction. Perfection.

Also saw a cheetah and her cub feeding under a bush.

We entered the Serengeti, and we passed amazing kopjes (granite boulder formations and some of the oldest rock on earth), eland, hartebeest, warthogs (Fugee! Wartie’s family—okay , okay, so I talk to my dog in my email…), impala, hyrax, banded mongoose, Nile crocs, hippos, topi, giraffe, 2 treed lionesses surrounded by Cape buffalo, a lone lion cub, Maribou storks—who looked like Jeeves the butler- helmeted guinea fowl, crowned cranes, eagles, lovebirds-well, you get the picture. Paradise. All amidst painted perfect backdrop of blue sky, white clouds, acacia trees, flowers--magic.