(Note to my readers…The internet over here has become as slow as molasses due to a number of factors. It is now taking over an hour to upload photos and is a struggle. Will hopefully improve soon. TIA – This is Africa)
I have probably spent over 75 nights in the Serengeti since first coming to Tanzania in 2009, and, I can honestly say, that it has never gotten old. Each visit brings an entirely unique experience not only for the animals and the landscape that you see, but also for those that you share it with. Bringing the residents and others to the Serengeti for their very first time is an opportunity that few others have and, for that, I’m very lucky, indeed.
As there was a total of ten of us for this weekend (Joe and Sandy, me and Jill, Marissa, Megan, Gina, Leah, Jenn, and Evan) we wouldn’t be able to fit into a single vehicle and Leonard had arranged to have a Land Cruiser for us in addition to Turtle, a Land Rover. Interestingly, there are far more Land Cruisers being used today by safari companies than Land Rovers, but that was not always the case. As Tanzania had been a British Protectorate until its independence in 1961, the classic safari vehicle in East Africa had also been the Land Rover, driven also by Queen Elizabeth. Over the years, though, Tanzania’s economy became more and more aligned with Asia, partially driven by the Chinese building of the railway stretching across Tanzania from the coast to Lake Tanganyika. With that, more and more vehicles began coming from the east, including the Land Cruiser, other Toyota vehicles, and the Chinese motorcycles, which massively dominate the market there now.
Our Land Cruiser would be piloted by Beatus, a seasoned guide, and the Land Rover by Joram, who had taken it to the Crater the prior weekend. Thankfully, I had purchased walkie talkies to use for communication between the two vehicles, something I hadn’t really used in the past, but came in handy when I was driving the second vehicle last weekend as, that way, you wouldn’t have to guess what the intension was of the other vehicle. We left FAME shortly after 8 am and were on our way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate as we would be driving around the crater on our way to the Serengeti. The highway that runs through Karatu and then up to the gate where the tarmac ends, happens to be the main highway across Tanzania to Lake Victoria in the northwest corner of the country. Large trucks and buses ply this route on a regular basis bringing goods and passengers to the other side of the country.
Several years ago, there was a plan to pave the entire highway across the park, but there was a huge environmental uproar (appropriately so) raising concern for how this would very likely affect the great migration of the zebra and wildebeest negatively. Though I am not certain there is a huge reluctance for foreign travelers to drive this route (essentially the only one on the ground), paving the highway could open up this very natural place to more visitors and more revenue, not to mention the savings on fuel and wear on the vehicles if the road was paved. Seronera (Central Serengeti) has a very nice airport, as well as many other airstrips throughout the park, so any guests not wishing to travel the very bumpy and dusty road can always just fly into the park. To me, that would be missing much of the mystique and beauty that makes this place so unique, but to each his own. In the end, nature won out and the government finally backed down on their plans to pave the route and all was good again in the world. Unfortunately, the NCAA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Administration) still remains embroiled in controversary with the issue of the growing number of Maasai, a topic that I’ve already discussed earlier.
Once through the Loduare Gate and into the NCA, our trip took us back around the crater on the same road we drove last weekend, until we reached the descent road as we were now heading down onto the part of the Serengeti plain that exists in the NCA and contains Olduvai Gorge, the most important anthropological site in the world, our first stop on the trip. Olduvai Gorge, or, spelled correctly, Oldupai Gorge is where Louis and Mary Leakey began their work looking for early hominid fossils in 1931, and were eventually successful in 1959. At that time, Mary Leakey discovered Zinjanthropus, later classified as Australopithecus bosei, and finally Paranthropus bosei. It had a very robust jaw and huge attachments for its temporalis muscles, so it was nicknamed “Nutcracker Man.” Zinj was the first huge discovery of many more to follow at Oldupai and the site where she made that first discovery has a memorial where you can visit (and we did) down in the gorge itself.
On one of my earlier visits to the gorge (I have made this pilgrimage many times), I met Professor Masaki, one of the directors who has now been there for many years. Masaki has given each of my groups a wonderful introduction to the history of the gorge, as well as the fact that it was misspelled by the first European to have discovered the vast number of animal fossils here. Oldupai is the Maasai name for the sisal plant that is found in abundance here and is what gave the name to the gorge, but unfortunately, after the first publication of the incorrect name, it has been known by this since its 1913 discovery despite the effort by many to correct the mistake.
Sitting in the amphitheater, looking out over the immensity of the gorge, it is difficult to imagine how the Leakey’s chose which sites to excavate first, though it did take them 28 years to finally discover Zinj, so it must not have been easy. Oldupai Gorge was the home for the Leakeys until Louis’s death in 1971, though Mary stayed on until 1984, eventually passing away in Nairobi in 1986. Their camp, which still exists is now a living museum and can be visited by the public. I had been fortunate enough to have visited their camp with Prof. Masaki, long before it was open to the public, and it was clearly a spiritual moment. In one of the buildings that housed the non-hominid fossils, Masaki pulled out a mammoth tusk to show me that was several million years old and perfectly intact. Having studied physical anthropology while in college in the mid 70s, it had never entered my mind that I would visit such a place, let alone see things that were not open to the public.
Leaving Oldupai after a wonderful visit to the museum there, we drove into the gorge, first visiting the Zinj site, and then heading up the other side and across the plains to Shifting Sands. Shifting Sands is sacred site for the Maasai as it was formed from volcanic sand spewed during an eruption of Ol’ Doinyo Lengai, or Mountain of God. Thousands of years ago, during an eruption of Ol’ Doinyo Lengai, enough black sand was thrown out onto the plains and, due to its high iron content and being heavily magnetized, it has stuck together as it being blown in one direct across the landscape, moving 3-5 meters a year. The natural geometric shape of the sand is a large pile with crescent shaped leading edge, engulfing any vegetation that is in its way.
Once finished admiring this natural phenomenon, Jill and I hiked the short distance around the front side to look at the markers designating its location during prior years, and then loaded into our vehicle as we began our drive on a trail that parallels the main road for some distance until they finally intersect just before crossing into the Serengeti Park. The trail is essentially two tire tracks that make their way across the dusty landscape with frequent herds of both domestic and wild animals. Once on the main road, we were to Naabi Gate, the true entrance to the park, in no time and quickly found a table for our lunch. Entrance to the Serengeti is per 24-hour period, so it is best to eat you lunch before passing through the gate, while the NCA considers their entrance fee per 24 hours from midnight to midnight. Coordinating these timing differences is a bit of an art, but second nature once you’ve done it a few times, or, better yet, once you don’t pay attention and get stuck paying an additional fee.
From high on Naabi Hill, you have a tremendous view looking north over the Serengeti plain and get your first glimpse of the meaning of the Maasai word, “Serenget,” meaning “Endless Plain.” In actuality, were you to hike the short distance to the top of Naabi Hill, you would quickly have an even better perspective as you would have a 360° view of the flat plains stretching endlessly in all directions. Even this, though, does not give one the full impact of the Serengeti’s vastness. That can only be truly appreciated by driving though the park, where, after even hours upon hours, you hardly scratch the surface and, after you reach each new horizon, you realize there are an endless number of them beyond.
The camp we were going to stay at for the next two days was in the northern part of the Central Serengeti, and only a short distance off the main road heading north towards the Mara River. On our drive, there were huge herds of wildebeest moving back and forth across the plain in search of better grasses. There were large numbers of calves, all running close to their mothers, and a light brown in color. The calves are easy prey for the cheetah and other predators as the wildebeest, despite their horns, does not defend itself in any manner, quite unlike the Cape Buffalo, which can easily kill a lion by goring it. The grasses are best here in the southern reaches of the Serengeti where they are found in their greatest concentrations in March and April. The classic images of the large herds crossing the Mara River in the north occur during the dry months of August into September as they are moving north to the Masa Mara in Kenya, where they will spend the new year, once again calving and then traveling back south to complete the greatest land migration on earth that has gone on for thousands of years.
We finally reached our camp, Serengeti Acacia Bliss, well before sunset, which is an anomaly as we are normally feeling our way through the darkness trying to find our camp due to poor time management. Game drives at night are strictly forbidden in the Serengeti, and driving at night is only allowed for those who are traveling with a purpose such as getting back to your camp. Not only is it dangerous to drive at night, but it is also disturbing for the animals. Our camp was lovely and one of the nicest that I’ve stayed in over the 15 years of coming to the Serengeti on a regular basis. Their tents were luxurious with solid wood floors, a wonderful shower with hot water, an incredibly comfortable bed and linens, and, best of all, electricity and WiFi in every room that worked well. We were the only ones in camp that night, so had the entire place to ourselves. They started a bonfire before sunset, and we all sat around having drinks and relaxing from the long journey of the day. Having restorative hot showers before sitting down to enjoy the evening made everything quite tolerable.
It was also a night for celebration as Megan had logged in to receive her match results, and she had matched at her number one choice – Mass General Child Neurology! She had wanted to go to Boston and will start there in June as a pediatric intern prior to pursuing her neurology training. Child neurology is essentially a five-year program with two years of pediatrics and three years of pediatric neurology. Dinner was delicious and the stars were fantastic, but it wasn’t long before everyone took to their tents and allowed the darkness to bring them to a quick slumber. There is nothing like sleeping in the Serengeti in a tented camp – it is cold here at night, but the comforter keeps you warm and the sounds of the animals makes you thankful that you’re protected in camp and not easy prey sleeping in the open.
