(Photo credits – Yombe Fonkeu, Riley Kessler, and Jill Voshell)
Up early for our upcoming safari, I drove Myrtle up to the main FAME parking lot and let the keys with reception as the plan was for the fundi to work on the car while we were gone. At least that was the plan, but more on that later. I had asked our guide for the day to meet us there, but I couldn’t find him initially as he was waiting in the Lilac Café parking lot on time. You wouldn’t think that it would be difficult to track someone down at FAME, but it has grown so large over the years, it is now more common than you’d think. Roman was to be our guide and driver for our day in the crater, so I hopped in his vehicle and directed him to the Raynes House to pick up the rest of the group.
From my earliest times in Tanzania, it had been the realization of a dream for me to be driving in East Africa, exploring the backroads of the Great Rift Valley and its surrounding regions. Had someone ever told me that this would be case, I would not have believed them for a second. Yet, here I was, having spent well over two years of my life so far, driving through the places I had studying about as an adolescent and young man, experiencing the very thing that I never thought would have been possible. So, with this in mind, you can understand why it wasn’t what I had necessarily wished for on my birthday, to have someone else drive us to the crater, a “responsibility” I look forward to four times year when I act as the guide and take my team of residents into this incredible natural wonder which is often the very first game drive experience they have.
For this trip though, I would be given the day off as far as guiding was concerned, and with that, any need for me to make decisions for the day. I will admit, the day was much more relaxing for me than it typically would have been had I been guiding, and I accepted my role willingly and gracefully. It had been the first time in many, many years that I had visited the Crater as a guest, rather than a guide, and I did rather enjoy it.
The clouds were hugging the crater rim in the early morning hours, and my favorite drive in the world, rising slowly on switchbacks through a primordial forest, was shrouded in mist. The overlook at the top provided little in the way of a view, though we could certainly stop on our way back to look where we had been for the day. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest complete dry caldera in the world. It measures 10 miles across and is 2000 feet deep and contains populations of every animal we see in the Serengeti save for giraffes, as the walls are too steep for them to climb safely, and Nile crocodiles. The once populace cheetah is no longer seen here as they were unable to compete with the vast numbers of hyenas. The animals in the crater do not migrate but live out their lives here as they have everything they need. The crater is also home to one of the densest lion populations in Africa. All this adds up to an unforgettable experience in one of the true wonders of the world.
The day went well with lots of lions and one distant rhino, albeit laying down, and it was a good first safari for everyone along except for Meredith, who had been the crater with me three years ago. There were no sandwiches stolen by the kites at lunchtime even though we set up tables to sit and eat (something I never do at the lunch spot). Unfortunately, the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is now closed for major renovations, meaning that we couldn’t stop for our coffee and cookies with my friend Ladislaus that is usually a special treat after a day in the crater. We traveled home as we had plans for dinner at Dr. Anne’s tonight where we would also celebrate my birthday. It’s been 15 years since I’ve had my birthday in the US and that has never been an issue for me as I’m never the best at celebrating myself. We had a big bash 9 years ago for my 60th, with a party at the Highview, though I’ve kept it lower key since then. We had a lovely dinner, and everyone got to sing happy birthday to me. Life is good.
