It was the first Sunday for the second group which is always the day I take them to Ngorongoro Crater. As I have mentioned previously, these days are ones that I am looking forward to from the moment we arrive, though there is always some anxiety that is associated with the drive. To begin, I’m driving a nearly twenty-year-old Land Rover that has been modified as a safari vehicle and has driven almost exclusively over the roughest roads one can imagine – and Land Rovers are finicky, requiring constant repairs that are very often makeshift and imaginative (think chewing gum and duct tape). Mechanical breakdowns are commonplace and there are no service stations where we’re going, let alone two trucks or mechanics. Essentially, every safari guide is capable of doing essential repairs on their vehicle to get it back on the road, though some are better than others, and I’m not included in either of those categories. The other anxiety provoking part of the whole process is the fact that I am typically questioned, sometimes extensively, Conservation Area rangers when checking in at Loduare Gate, the entrance to the crater and to the Serengeti, as there are almost no non-Tanzanian drivers entering among the hundreds of vehicles going into the crater on any given day. Amazingly, I showed them the permit that Pendo had created for our game drive, which was on my phone, they put the number into the computer, then gave me my paperwork, and we were off on our way in no time at all.
Since there was one less resident, and Jill had returned home, there were going to be only four of us in the vehicle including me, which left us plenty of room to bring others along. We had invited our three Tanzanian translators – Novati, Saida, and Glory – to come along for the day. The cost for Tanzanians to get into the Crater is only 10,000 Tsh (less than $5) each compared to our $70, and the vehicle cost of $250 would be regardless of whether there were four or seven of us. Though residents here have the ability to go into the crater for little cost, they rarely have the opportunity to do so as the cost for a safari vehicle, driver, and fuel would cost at least $300 for the day, well out of the reach for nearly all Tanzanians. Whenever we have open seats in our vehicle, I always try to fill them with those Tanzanians who are working with us or other FAME workers. During the beginning of the pandemic, when I came alone as the residents were not allowed to travel, I filled the Land Rover with Tanzanians from FAME and took them to Tarangire National Park for the day and, on another occasion, to the Conservation Area to share in a goat roast nearly all the way to Oldupai Gorge. We stopped at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge for coffee and cookies on our way back, a place none of them would have had the opportunity to visit on any other occasion. I had never seen so many selfies taken before.
I have written about the crater on so many occasions before, but save it to say that it is one of the most magnificent natural wonders in the world – it is the largest complete dry caldera (collapsed volcano) in the world measuring 10 miles in diameter and 2000 feet deep that contains near all the same animals that one would fine in the Serengeti other than the giraffe (it’s too steep for them to descend the walls), and the Nile crocodile as there are no running rivers to support them. All the cats – lions, leopards, cheetahs (though their numbers have diminished due to competition from a growing hyena population), caracols, servals, and more. None of these resident animals has any need to migrate as there is year-round food available in the crater, whether it be the grasses for the herbivores or the herbivores for the carnivores – either way, life is good.
– needed to be referred to neurosurgery to be drained. Received this consult while in the crater
There is little question, though, that beyond its sheer beauty, Ngorongoro Crater is about the black rhino. Heavily hunted in the days of the Great White Hunter to the extent that they became seriously endangered, then heavily poached in the country until they were almost extinct, they are now making a significant comeback through the protection of the Tanzanian government and the rangers of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti National Park where the whereabouts of each and every rhino are heavily monitored night and day.
Hemingway’s The Green Hills of Africa, one of his few non-fiction novels, takes place in Tanganyika, and mostly at Lake Manyara, from 1933 to 1934, when he and his wife traveled through the area hunting black rhinos, which are now essentially non-existent in those areas unless one were to wander there from the crater in which case it would be quickly relocated back to safety. Rhinos are one of the big five of Africa with the others being the elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and, of course, the king of the jungle, the lion. What do each of these five animals have in common? They were each an animal, who when hunted, could turn easily into the hunter if you were unlucky enough to have missed your first shot, and were each known to have killed many of those who sought them as trophies.
Once through the Loduare Gate, we were on our way to the crater rim on my absolute favorite drive in the world, a dirt road that through a series of switchbacks, takes one up 2000 feet alongside a deepening canyon with trees reaching for the sky above the dense forest canopy. The trees and vines appear primordial and there is clearly the sense that you are traveling back in time to the prehistoric days of the dinosaurs, and that a tyrannosaurus rex may pop out of the undergrowth at any time. These are the Ngorongoro Highlands that I love, and the East Africa that I dreamed about as a child. Once atop the rim, you reach the crater overlook to get your first full view of what you are about to descend into and explore, though there is another 40 minutes of travel to the opposite side of the crater, where the paved descent road with probably a 12% grade drops you down to the crater floor in no time. The use of low gear on your transfer case is highly recommended to keep your brakes from overheating. Once on the floor, you’re free to pop the top and enjoy the rest of the day exploring the immense crater floor.
Within minutes of driving, we came across a group of several Land Cruisers with one that was stuck in the mud along a trail that was leading them to a group of lions. I used our tow rope that had gotten us out of trouble in the Serengeti, but the weight of the vehicle and force required to pull it free was too much for the strap and it unfortunately broke on one end on the first try. Next, I pulled out the winch cable that I had just repaired with the new controller that the fundi had found for us and, sure enough, was able to tug out the vehicle with little trouble. Unfortunately, though, the driver, while still trying to reach the lions in the same direction, immediately became stuck once again. I had to drive to his other side through some deep mud to pull him free this time, though all went well and this time, he made sure not to get stuck once again. We drove to the lions and enjoyed watching them for a few minutes before heading on again.
We came upon our first rhino spotting in a similar location as where we had seen the only one we found three weeks ago, and even though it was quite a distance away, it was clearly distinguishable as a rhino. Over the course of the next several hours while on the crater floor, we made an additional seven rhino spottings, though two were repeats, but even so, we had seen six individual rhinos that included one very close (for a rhino, that is, as they are very shy), and a pair of mothers with two babies. They are spectacular animals that, no matter how hard you try, are difficult to imagine how they came to be from an evolutionary standpoint, though here they are right in front of you. Their eyesight is incredibly poor, and they rely primarily on hearing for defense, so do not come out on windy days in which they would have a hard time locating their enemies, even though for the life of me I can’t imagine what enemies a full-grown rhino would have. Recently, eighteen white rhinos from South Africa were brought into the crater with the cooperation of the NCAA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority) to eventually release in the crater and establish a viable breeding population but haven’t done so yet and they are still penned in the Lerai Forest. White rhinos (an original misinterpretation of the Dutch word “wide,” referring to their mouth as opposed to the black rhino which is more beak-like) are nearly twice the size of a black rhino which is simply hard to imagine, though I’m sure I’ll be able to see it someday soon after they’re released.
After taking the ascent road out of the crater, we were at the gate in plenty of time (remember, it closes at 6 pm, and if you’re late, you could end up spending the night in the Conservation Area), and back home before sunset. Our plan for dinner was fried rice, and we had gotten a container of cooked white rice to put in the refrigerator several days ago since stale rice makes the best fried rice. This seems to be our post safari meal these days, and we have a steady supply of white rice from the FAME cantina. Tomorrow, we would begin our mobile clinics for the second group. Bisodawish on Monday, then Rift Valley Children’s Village on Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather over the weekend was great and we’re hoping it remains that way for our Serengeti adventure in a week.
