Ngorongoro

We were first taken down to the spot where the Leakeys found the hominid skull they named Lucy. Lucy was Australopithecus afarensis, a direct ancestor of mankind. This skull was over a million years old. There were two hominids at the time, the other being one with a huge jaw colloquially named nutcracker man. His scientific name is Australopithecus boisei.

Our next destination was the "Shifting Sands," a large dune that created by the eruption of Ol Doinyo Lengai in 1969. This is essentially a dune of volcanic ash being blown westward by the strong winds of the Maasai lands. These dunes are blown about a foot per day westward, and will continue to be blown until they are blown off the edge of the plains. Since we couldn't see the edge of the plains from where we were, I suspect the sands will be shifting for a long time.

After the visit here, we returned to the visitors' center for a picnic lunch. There was way too much food in the picnic lunches. Worse, I chipped a tooth on something, and I ended up feeling queasy for the rest of the day. I wasn't the only one whose lunch didn't agree with them.

After Olduvai, we went to the crater. We had a game drive through the crater as we went to camp. We went down the west-side descent road onto the crater floor. My first sighting was of an adult fish eagle, flying in the distance. This was a spectacular sight to see. We then went to the forest, where we saw the only leopard we would see in Africa. This leopard was resting in a tree, and, from the front seat, was barely visible. I could only see the tail and a couple paws. We then ventured past elephants on the way out. Last, we saw a rhino in the distance.

We arrived at camp at 5PM, and it was not yet fully set up. We lent a hand (moving mattresses, etc) and had a late dinner. Beef stroganof.

I woke at 1:20 AM after having a vivid larium dream. The Duke Basketball Report was forming a baseball team for charity. Our power hitter was having a self-esteem crisis and he wanted to quit. I was telling him about how we needed him, and the second power hitter, since the two worked well together in the lineup. Julio convinces the guy to stay, as with the both of them we can raise as much money as we needed for charity AND allow the first power hitter to retire with grace, in a first class style. We then talk to Boswell. I tell him, "You could throw a baseball across the plate to a teammate without an opponent interfering." Boswell said, "Only at the end of the game." (Clearly, Boswell is a relief pitcher with heat in my dream.) He initially agrees to pitch for the team, but his wife raises an objection. I try to narrow down the problem: since some of Boswell's co-workers are on the team, and they had never seen him in anything but a suit and tie, and since Boswell had never seen his co-workers (all female) in anything but business attire, Boswell's wife was convinced that Boswell would loose respect of his co-workers by appearing in a non-professional setting. Meanwhile, throughout the dream, a 1970;s song, "Voulez-vous couches avec moi, ces soir" is running in the background.

Very odd. This was my only larium dream of the trip.

The next morning I woke UN rested. The dream kept me awake for a while. We all woke early, with the intention of entering the crater before breakfast. Jon Risdal was not able to join us, as he had it worst from the picnic lunches. I was still a little queasy, but was able to go. I also managed to ride with my parents for the first time.

Running hippo

Our target was to see leopards, and possibly to photograph them. We went down the road and saw lions on a hill. As we got closer to the forest, we saw two rhinos in the distance, but we did not see any leopards. We went by Lake Magadi and saw a lot of ducks and flamingos. We also saw a hippopotamus running between water holes. On the way to the hippo pool, we drove through a swamp that was fairly deep, and saw some hippos jawing.

We head up fro brunch at 11AM. After that, we rest until the 3PM game drive.

Augur Buzzard

This drive was fairly birding intensive. We identified a lot of birds on the drive down to the crater, including things like bee eaters. We also saw a hive of Tanzanian killer bees. Apart from that, the afternoon drive was not as exciting as the morning.

There has been a bit of a plague in the crater. The buffalo have been dying off in large numbers, and on my return to the US, I learned that 6 of the 17 rhinoceros in the crater had died this past summer. You'd come by the carcass of a buffalo that not even the vultures would touch. Only insects, feasting on the fetid meat.

Dinner was tilapia. They were not filets, alas. I tried to get some sleep.

The next morning was another early game drive. Jon is still feeling under the weather, but I'm OK. My blood sugar is running a bit low, though.

The car swap is made permanent, I am to stay with my parents. I lose the best driver, Peter, and am with Mohammed. My father is not happy about Mohammed, and after time I see why.

Rhinos looking for food

We again scour the crater for leopard, to no avail. We do get to see six rhinoceros, and I take some pictures of them. We head past the picnic site where we see an African darter and the yellow-billed kites getting ready for the lunch time picnickers. We return to the camp for brunch, which was quite filling.

After lunch we head over to the Sopa Lodge. Flush toilets and a cool breeze. We then visit a Maasai village, where the huts are made of elephant dung. The huts smell of the dung. They are a fascinating people, the Maasai.

Elephant

Shrike

Click on any image to see a larger picture

Kingfisher

Finally, we head off on a game drive. Jon joins this one. We see more hippos and birds, and then try to find an alleged leopard. This gets us in trouble, as we are late leaving the crater. The authorities stop us, and they issue tickets to the drivers for staying past closing. A hot shower, and a lasagna dinner. Quite nice. Sleep.

We break camp early in travel configuration. First, we re-enter the crater for a game drive. More hippos and a lot of birds. We also see a little snake. Spoonbills, plovers, and ducks are on the itinerary. No more rhinoceros, no leopards. We stop for a soda, and then meet up with the others at Ngorongoro gate. Next stop is Kirurumu tented camps. We get there just after noon, and have chicken a la king. This is a luxury camp, so we don't have our crew cooking, and the food is lousy. The rice is good, though. I spend some time in the afternoon chatting with Lillian and Betsy, and at 5PM, we go for a hike. We see some of the native plants, another hut which the owners share with their cattle, and views of the Rift Valley and Lake Manyara.

Dinner is a bad pork chop. I do not sleep well, as during the night there is a nightjar calling. The bird was about 20 feet from my tent, and would not stop. What could I do?