Safari Part 3c

August 31, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater—on the inside)

Continued...

On our way back to the lodge, Mike stops to gas up the Land Rover. As we’re leaving he suddenly stops and yells. ‘Professor! Professor!’ There is a man he clearly wants us to meet. A well dressed man in his 50s pops his head in. We all say hello. He asks us where we’re from. ‘Canada and America.’ ‘Where in America?’ ‘New York and Phoenix.’

‘New York! I love New York. I lived in the states many years, working and teaching and lecturing. So much fun. Riding in the limos in New York. Oh I love America. American women—they are the best!’

At the end of this last statement, the professor puts his right index finger into his mouth (and not just the tip mind you, the whole finger) and then pulls it out in the clearest pantomime of a blow job I have ever seen.

We all sort of pause, awkwardly. What does one respond? Should I be flattered or offended? Is he expecting an offer?

Mike solves this by saying a quick good-bye and we take off. He tells us we’ve just met Tepilit Ole Saitoti, a well-respected Maasai scholar and author of a number of Maasai books (this is true, I’ve Googled him since). He has given up a career in education to return to his village and the Maasai way of life.

And that is all that is said of our run-in with the Professor. Until the last night on safari after two bottles of wine, when there is much laughter and a number of good impressions and pantomime shows of our own.

At the gate to the lodge sits another Maasai gentleman.

‘Clemens!’

Ah. The mysterious Clemens has come to join us at last. He is a Maasai warrior about 60 years old (the Maasai don’t chart age the way we do—it’s more stages, whether you are a child or an adult—it’s not about what number of years you’ve lived). He is thin, and cataracts cloud his eyes, but they twinkle with his ready laugh. We invite him back into the lodge for a beer. We all get a drink and settle down in the bar.

He proceeds to launch into a few stories—I wish I could do it justice in writing, next time I see you, ask for a Clemens story.

One story was of the leopard he killed. This was only ten years ago or so, so he’s about 50. A leopard had been taking some of their goats at night, as leopards are want to do, but one night he took a little girl from the village. The little girl was Clemens niece. The next day they found her up in the leopard’s tree (leopards are the only one of the big cats that kill for sport, not just to eat—and the only cat the Maasai fear). Clemens resolved to do something about it.

That night he slept in the goat pen where the leopard had been coming. He lay there wrapped in his shuka and armed only with his spear and knife. During the night he heard the goats get restless. He woke up and lay still but couldn’t see the leopard. Then he heard a goat scream. He sprang up. The leopard turned and came for him. He threw his shuka over the leopard's head to confuse him and then—wham—put his spear between the cat's ribs, directly in his heart.

Whether this story is entirely true, I don’t know, but it's still pretty impressive.

Clemens also told me of when he was mauled by an elephant on the road by the lodge. He was walking the road at night with two other warriors when they were set on by an elephant. The two other warriors were young, so they ran to try to draw the elephant away from Clemens. It didn’t work.

The elephant hit him once, raking his right leg from ankle to hip. The elephant hit him again, gouging his right side. This hit knocked Clemens, luckily, into a ditch. This hit also, luckily, removed his shuka. He lay under the elephant in the ditch until the elephant decided that the shuka on his tusks was enough evidence of a dead man for him to continue on his way.

Clemens spent two years in the hospital recovering, and had only been out for a year or so. He showed me his scars. It’s pretty impressive.

He also told us of killing lions, the traditionally Maasai right of passage, and how lions have come to recognize their traditional red shukas and will run upon spotting one. They also apparently recognize the scent of a Maasai and will retreat when it is on the wind. Mike bore witness to seeing that happen on a number of occasions when taking Clemens on safari.

I ask about the cheek scars—I’ve seen most Maasai with two perfect circles on each cheek. It’s given to them as children. Whenever there is an outbreak of fever among the kids the medicine man cuts the small circles on their cheeks and puts a medicine on it. So kind of like a vaccine.

He also tells us of how the Maasai tradition of removing the two lower front teeth came about. There was an outbreak of tetanus many years ago, and to save those whose jaws locked up, they would cut out the two bottom front teeth in order to feed them milk. And now, you do it because you are Maasai.

We also talk a lot of the changing of the culture in Africa and what will happen to the Maasai. They have certainly retained a lot of their culture, but as their children go off to school and the world encroaches on their herds and land, the future is uncertain. But Clemens maintains that the Maasai will always be Maasai, and that more often then not, those that leave for school, choose to return to traditional life.

His eyes twinkle and he asks me ‘You like Africa?’

‘Yes. Very much.’
‘You want to stay?’
‘Sure.’
‘Can you build a house? Carry water? Chop firewood? This is women’s work.’

Yes—some things in Maasai culture are alive and well.

We talk a lot more about the Maasai culture and his life, and receive an invitation to visit his home in the morning and meet one of his wives. We accept.

Anita leaves to send and e-mail and Lisa to clean up, and as Clemens and I are finishing our beer and discussing circumcision, Mike returns. He wants to drive Clemens home because there are elephant near the lodge gates and he doesn’t want a repeat maul.

I immediately invite myself along for the drive. Elephant, by the gate, hell yes. Sure enough there are about 10 male elephant on their way to water. We stop and hang out in the chilly night air to just watch for a while.

Then we deliver Clemens safely home, promise to see him in the morning, and head back to dinner and bed.

Tomorrow we leave for the Serengeti.

Photos: Clouds spilling over the rim of the Crater--lake below. The Crater as seen from above. Clemens.

Safari Part 3b

August 31, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater—on the inside)

Continued...

We spot hyena. Ugly beasties.

Meet the Cape Buffalo. A rather unassuming looking cow really. But apparently the meanest of the animals in Africa, and the one that nobody wants to go up against. More feared and deadly than any of the carnivores. The second most deadly to man, the hippo, is also a vegetarian. Maybe if someone just bought them all a burger they wouldn’t be so grumpy.

Then we head to a hippo pool. No hippo sex today. Mostly just hippos lying about.

But we spot our first cheetah off in the distance harassing the same line of wildebeest as the lions were. We will see this cheetah up close later in the afternoon, and Mike tells us he’s heard from the rangers that he is injured. He certainly didn’t look healthy, and a number of hyena were parked further off, clearly just waiting. Rather heartbreaking really.

I also see my first crowned crane, one of the prettiest birds I think we’ll spot out here.

We’re also introduced to the Cori Bustard, one of the largest game birds in Africa. A pretty bird, with gorgeous neck feathers that they puff out in mating rituals. Apparently very good to eat, and Mike says they’re an Arabic delicacy. The birds run about $2,000 a piece. An expensive turkey dinner that.

As we stop for lunch at the hippo pool, Mike gives us a brief rundown of Tanzanian history. Very short version here: Was first a German colony, but after WWII went down and the Germans got destroyed in Europe, it was transferred to Britain (hence Mike’s Scottish father). Was a British colony until 1968 when Britain finally gave up trying to colonize the world. Granted independence. Tanzania’s first President somehow (though Mike never did fully explain how) made a system where all 120 tribes in Tanzania get along and lived peacefully. As a result, it’s been a relatively stable and prosperous country since. Most of its economy now comes through tourism.

As we set off in the afternoon, a zebra lumbers across in front of us. Mike stops. ‘Look at this one, she’s very pregnant.'

She certainly has a large girth, and we obliging start to snap a few pictures. The zebra stops beside the car, as though she’s heard us, poses, and proceed to stick out “her” willy. This is not a pregnant female after all, more like a beer-gutted Fabio. He poses with a daintily cocked hoof (pun intended) and proceeds to show off his fabulous manhood until we drive away. Mike is mightily embarrassed for having misidentified this zebra and we are mightily amused by the zebra’s antics.

We see a few male elephant (although none putting on an obliging display) and a number of other lion, but nothing to top the morning’s excitement. And we never do see the elusive rhino. Mike thinks he saw one far out on a plain. And we all looked through the binoculars, but I couldn’t indentify it as something more than big and dark.

After a beautiful day in the Crater, we head out at dusk.

To be Continued....

Photos: Baby zebra. Ostrich. Cape Buffalo. The pregnant zebra.

Safari Part 3a

August 31, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater—on the inside)

We’re up early and are greeted by the most incredible sunrise I’ve ever seen. The sun is behind clouds and mist and is glowing red. Clouds are pouring into the crater like cotton waterfalls. It is a silent, cool morning. We grab a few muffins and coffee, and then run off to meet Mike. We head off in search of our Maasai guide, Clemens. Mike was hoping he’d meet us at the hotel, but as he is not there, we continue to his house. Again, no Clemens. Mike leaves another message and we head into the Crater.

The crater is home to most types of East African big game, many who are permanent residents. There are a lot of male elephant, and Mike says the biggest ivory we’ll see will be here, as they’ve been relatively unpoached for some time. Lions, cheetah, leopard, and many types of gazelle are also in residence. Black rhino do live here, but they are the most endangered of the big game species in Tanzania. Mike is not sure of the number, as the park service keeps it secret, but the last numbers he heard were only 16 alive in the Crater (and shockingly only 14 in the 5,000 square miles of the Serengeti). We hope to see one, but the odds are not in our favor.

As soon as we enter the crater we see zebra, tomi gazelle, and grant gazelle. Then the largest of the vultures, the Nubian. And ostrich couples abound. We head to high ground to get a better view. There is a pack of hyena running below, but no sign of what they are running to. We move on into the park.

All of a sudden I see what I’m sure is a cat ahead.

‘Mike—there! There! Is that a lion?’
‘Where?’
‘Straight ahead, on the ridge.’

It is. A large female. Her pride is all there, and from what we can see, all females and cubs. They are hanging out on the edge of a burn site, watching a line of wildebeest make their way to the river for their morning drink.

The wildebeest pick up the pace. Two lions step away from the pride and move closer to the herd. They drop down low. They are definitely in full stalk mode.

The end of the wildebeest herd is coming up. One lioness makes her move. She’s up, she’s in, and—it’s a miss. But not a total loss. Her attack has separated about 10 wildebeest from the rest of the herd. They freeze. Confused but wary. The two lions drop back into stalk mode and hang for a bit.

‘Watch—the wildebeest are not so smart. If the lions wait long enough the wildebeest will forget they are there. This wouldn’t work with the zebra. But the wildebeest, not so smart.’

Sure enough, Mike’s right. The lions let them relax and in a few minutes they’ve forgotten why they were upset. They start to move toward the water again and—snap, a lioness is up, and takes down a young wildebeest.

Insane.

We’ve been in the Crater for less than an hour and have just witnessed a full stalk, hunt and kill scenario less than 50 yards away. Mike will have to work to beat this.

Unbelievable.

‘You see? Did you watch their ears? That is how they direct the hunt. They were working together the whole time. Right ear twitch, go right. Left ear, go left.’

Mike is an unbelievable guide. He’s been doing this for over 30 years and spent two years training in the Serengeti. He now teaches a lot of the younger guides. He can reel of facts about any animal, bird or plant, and has his own CD of East African bird calls. But most importantly, he can read them. He knows pretty well when and where they will go. And he knows these parks soooo well.

We watch as the rest of the pride comes to join in. The wildebeest is down, but not dead. We watch for a bit, and then, as all the other Land Rovers drive up, we decide to move on.

To be Continued...

Photos: Sunrise over the Crater. Lion stalking. Lion post kill. Breakfast. Baby on the way.

Safari Part 2b

August 30, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater)

Continued...

The three of us are antsy from all the driving and decided to take a walk. There is no path at this lodge, so we jump over some railing and start walking. We find the road the Maasai use to move their cattle in and out of the Crater. It is blocked by a makeshift wooden fence and there is a clear sign stating we should not go on it. The sign, in fact, clearly states that we should not go off the lodge property, at all, ever, which is what we’re doing.

We start to debate the pros and cons of heeding the sign. As we do, I notice a shrike on a nearby acacia. I had just been asking Mike yesterday about shrikes and here one is.

In Idaho, there are shrikes, and their habit is to take their prey, usually large bugs, and impale them on the spikes on barbed wire. This holds the prey in place as the birds eat—strong beaks, not so strong feet. I figure with all the thorn trees, Africa would be perfect for them, and Mike assures me they are here and have the same habits. And here one is, with a huge grasshopper impaled on an acacia thorn right in front of me. Ask and ye shall receive, ya’all.

We start to wander down the road into the Crater, but finally our common sense takes over. Mike has only recently told us that Clemens was gored by an elephant very close to here and was hospitalized for two years. And there might actually be lions and tigers and bears, oh my! So we finally, sadly, and in accordance with our better judgement, turn back.

We enjoy a nice dinner with Mike and then turn in. Mike wants to be out the door by 6.30 to beat the other people into the park, and the animals are most active early and late. No arguments from us—after hippo sex, we’re ready for active.

Photos: Sunset over the Crater. Shrike with grasshopper in the mouth. Shrike with grasshopper on spike in front of him. Young Maasai herder with a day old goat. Maasai warrior in shuka.

Safari Part 2a

August 30, 2009 (Ngorongoro Crater)

Anita and I wake up at dawn to go for a jog, having found a blurb about a trail at the lodge that will take us out to over look the lake.

It is clear the fit craze hasn’t hit these lodges. There are no exercise rooms and this is the only place we will stay with any kind of walking path, and as Anita and I discover, it isn’t much of one. We find a dirt trail and start running, but either this is not the trail, or there’s no scenic overlook. It meanders for about a half-mile, then circles back to the lodge. At least we tried. As we come back, the sun is rising and a family of baboons starts to wander across the lawn.

After breakfast we head out for the Crater. Along the way we stop at a couple of places to shop. This time we are not harassed, because Mike has taken us to a couple of tourist traps. Ah well. Shopping in Africa. Clearly not really going to happen.

We continue the drive heading up, up, up and by mid-afternoon reach the top of the rim of the Crater, approximately 7,000 feet. Mike stops to show us where we’ll be spending the day tomorrow. Below us the Ngorongoro Crater opens up. A beautiful valley. It is the world’s largest caldera, and one of a handful that isn’t fully submerged under a lake.

Digression on calderas:

For those of you who also have used the term caldera since 7th grade earth science, according to Wikipedia it is: a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. So there was a huge volcano here a long time ago that exploded and its magma chamber emptied and now there’s an enormous, 100 square-plus mile crater that is now a nature conservancy.

End of Digression.

The crater has formed its own mini ecosystem, and a fair cross section of most African game live here on a permanent basis. The Crater also has a large alkaline lake, home to many flamingos, but has forest and savannah as well.

The Crater is traditionally Maasai land, but to try to keep it from being destroyed, the government re-located the Maasai to the top of the Crater, although they are still allowed to graze their cattle and goats in the Crater as long as they have them out by dusk. Ngorongoro means cow bell in Maasai, because it looks, well, like a bell.

We start to see Maasai herders with their cattle and goats everywhere. Most of them still wear the traditional Maasai robe, the shuka, and carry their stick, cudgel, knife, and occasionally spear. They are a tribe that has retained much of their culture in the face of a changing world and are very proud of it.

Mike wants to introduce us to an old friend, Clemens, a Maasai warrior born and raised in the Crater. Apparently Clemens speaks very good English as he often helped researchers in the Crater as a young man, and he is a fun guide and conversationalist. So we set off to find him. We stop in the Maasai market (Mike says he’s often at the bar). No luck. We do find one of his two wives, who says he’s back at home. So we head toward his village. Along the way we meet a large group of Maasai children, some of them Clemens’s. One runs to find him, while Anita passes out the only thing we have on us, a box of curiously strong mints. They’re thrilled with that.

Our messenger returns to tell us that Clemens is staying with his other wife tonight. Mike leaves a message with one of the warriors to let Clemens know we are there and would like him to go out in the Crater with us the next day on safari. Having taken care of that, we head back to the lodge.

To be continued...

Photos: Maasai children. Young Maasai warriors herding their cattle out of the Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater. Baboons.

Safari Part 1b

August 29, 2009 (The second extra day: Lake Manyara)

Continued...

Upon entering the park we spot more baboon. Then vervet monkeys. And then more zebra, giraffe and some impala. We move on and soon stop and get out at the hippo pool.

The hippo are all in a group, mostly submerged, so I’m admiring a fish eagle, when Mike interrupts. ‘This is really rare. Look, look at that hippo, that male.’

We see him. He appears to also just be hanging out.

‘Look, he is mating.’

Now we’re talking. Some hippo sex. Bring it on, Planet Earth, you got nothing on this. We look. What I see is a hippo, sitting in a pool.

‘He’s mating?’

‘Yes.’

‘With who?’

‘The female is under the water, you see. She will stay under the water the whole time. But look closely and sometimes you will see her breathe.’

We look, and sure enough, periodically, we see her two little nostrils surface just ahead of him. This is it folks. Hippo sex. Not nearly as exciting as one would hope. We stay at the pool for about a half an hour; watching the eagle hunt, the other birds, and the impala. And during that time, our hippo friend doesn’t seem to change. So I guess he has stamina. He has that going for him. Well done hippo. Well done. Elephant sex lasts less than a minute and it only occurs every 4 or 5 years. I’d rather be the hippo I guess.

Back in the land rover, and we spot our first tembo (elephant). Baby and mama. Amazing. During our trip we will see a number of elephant. They are always mesmerizing.

But it is a bit disturbing to witness how destructive they are. They pull down the trees and kill them as they strip them of leaves and bark. And often move on and break another tree before finishing the first. The path of destruction left by a family of elephant is easy to see and fairly wide.

We also spot a number of hornbill, a great kingfisher, and a grey-headed kingfisher, as well as our first wild pigs. We spend a lovely day in the park and at dust return to the hotel.

We spend the evening watching the football (soccer) match with Mike, Manchester United vs. Arsenal, and then off to bed. Tomorrow we will head to the Ngorongoro Crater.

Photos: Grey-headed Kingfisher. Tembo. Happy Male hippo--note nostrils in front. Close up of hippo sex. Punda Milia.

Safari Part 1a

August 29, 2009 (The second extra day: Lake Manyara)

Mike Taylor picks us up in the morning, and we head off for our first day on safari. We drive through Arusha on the way, and stop off to meet Flavia, Mike’s wife. She’s booked our lodgings for our two extra days for us. Two extra days is great. But we learn another valuable Africa lessons when trying to pay for them. Flavia is expecting cash and won’t or can’t put it on a credit card. As we didn’t bring that much cash with us, we will go on to learn a next another important lesson. ATMs are hard to find here, even in cities. Working ATMs that take VISA and dispense cash in return are even harder to find. And when you do, you have to request cash in Tanzanian shillings without knowing the exact conversion rate or getting a receipt. It’s a mystery game. But as almost no one, even the hotels, will take credit cards, it’s a game we’ll play a lot.

Then we head to Lake Manyara. Along the way, we stop in a town to attempt another shopping venture, but are so bombarded that no one buys anything. Anita even tries speaking only in French to throw them, but to no avail, as they counter by finding someone who can speak rudimentary French. We eventually make our way back to the Land Rover and jump in. Mike laughingly takes off.

On our way out of town, we suddenly see families of baboons walking in the streets and hanging out at the stores. We beg Mike to stop so we can take pictures. He does, but lets us know we’ll see many more in the park.

We drop our stuff at the lodge (situated at the top of a rise overlooking the park) and head in. Lake Manyara is a large alkaline lake surrounded by relatively thick forest. A lot of elephant studies have been done in the area. The animals can’t drink the water at the lake, but do drink from the pools and rivers moving into it. Mike says it’s a park that’s less popular than the Crater, which is great for us. It’s also the only park on our journey where we’ll see the baobab tree.

The baobab was known to Anita and I through The Little Prince, a favorite book of hers in French and mine in English, that is set partially in Northern Africa.

The baobabs here have already dropped their leaves, so are beautiful, if slightly ominous, trees. I remark that it ought to be a Harry Potter tree. Mike replies that it’s the upside down tree. The tree, with its large trunk and small spray of branches at the top, that do look like a root system, does look upside down. He tells us the local mythology.

The gods made the baobab, a beautiful tree with lovely leaves, delicate flowers and delicious fruit. The baobab is happy until one day he notices that the acacia tree has all these things but the gods have also given the acacia tree thorns for protection. The baobab then complains to the gods, long and loud, about his lack of thorns. The gods finally grow angry at his lack of gratitude, pull him out of the ground, and replant him, headfirst, to silence his complaints. The tree has remained upside down ever since.

Either way, they’re beautiful.

To be continued...

Photos: Arusha. Baboons in the street. Baobab Trees at dusk.