Day 40 - Serengeti

Day 40 (Acacia day 37) – Serengeti
We got up and loaded our Land Cruiser for the drive out to the Crater. Well really to the Serengeti but to get there you have to go through the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (NCA)… We were on the road and happy but noticed it seemed to take a little longer than anticipated to get to the Crater gates and there was a noticeable lack of power going uphill… When we got to the gates, the driver went to look under the hood and our worries were consummated. There was more oil on the engine, under the engine and in the radiator than in the engine. This vehicle won’t going no further. Well so much for a good start. It seems like the rails came off this thing faster than a beer goes warm here.

After about 5 hours (might have been 4.5) we got a new Land Cruiser and set out to drive into the NCA. We drove up the side of the NCA and stopped at te lookout briefly to take in the Crater. But since we were starting late, we had to get a move on, we had a long way to go still.
The whole of the NCA is inhabited by various people, most obvious are the Maasai. The Maasai, as herders, walk amongst their cattle and goats as well as the zebra and wildebeest, with neither the former nor the later paying them any real heed. The valley that we drove into after rounding the Crater was full of Maasai, cattle, zebra, wildebeests and brilliant wildflowers. It was an incredible sight.

We eventually hit the plains and drove through what seemed like scores of zebra, wildebeests and several different gazelles and things. Off in the distance we could just see the darkening of the horizon. Thought it was the scrub trees catching the last light and casting shadows, but no – it was the zebra and wildebeest massing for the migration. If we are lucky we might see the beginning of it tomorrow.

As we neared the simbakopje (rocky outcroppings in the plains) that signified the beginning of the Serengeti, we noted a cluster of vultures around what appeared to be the remains of a young wildebeest. After a few photos we drove on and unexpectedly found the cause for the wildebeest’s demise. Right next to the road there was a pair of cheetahs, with fat stomachs basking in the sun. They really couldn’t care less that we were a few feet from them snapping photos.

Even more unexpected was a broken down cruiser a bit ahead of the cheetahs with a Indian family walking around outside of it… We tried to push start them (apparently they had been having electrical problems) with our Cruiser, but to no avail. Eventually we tied them on and towed them the last little bit to the Serengeti gates.

We continued to race along the road, hoping that the lightning storm we could see in the distance was not going to drench us and there might be a bit of light t set up our tents. We got less hopeful about both concerns as we got closer to the camp. But then we saw one of the biggest sight of the days – literally, a hippo was out of the water and in the middle of the road… it was HUGE, but had tiny little legs. So when it tried to jump the little ledge on the curb to get back in the water, it couldn’t. It took several tries and prompted several laughs, but it finally kind of scraped it belly then flopped and flipped into the ponds.

Satisfied with a second (including the cheetahs after the kill) unusual sight for the night we were all ok with getting camp setup in the rain. Just as we were talking about that though, we caught a spotted hyena in the headlights as it ambled in front of the car. We made slow progress for a bit as the hyena wasn’t too concerned with us, until it suddenly split and took off. Our curiousity over what would have caused that reaction was short lived as the answer (all four of them) quickly materialized out of the night.

Four lionesses came sauntering into our headlights. Actually they were definitely on the prowl - ears back, steely look in their eyes and low slung shoulders – like they were ready to pounce. They walked right next to the Land Cruiser. We were all trying to get photos but it was so quick and so dark, it just didn’t work out. They were so close we could have reached down (we were all leaning out of the windows) and touched them… that would have been a great idea…

Our horrible start with the broken down car, turned out to be a good night as we saw loads of things that people don’t normally get to see. Even though we did have to setup camp in the rain, it wasn’t very hard and didn’t last long. So it was a quick night and good sleep – even if you could hear the lions in the distance sometimes…