Out of Africa - Sita (6)

August 23, 2016

Jua la asubuhi halidumu siku nzima - 
(The morning sun does not last the whole day) 

- Swahili Proverb

We had an early start this morning to ensure our exit of the Ngorongoro within our twenty-four hour permit.  We sent tons of laundry to be done last night, with assurances that it would be finished by six a.m.  It hadn't arrived by 6:30, so we went to grab some breakfast.  Breakfast was on par with dinner last night - meh - but the view was spectacular.  Ted was already out on the veranda getting pictures when we arrived.  The veranda wraps around the dining area, providing excellent views of the magnificent sunrise over the Ngorongoro crater.  As dawn broke, we could see a mist flowing over the edge of the crater like a slow-motion waterfall.  Never seen anything like it.

the mist crawling over the edge of the crater

From an environmental impact statement for the Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve in Alaska, published by the US National Park Service:

As strong downdrafts form over the crater rim, a phenomenon known as cloud niagaras frequently occurs, where clouds flow rapidly over the rim and down onto the caldera floor.

Finally got our laundry back - barely dried, but clean.  I'm not so sure dryers are a part of the equation here.  Got some final pictures of the view, and piled into the car for our drive down into the crater.  It was a steep, winding descent until we finally plateaued onto the crater floor.

And we're off...

It doesn't look real, does it?

The main feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority is the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and its floor covers 260 square kilometers (100 square miles). Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from 4,500 to 5,800 meters (14,800 to 19,000 feet) high. The elevation of the crater floor is 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) above sea level. 

Approximately 25,000 large animals live in the crater...including the black rhinoceros, the local population of which declined from about 108 in 1964-66 to between 11-14 in 1995, the African buffalo or Cape buffalo, and the hippopotamus.There also are blue wildebeest (7,000 estimated in 1994), Grant's zebra(4,000), the common eland, and Grant's and Thomson's gazelles (3,000). Waterbucks occur mainly near Lerai Forest. There are no topis, oribis, or crocodiles. Impala are absent because the open woodland they prefer does not exist. Giraffe also are absent, possibly because of a lack of (tall trees).

Although thought of as "a natural enclosure" for a very wide variety of wildlife, 20 percent or more of the wildebeest and half the zebra populations vacate the crater in the wet season. Buffalo and eland do the opposite. Their highest numbers are during the rains.  Since 1986, the crater's wildebeest population has fallen from 14,677 to 7,250 (2003-2005). The numbers of eland and Thomson's gazelle also have declined while the buffalo population has increased greatly, probably due to the long prevention of fire which favors high-fibrous grasses over shorter, less fibrous types. Lake Magadi, a large lake in the southwest of the crater, is often inhabited by thousands of mainly lesser 
flamingoes.

The crater has one of the densest known populations of Masai lions, numbering 62 in 2001.  A side effect of the crater being a natural enclosure is that the lion population is significantly inbred. This is due to the very small amount of new bloodlines that enter the local gene pool, as very few migrating male lions enter the crater from the outside. Those who do enter the crater are often prevented from contributing to the gene pool by the crater's male lions, who expel any outside competitors. - Wikipedia

The Ngorongoro Crater is a fascinating microcosm of African wildlife, with a diversity of animals that perpetuates the circle of life.  We saw zebras, buffalo, wildebeests, warthogs, and golden jackals.  We saw hyenas eating wildebeest leftovers.

Warthog and Crowned Crane

Black Rhino

Wildebeest walking past elephant skull

We saw many new birds:  augur buzzard, great egret, ibis, greater and lesser flamingos, the black crack bird with it's bright red feet, fish eagles flying overhead, and the huge crowned cranes that migrate from Uganda, where they are the national bird.

Grasshopper Buzzard (Asante Sana, Geoffrey, for
continuing to be our guide even after our trip was over!)

Gray Heron

Tawny Eagle

Augur Buzzard

"white shirt, black suit"

African Sacred Ibis

We came upon one female and two male lions laying out in the sun.  Geoffrey said two of these were surely "newlyweds," and we should wait to see what happens.  The male laid on his back with his manhood on full display.  The female soon started cleaning herself, a sign that something was about to go down. The second male excused himself from the pair, walking off into the bushes.  Then the "newlyweds" walked a few yards side by side, the male nudged the female to the ground, pinned her, and "got busy."  He bared his teeth momentarily at the back of her neck, she made a few mewing sounds, and then they were finished.  The female rolled to her side as the male stepped away.  After a few moments, they walked off together.  Very romantic.  Once a pair begins the mating ritual, it is repeated every fifteen minutes or so, sometimes over several days.  The female will not ovulate until stimulated by this non-stop activity.  As they walked away, our guide said, "They are tired.  Now they will go rest."  I can imagine.

Airing out the equipment

exhausting business

If that wasn't enough, we then came upon a crowd of safari vehicles that were watching a huge black rhino.  The rhinos are very elusive, and with this sighting, we were able to check off the last of the big five.  It was a bit far off, in some tall grass, but we felt very fortunate to be able to see this rare creature.  While we were watching and waiting for the rhino to come closer, we noticed big, bright green and pink insects flying up out of the grass.  These "Grosse Pointe" bugs turned out to be very colorful grasshoppers.  I wish we could have caught one on camera - they were really beautiful.

We had our lunch at a small lake full of hippos.  Our guide warned us not to get too close.  I remembered hearing a stat that more people are killed by hippos than by sharks, so I gladly heeded his warning.  Several people climbed out on the rocks that jutted into the water, posing for pictures, as the mighty hippos lurked nearby.  It was very, very windy here, so we sat in the car to eat.  I went to use the restroom, one of the nastiest restrooms I've ever been in.  A box marked "tips for the cleaner" sat on the floor - yeah, I've got a tip for you.  (This was the exception on our trip - most restrooms were surprisingly clean.)

After lunch, we headed up out of the crater on a steep road surprisingly paved with unilock pavers.  We got stuck behind a big piece of machinery slowly making its way up, which gave us lots of time to appreciate the view.  We stopped once more at the crater overlook for some pictures, and arrived at the park exit in plenty of time.

dirt-encrusted roadside greenery

Our lodge from the night before is just visible at the top of the crater

"Give me your best good number"

Our guide said he would take us somewhere for souvenirs that was cheaper than the tourist shops.  The first place we stopped was quite entertaining.  Each one of us was followed around by an escort, touting the qualities of anything we picked up.  Everybody picked out some stuff - crafts made from ebony wood, soapstone, copper and hematite - and we piled it all into one big basket.  Then Tim stepped in with one of his many talents - the art of the negotiation.  The two negotiators went back and forth - the salesman said, "Give me your best good number."  Tim would give him a number, and the guy would come back with, "That is not your best good number.  Give me your best good number."  After much negotiating, everyone decided to pull out their own stuff and pay separately.  I'm sure the shop made out quite well in any case.

At the second shop, again each of us were escorted around.  But this place had a different angle - "You must support Mama."  A woman about my age seemed to be the owner (?), and all the young men working there laid it on thick for taking care of Mama.  Tim picked up some Maasai fabric, and I got a cloth wall hanging of painted zebras.  This "unique" artwork was spotted in many places afterward.

now hanging in our condo

We headed back to Eileen's Tree Lodge at last.  (Whenever we called it "Eye-LEENs," we were corrected - apparently it's AY-leens.  Hard to unlearn fifty-plus years of calling Tim's sister the former.)  We were back in our same bungalows, and Tim collected his laundry.  We played some Chinese checkers, then enjoyed a nice dinner.  We would be at AY-leens for two nights, and decided it would be a good time to take a break from driving tomorrow and just hang out.  Which means we could sleep late!