This part of Tanzania, Karatu, is not Maasai territory. Our guide believed these people were from the Barabaig tribe. Tribe identity here is significant for many reasons, not the least of which is the language. Nearly all tribes speak Swahili with other Tanzanians, but use their own language among themselves.
Great sleep on the wonderfully solid beds at Eileen's Tree Lodge. I spotted a tiny, light green bird in the garden. It was the size of a hummingbird, but didn't behave like a hummingbird. I described it to our guide, who thought it was probably a sunbird. After a hearty breakfast, we were back on the road for our second day of animal viewing. Tim left some laundry to be done, as we would be returning to Eileen's in three days.
Dining hall is bright and airy in the daylight
Baki Salama, Eileen's - see you soon
It was a long drive today from Karatu, passing through the Maasai territory of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and into Serengeti. The highway was interesting, with random police stops and speed bumps seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Pavement soon gave way to bumpy dirt roads - we would not see a paved road for many days. Large baboons congregated at the entrance of Ngorongoro as we waited for our guide to obtain our pass, and we were advised not to open the windows. Several tourists didn't get the message and swarmed around the baboons for pictures.
Let's get the potty shot out of the way...
Ooh, look how cute - let's get closer...
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Inside the welcome center we learned the Swahili names of several of the animals. Tim Sr. and Ted picked up wide cloth bands to protect their noses and mouths from the dust.
The "Big Five" - Rhino, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and Leopard
Faru and Simba
Tembo and Nyati
Chui
Twiga
Mbuni
Mama
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
We stopped to see the Ngorongoro Crater from a viewpoint high above. It was still cool and misty, so the crater was blanketed was a foggy haze. But it was still a breathtaking sight to see the entirety of the crater and the massive landscape across the crater floor. A memorial was erected nearby honoring those who lost their lives while working for wildlife conservation, and the sometimes gruesome manner in which they lost their lives.
Eerie, majestic beauty
Back on the road, the endless ochre of the dry savanna was occasionally broken by the bright red or blue shuka of a Maasai herding cattle or goats.
Maasai herders with Twiga in the distance
The Maasai are the only tribe allowed to live inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area because they don't hunt animals. They are allowed to graze their cattle (Ngorongoro gets its name from the sound the cowbells make on the grazing cattle), but may not cultivate the land, and so must participate in the monetary system to obtain water, fruit and vegetables. Some tribes survive by allowing tourists into their village for a monetary donation. We stopped on the roadside for a picture of the panoramic view, and some Maasai came up to Tim, who asked if he could take their picture. Our guide let him know that he would need to pay them to take their picture.
Nothing like a good walking stick
Tone Tree
Our guide pointed out the Tone Tree, or Whistle Thorn, that whistle when the wind passes through the fruit of the trees; and the Yellow Fever trees, which have yellow trunks and are used medicinally to treat yellow fever.
We suddenly drove off the road to a large circle of thorny acacia branches, the outer perimeter of a Maasai boma where we would visit with a group of Maasai in their home. The men and women came out from the opening in the circle to greet us, and demonstrated their singing and dancing for us. The men repeated a two-beat rhythm with a steady, low drone while the women shouted a musical chant above them. Everyone wore brightly colored shukas wrapped over their shoulders, and the women wore flat, beaded discs around their necks and shiny, dangling silver earrings.
One of the leaders of the tribe -
he spoke English very well
love this picture
We were led through the opening into the boma, or enclosure, where the men impressed us as they took turns demonstrating their well-documented skills at vertical jumping, and let our guys have a go. The women raised and lowered their shoulders to move the beaded discs around their necks, singing all the while, and demonstrated their ways of greeting each other.
We walked through to the back opening, and around the outside to a separate little hut used for schooling the smaller children. The children proudly displayed their singing and counting skills while their teacher looked on. I wondered how often their lessons must be interrupted by tourists. The older children have to walk nineteen kilometers to school each day.
Back inside the boma, we were greeted by the bleating of a loud goat, who sounded very annoyed with the intrusion. We were divided up with different hosts to take us inside the tiny mud huts constructed by the women. Each had three beds - one for the men, one for the women, and one for the children - and a small fire pit for cooking, with a vent in the roof to let out the smoke. We sat and visited with our host, one of the leaders of the group, and were stunned when he asked us if we were voting for Trump or Clinton! Even in the farthest outreaches of the African plains, we can't escape the madness.
Donations were elicited by each host, and we were shown the many crafts for sale, primarily made from ebony wood or tiny colored beads. The donations and souvenirs made it quite an expensive visit. But we enjoyed their kind welcome, and we were happy to know that the money would go directly to helping them survive in this harsh environment, while allowing them to preserve their traditional lifestyle.
Mollel and Michael
Beaded neck discs for sale
We saw a huge eland, the largest antelope in the world, in the distance as we left our Maasai hosts.
Far off we saw what looked like smoke. We soon figured out these were dust devils, or tornadoes according to our guide. They were a common site throughout our trip. I imagine they are most common during the dry season, and Tanzania was three months into the dry season during our visit.
Eland - Pofu
Dust Devil in the distance
The ubiquitous acacia trees
Our guide pointed out a giraffe skeleton, the brightly colored Agama lizard, and a big hyena in its den as we continued on to Serengeti. We finally reached the unassuming entrance to the world-famous Serengeti National Park. "Serengeti" means "endless" in the Maasai language, and is a most appropriate name for this immense wilderness area. We stopped for pictures at the entrance, where some young men in their emorata, or circumcision dress, stood near the car, speaking to our Maasai guide. After we entered the park, we were sorry to learn they were looking for water.
Twiga (giraffe) bones
Agama lizard
Fisi - spotted hyena
Inside the park, we saw plenty of Thompson's Gazelles and Grant's Gazelles, and the unusual Kori Bustard, the largest flying bird native to Africa. The male inflates its feathery neck in mating display.
Inglourious Bustard
We had lunch at the base of a kopje ("little head"), a small rocky hill in a generally flat area - think Pride Rock. After eating, we climbed to the top where could see Lake Masek, and we got a real sense of the vastness of this place. The bright pink and blue of the Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama lizard caught our eye as it sunned itself on a large rock. We saw many more of these along the way.
Good Camouflage
Sometimes called the Spiderman lizard -
can you see why?
On the other side of the kopje, we learned about the migratory patterns of many of the animals in the Serengeti.
In the afternoon, we saw an amazing number of animals, starting with two big male lions snoozing under a bush. At one point, we came upon a gathering of safari cars, watching a leopard up in a tree. Another long list: Lions, Golden Jackal, Spotted Hyena, Kori Bustard, Coke's Hartebeest, Topi, Yellow-billed Stork, Egyptian Goose, White-headed Vulture, Tawny Eagle, Black-backed Jackal, Hippo, Cheetah, Helmet Guinea Fowl, Leopard, and the adorably petite Dik Dik, one of the smallest species of antelope.
Coke's Hartebeest
Helmet Guinea Fowl
We sometimes got quite close to the other tourists!
Word is out - leopard!
Leopard in this tree
Chui - Ted perfected the picture through the binoculars
Roadkill, Serengeti-style
Black-backed Jackal with hyenas
cheetah
Tiny Dik Dik
We arrived at Tortilis Tented Lodge as the sun was setting. We received a warm welcome, with the requisite juice and damp cloth to wipe away the dust of the day. The staff told us they had one charging station in the guest lounge if we needed to charge anything. Tim wisely brought a power strip, and we were all able to charge our phones and cameras. Staff also said Savanna TV would only be available for another half-hour. This was a funny euphemism for the campfire. If we wanted a hot shower, we would need to schedule it ahead of time, as it would take them about ten minutes to boil the water.(!)
Elephants at Sunset (Isn't that a Magic Tree House title?)
This tented lodge was impressive - a main lounge, a dining room, and individual tents for guests. We were in the Nyati (buffalo) and Pimbi (hyrax) tents. We cleaned up and met back at the dining tent for dinner. We had delicious food brought to our table and four or five other guests' tables. As dinner was finishing, we heard drumming and singing outside the tent. The staff paraded into the dining tent, singing "Jambo, Jambo Bwana...Hakuna Matata," then another cool Swahili tune, then segued into "Happy Birthday," presenting a cake with candles to Tim, who would be turning the big 3-0 in a couple weeks. Everybody knows how much Tim loves to be the center of attention! The cake was tasty, and we shared it with some of the other guests. The guys were going to play chess in the lounge after dinner, but the pieces were broken and a little hard to identify. When we were ready to head back to our tent, we had to have an escort, to protect us from the wild animals lurking about. We could hear the "huffing" of lions outside during the night. I never imagined anything like it.
"roughing it"
(Thanks to all family members for sharing their awesome photos)
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