27.11. 2019 Ngorongoro
The sun rose at 0600 to what would be our last day on safari . We had earlier made plans with Zakia that we would have an early breakfast and head out for an all day game drive !
After luxurious breakfast , a signature ‘ Crater ‘ omelette with feta Tomato and greens , fresh juice , fruits , cheese and other comestibles , washed down with superb Coffee we were on our way .
Outside in the lawn , a wild buffalo sat in the mist , like a sculpture Japanese stone garden , immovable and mighty .
As we drove down the incline towards the crater floor , sunlight flooded the basin , although rain and mist still hovered . Later in the day a wonderful rainbow appeared as if to complete the picture in this veritable Garden of Eden.
On the road to the crater lip and entrance we saw many young children going to school . Like children , the world over , they were laden with large sacks full of books . Many of them walked for miles to go to the only school in that area . These children were happy and skipped along with nary a care in the world !
This as we drove down to the crater floor , we spent time searching for the ‘ Star birds ‘ as listed by the AndBeyond team .
This time we spotted three golden sunbirds , one of the ‘ Star Birds ‘ listed by AndBeyond and then Painted Francolins by the wayside apart from the sundry Spotted larks , Ranting Cisticolas and the ubiquitous weavers including the Spekes , the masked and the improbably named Baglafechts Weaver .
At the bottom of the long run to the crater floor , we saw some wonderful Hildenbrandts Francolin right next to the vehicle, almost invisible in their wonderful disguise .
The handsome and resplendent Augur Buzzard was ubiquitous , standing out in its black and white uniform on perched tops of brushes and trees .
This time we decided to turn left . The crater floor rolled into the distance , bathed in morning sunlight , full of hidden surprises . There was prospect of rain later in the day . The crater is known for its volatile weather pattern. But for now the zebras , grants gazelles mixed with Tommies and the western bearded Wildebeeste ( which do not participate in the great migration , remaining confined to the crater ) grazed in the grass in peace . As long as the predators were visible , nobody seemed to mind !
In the hidden depressions in the grass a golden jackal family made their abode . In another burrow striped hyenas were spotted . The Hyena mother was suckling her young . It was quite amazing that in a seemingly empty landscape both small and large creatures came out from seemingly empty spaces to surprise you .
By the roadside , a nondescript small bird made startling by a rosy patch the size of lark , and made resplendent by its name – the rosy throated long claw , sang its song.
The birds here had quite interesting names .. the Purple Grenadier , the Yellow Bishop , the Northern Anteater Chat , The Tropical Boubou , the Widowbird and the Secretary Bird .
Then from the really small to the worlds largest bird the Common Ostrich . The three Ostriches that we accosted in quick succession , two females and a male , were huge birds, well over 7 feet , and on close inspection a really unlikely looking bird . Powerful huge legs with bereft of any feathers , a very large ovoid body with large feathers , and long snakelike neck topped by a face with large expressive eyes topped with long eye lashes and a nasty looking beak – a really odd combination.
The ostriches moved out of our way reluctantly .
A family of crowned cranes , danced around with such grace as if listening to a symphony which only they could hear .
Within the hour , a wind sprung up and Shazia spotted two eagles and after much discussion with her colleagues on the radio confirmed that we had rare sighting of an Imperial Eagle in the crater . A large wing span allowed them to glide and soar on the air currents with ease .
With our binoculars we were able to spot three lions in the far distance , and while the Chinese TV crew were able to approach them as they had permission , we could not go off-road .
After a longish drive almost to the very edge of the bottom of the crater , we turned into an arroyo . Carved out of hillside , almost as if it was a small crater by itself, with a single entry point in and out of the central clearing , shaped like a doughnut , encircled by high walls made of volcanic rocks , it was a singular natural formation . And there on perched high on the walls , Huvida spotted an owl ! What an owl it was too ! The Vierraux’s Eagle owl no less , a really large owl with amazing pink eyelids and a pink beak , roosting amongst the craggy rock surface . It was just a magnificent sighting .
We then decided to try and try spot the rare Black Rhinos and after driving a fair bit were were able to spot one in the distance , looking like a prehistoric leftover !
The wind had picked up speed and by the time we drove to see the flamingoes in the lake it started pelting with rain . But just before the rain set in , three lions by the roadside , doing what all good lions do , sleeping . We managed to take selfies with the lions before we carried on .
The rain arrived in shuddering gusts and suddenly the visibility shrunk . All the animals ran their back took shelter from the driving rain as best as they could , some in open spaces stoically braving it , some in declensions in the ground taking shelter from the storm .
A family of soggy golden jackals just hunkered down in the grass , miserable in the rain . By this time we had driven out to the lake . We watched lots of small water bids including klivitz plovers , stilts , sandpipers and hundreds of lesser flamingoes making a racket. The birds scurried away in the rain as the wind picked up speed and gusted .
The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun and we drove on by now really muddy tracks .
This time we drove down looking for some more rhinos and at-last we managed to sight one far in the distance through binoculars.
The sun was peeping out through the clouds and the escarpments were bathed in golden sunlight , while a rainbow sprung through on one side of the road , making the whole crater absolutely picturesque !
We were hungry and we decided to head towards a rest stop . As we drove down ,just by the side of road lolling about , totally relaxed , we sighted four lionesses . Their bellies looked distended and their indolent posture , on their backs , indicated to their prey , that at least for now they were not really interested !
Kori Bustard 👆
The Lionesses
We watched these magnificent lionesses for a while and then decided to move on .
We reached a small lake where there were rest rooms set up and a place to have a bite . The lake was stocked with Hippos amongst bulrush reeds .
We were quite surprised to see
some tourists walk up to the lake side to take selfies . We knew from experience how quickly a lazy looking hippo can move and they are possibly one of the most dangerous big predators in Africa !
As we sat down for lunch , we were bothered not by hippos but by some pesky weavers ! Lesser Masked weavers , Baglafect weavers , Spekes weavers and a couple of superb starlings squabbled for the food scraps . They were clever enough to get into the Land Rover and search for food droppings . Talk about adaptation to the environment !
In the distance the , African reed warblers clamored amongst the reeds . After an excellent lunch of salad , bulgur avocado , cold roast chicken , and chocolate brownies , we moved on .
Confession , I fed some of the chocolate brownie crumbs to the weavers and starlings , which I certainly should not have done !
We drove for a while towards a lake . Just before the lake , we found the Japanese documentary makers in their noisy vehicles . They seemed very well equipped with superb camera equipment . They also had drones fitted with cameras and it was fascinating to see these drones approach the large herbivores , who did not give a damn . I think the animals must have considered the drones to be some weird form of an insect.
A little further , we stopped to do some birding . The reeds were filled with moorhens , black crakes , jacanas and a pair of malachite kingfishers .
Amongst the reeds in the shallow waters and marshy banks were egrets , glossy ibises , purple herons and grey herons , greenshanks , Wood spotted sandpipers ,. We were excited to catch sight of a common snipe !
Zakia was in good form and hugely incentivized by the thought of participating on the Birding big day a few days later .
Big Birding Day 👆2020 Tanzania
We left the marsh and drove back in order to see the flamingoes on one of the large lakes on the left side of the crater . It seemed that the lesser flamingoes had decided to migrate locally to the lake after the rains from Lake Naturon where they bred .
The lake was teeming with flamingoes and what a sight to behold . As at Lake Manyara , wherever one turned the shallow waters of the lake bed was teeming with pink flamingoes . Just a magnificent wonder of nature , which makes you realize that Paradise is really in our earth . It is we humans who are fast turning what nature has provided into a wasteland !
We drove on with more than a tinge of regret ! As we moved towards the wooded part of the the crater closer to the escarpment , we saw signs of elephants .
But first a pride of lions in a distance who looked like they were hunting . But the pride of lions were visible to the herds of Wildebeeste , zebras and gazelles who smartly kept an eye out for them , with guards posted , and went on grazing . A large herd of Wildebeeste and zebras , numbering several hundred beasts , came out of the woodlands into the savanna and thundered by , possibly spooked by the lions . The lions after a while settled down back to rest again .
We moved on .
The trees here consisted of yellow fever bark trees . The trees upto a height of about twenty feet seems to have gnarled barks , all knotty and scabrous , as if covered with warts . Above that the wood was smooth and colored a greenish yellow .We were told that this was an evolutionary adaptation to ward off elephants ! Those hard knots made it difficult for elephants to strip off the bark and that’s how they survived !
Amongst this copse of trees , we spotted Mountain grey woodpeckers and cardinal woodpeckers busy looking for termites and grub . We flushed out a Reedbuck herd along a narrow stream and then from the grove, a herd of magnificent African elephants stepped out !
The elephants were grazing off the fresh grass and chewing on bark . These elephants , in the crater , are protected, and have the most magnificent tusks . These elephants have the ability to thin out a patch of forest quite quickly over a period of years .
As the evening descended and time came for us to move on , a flock of noisy hornbills swooped down . It was getting dark , but in spite of that we were able to still spot Auger buzzards and Martial eagles and Griffon vultures .
We slowly climbed out of the crater , along the heavily wooded road , going up using the fourth gear around hairpin beds .
Near the lodge , a solitary elephant grazed on the grass at the crater lip , close to the lodge .
We reached home to be greeted a warm cheery fire in our rooms . But as we were going into our rooms we were requested to come join other guests at an undisclosed area in the lodge .
AndBeyond lodges have perfected the art of going beyond expectations and are famous for their surprises . However having traveled with them in many places , we were still not ready for what awaited us .
We were escorted by Daniel and M’ssisi , our butlers to a large open sloping glade a little further down from the cluster of our ‘ huts’ !
There in the center of the steeply sloping grassy lawn , a red dhurrie with comfortable cushions and small settees had been arranged for us to recline on !
On one side a full scale bar with hot and cold snacks were ready to be severed by the hospitable service team . Promptly a bottle of champagne was opened and we sat down to enjoy the evening , the cold glass of bubbly and the hot delectable kebabs . In the distance , the crater floor and the lakes were still visible .
We had barely settled in when Surprise , Surprise ! We started hearing a deep chanting noise interspersed with sharp cries and ululation’s ! Breaking the evening gloom , a troupe of Masai’s were making an absolutely dramatic entrance . For in their hands they held burning torches / masahals , the flame leaping high in the sky . The men were dressed in typical Red Masai robes , glistening jewelers around some of their necks , sticks and torches in hand , the women dressed in black and red upper robes with blue bottoms or black and ochre robes, adorned with thick flat white rings around their necks with a necklace to top them , just looked beautiful . It was possibly one of the most arresting performances we had been privileged to see.
The tripe of twenty men and women , danced in step , went around us and then faced us in a single line at the bottom of the decline .
There they proceeded to sing and jump higher and higher . Their cries and song rent the still air of the evening. In the light of their torches the handsome men and women , looked just wonderful . For a moment , we could escape into a fantasy land and imagine that we had been invited by these Masai warriors to their celebration of their way of life . The spirit amongst them and their connection to their environment was palpable . Sure we were tourists , and these were men and women of the neighboring villages supplementing their income , but that dramatic presentation , allowed us to forget all that . The Masai came closer and sang their songs , often led by the oldest amongst them in their chants , a wiry old man . They jumped ever higher and bobbed . They sang what sounded to us , was about three different song cycles .
We watched mesmerized for almost half an hour . To think that all this was done exclusively for just the two of us made us feel very special .
At long last their torches nearly at an end we finally bade everybody adieu, applauded thanked them from the bottom of our hearts.
We rested a while , still absorbing the torch dance experience . We decided to have an early dinner . As we walked out for dinner one of the butlers told us that the we were requested to have a glass of wine at their wine cellar . Happily we tripped down to the cavern like wine cellar adorned with a nice fireplace and wall arrayed with expensive wines .
Further Surprise !
Not only were we having a glass of wine , the young general manager and Zakia were going to join us for dinner ! Marcus , Zakia , and Huvi were in good form and we exchanged stories . I related to them stories about man eating Indian tigers and leopards and Jim Corbett. Marcus , perhaps initially was going to join us for a courtesy drink , but got interested , and stayed in tell his own tales from his experiences in the Sabie Sands area in South Africa when he was a ranger and how he had hand reared an owl at the lodge . The hours just flow by . We learnt about Zakia’s family and her ambitions and how she had become only one of the two lady wildlife guides in Eastern Africa. Her eventual ambition – to open her own training school for lady guides .
Dinner as always was superb !
Nice and toasty , besides the fire , and warmed up with some excellent single malt , we walked back the short distance to our lodge .
What a wonderful last day on Safari
Travels with Huvi et Tufan 