Tanzania 2011 Journal: Day Five

I am starting to feel completely at home in the jeep. Apart from eating and sleeping in tents and lodges for the past couple of nights, the jeep has pretty much been my home. The front seat, affording me a little more space than Kenyan Airways, at least has room for my rucksack, between my feet. I am constantly switching between the Canon EOS 350D for long distance shots, and using the small point-and-click PowerShot for wider views. The binoculars have gone into the bag as well, as today we’re off to the Ngorongoro Crater on safari.

It’s another long, long drive. Breakfast was full of fruit and bread, and yet again, we all fall asleep on and off on the journey to the crater. Even on the bumpiest off-road dirt track. It’s worse and longer than any turbulence experienced on the flight over, but I suppose knowing that the ground is so close beneath us, the fear isn’t there.

Baboons are there to greet us outside the park, and a few pose for pictures. We visit the porcelain and the gift shop - I pick up some postcards and cards.

More driving to the edge of the crater. The view is somewhat obscured by cloud and haze, but it is still an incredible view. Having been behind the camera for so long, I remember to ask E if he’ll take a picture of me in front of it.

The Massai we pass are jumping, waving and singing at us. Despite the turn in weather later on, we get to see many animals this day. Here’s a Flickr set to show you:

Halfway through the safari we pull into a rest stop - I take the opportunity to purchase two necklaces as gifts from some Maasai who are walking around the area, intent on outbidding each other. The money to pay is a pittance to us, yet so important to them. I’m not big on haggling, so pay asking price, which is about $10. Even as they approach and try to sell as a small group, it is clear that they are trying to outbid each other. Again, it is an odd sight. As tourists, I guess we kind of expect not to see the seed of commercialism in such a remote place as this, but then again, we’re probably responsible for it in the first place. Which leads me to wonder if perhaps haggling and driving the price down isn’t such a bad idea in the future. It sure seems paradoxical, though.

It’s another long trek on the road, but we start to see signs for MaasaiVillage.com on stone tablets along a dirt road. We continue driving, the dirt kicking up, and dust devils whirling in the wind in the distance. Some of the Maasai are waving - are they waving us on or waving us off? Ah, the jeep is going the wrong way. Time for us to turn around en masse and take the other unmarked dirt path.

The Maasai Village lodge is incredible, and so out of place for what and where it is.

The power for the lodge goes off at 10pm, so we’ve got to get everything that needs charging plugged in and charging. I spend some time getting pictures off the cameras and charging up phones, laptops, MP3 players, etc. I’ve been charging up my FreeLoader, so might have to use that later on. After dinner, the Maasai from the actual village come up to perform for us (some of the Maasai have already started setting up the pitch for tomorrow’s annual football game).

The lights are off. That’s it. Hope you got your batteries charged, because that’s all the energy you will be afforded until the morning. I find a candle in the room so I can save batteries in the flashlist and settle in listening to The Nerdist podcast. Since we’ve arrived in Tanzania, I’ve been hoping to get another glimpse of the Milky Way - a vision I was treated to 6 years previous on the journey from the airport, and camping in the Ngorongoro Crater. Star Walk on my iPad tells me that I should get a view from around 0230, so I set my alarm and drift off in hope…

…I wake up, have a look out the porch door, and it looks pretty overcast. I reluctantly move back towards the bed and lie there for a bit, and then convince myself to go and walk outside, just in case other parts of the sky are clear. But it’s not to be. Back to bed, tomorrow we visit the Maasai and play some football.

to be continued…