Day 12: Lake Manyara to Serengeti

With only one night at Serena Lake Manyara Lodge, we woke up today and finished packing our bags before heading to breakfast. We slept in the farthest possible rondavel from the main reception and dining area but thankfully the porters were ready and waiting to take our bags for us. We were seated at the same table as last night and enjoyed the big buffet.

Take care, Cheesecake Factory Hut!

We finished, checked out of the hotel, and helped Juma and Aidano load the vehicles. They recommended we swap drivers so we could get to know them both (and their different personalities and styles). This was a great suggestion because Juma and Aidano are a fantastic odd couple. So for today, Matt, Jo, Lily, and Cordwood rode with Juma and the rest of the group rode with Aidano. The plan for the day was to drive to our next lodging in Serengeti National Park with a stop in Olduvai Gorge along the way.

Safari Day 2 drive (detail)

Early on, we stopped at one of the various road-side market shops we saw featuring paintings, carvings, textiles, etc. Just to be clear, this was not the “TANZANITE EXPERIENCE”. However, in the back room, they will try to sell you “raw” tanzanite rocks, which is a bit shady because we’re not even sure you’re allowed to leave Tanzania with such material. So no thanks. But Matt did barter for the perfect Kilimanjaro fridge magnet which is probably safe to take out of the country.

Roadside Tanzania Etsy

Serengeti National Park is several hours to the northwest of Lake Manyara. To get there, we drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and right past the Ngorongoro Crater. We will spend more time here on our return journey in a couple days, but for now, we just needed to kill a few minutes while Juma and Aidano got our permits (a common theme). In the gift shop, we spied comfy-looking pajama pants with elephant designs on them. Mental note to check these out on the way back.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate

OK, so here’s what you’re looking for…

As we drove along the rim of the crater, we stopped at a scenic overlook of the crater. Unfortunately, it was completely covered in clouds. Gonna check back in a couple days.

Today’s Crater view

Back above the clouds

We hopped back in the cars and continued the drive northwest thru the remainder of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Maasai tribes of Tanzania live in these Ngorongoro highlands — in their traditional fenced-in villages — where they tend to their livestock (cows, sheep, goats, etc) while somehow carefully (and safely) sharing the land with the wildlife (zebras, buffalos, giraffes, etc).

Masai village

The Masai call the sound of cowbell “ngor ngor” (hence Ngorongoro crater)

Next stop: Olduvai Gorge. Still within the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is the Olduvai Gorge Museum. It is right here where anthropologists have found some of the oldest (first?) humanoid skills and other fossils leading to a better understanding of human evolution. We had time to walk around the exhibits on our own before our docent gave us a short lecture about the museum, the conservation area, and the geology. We overheard one random tourist in the museum telling a guide he actually worked on the excavations years ago.

Olduvai Gorge

Gorge-ous weather today

The museum also had a picnic area where we stopped to eat lunch (featuring delicious chocolates for desert) before continuing the journey to the Serengeti. By the time we entered Serengeti National Park, there was some evidence of sporadic rain showers in the area. The animals seemed to be taking shelter and we didn’t see much, but we did see some lazy lions pretty much right away, so no complaints.

It is also notable that once you enter Serengeti National Park, the Maasai tribes are not longer allowed to graze their livestock here, so the amount of humans we spotted from the road (not counting other Land Cruisers) drops to basically zero. Now the view becomes a vast savanna of grasslands and open plains with scattered trees and shrubs. In the Maasai language, Serengeti means “endless plains”. Accurate.

Serengeti darf nicht sterben!

“Serengeti Shall Not Die” won Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1960

Water buffalo still getting no respect

No more people, just impala and zebra

A fairly obvious item, but the roads in Serengeti National Park are not paved (nor had they been since Ngorongoro Crater). With so many safari trucks driving on them daily, they are also not in the greatest condition. This made for quite the adventure in the rain.

First it was simply bumpy and loud, but then one of Juma’s windshield wipers stopped working. Then it was lost entirely (joining his radio antenna’s demise from earlier in the day, yikes!). Then the other wiper stopped working as well. I’m not saying our two vehicles mirrored our guides’ personalities EXACTLY, but if one truck’s motto was “Live Fast, Die Hard!”, that would definitely be Juma’s truck. Meanwhile, you can bet is all that Aidano’s truck has never missed a 10,000-mile tune-up.

After about an hour, we stopped at a gas station(!) that appeared out of nowhere (technically, a park administration area called Seronera) and Juma enlisted one of the attendants to help him attempt to repair the one remaining wiper. Of course, by now it had pretty much stopped raining anyway. We also managed to see a few more animals along the way including a hippo pool full of… hippos!

Hmm, looks like rain

Not currently hungry, hungry. More chilly, chilly.

Scraggly tree

Thumbs up for that bloat

Serengeti AAA… trying their best

Who needs windshield wipers anyway?

Finally, we made it to the Nyumbani Collection lodge. This is a permanent tented camp right on the border of the park. We checked in and were given the security briefing. We met the staff, including Mkaka, a masai who acts as security in the lodge. Because the camp is right near the park, and not physically protected for the animals, we need to be escorted between tents. We were brought to our tents and given the tour. Each tent is complete with electricity and running hot water. Its really a hotel room with canvas instead of walls.

Tented paradise

After settling in, we use the walkie-talkie to get an escort back to the bar/dining tent for dinner. Everything was delicious, including butternut squash soup (for the Soup Bros) and steak. As we finished, we met Kingston, who will be our driver to our hot air balloon adventure tomorrow. He will pick us up at 4:30AM, so as we got back to the room, we went right to sleep. A little chilly in the tent, but perfect under the covers.

PS. Running list of animals seen today: