Our African Adventure -- Part 5 -- Tanzania

We left early the next morning and traveled back through Amboseli at a quicker pace; passing the dry Lake Amboseli as we exited the south entrance to the park.  We traveled along dirt roads to the town of Namanga on the border.  Here we first checked passports and visas and then crossed into Tanzania.  We went through the same passport/visa check there before changing vehicles.  Here we said good-bye to Oliver; and met Raphael.

When entering the passport place there were several women outside trying to sell their jewelry.  The tour director was able to get us a path from the vehicles to the door.  Then when we arrived on the other side of the border, the same women were there selling their products. 

Several of the tour group returned from Amboseli to Nairobi for a flight home.  That left the Colorado troop and 6 others.  We were now down to 4 or 5 passengers in each vehicle.

From here we traveled to Arusha where we had lunch.  Our driver took this time to give us some history of Tanzania.  Tanzanika was formed in 1961; Zanzabar in 1962.  They then combined on April 26, 1964 to form Tanzania.  There are 120 different tribes.  Tanzania is a member of the East African Commission -- sharing Lake Victoria with Kenya and Rwanda.  Many of the countries major highways have been built by the Chinese.  Although the road was paved, there was a lot of construction and rocky detours.

Located in the shadow of Mt Meru (second tallest in Tanzania), Arusha is the 3rd largest city in Tanzania.  It is located near seven of the country's 16 National Parks and draws in visitors from all parts of the world.  Although agriculture is first economically; tourism plays a close second.  We will visit four of the parks during our visit in this area.  Many areas around Arusha were used for the filming of "Hatari."  Arusha is home to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  We stopped at the Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch.  When we returned to our cars, some black-faced vervet monkeys came out to play.  After leaving the restaurant, we passed by the coffee plantations. 

 

Leaving Arusha, we were soon back on Maasai land.  We are now heading to Tarangire National Park.  The park is 1,100 square miles; the sixth largest in Tanzania.  It has a permanent, life-giving river flowing through it; attracting numerous mammals and birds.   

Our journey through the park showed us impalas, waterbuck, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, and wildebeest.  We were told there were two types of wildebeests -- some are resident and stay in the same area; others are migratory.  These will migrate from here to Lake Manyara.

The Baobob (upside-down tree) can be found throughout the park.  The elephants tend to use these trees as "scratching posts" creating a hollow trunk.  It was found that poachers were quite clever when hiding in these trees.  They would tie the footprints of their kill to their shoes, so no human footprints would be seen in the area.

We came across a breeding group of elephants with their families.

Word went out over the radio that a spotted leopard had been seen.  Raphael quickly got us to the location along with about twelve other vehicles.   We all jockeyed for position trying to see the leopard in the tree.  (Thank you Wes for sharing your photo.)  A herd of elephants passed under the tree, but made no notice of what was in the tree.  Spotted leopards are almost entirely solitary.  They have various coat patterns.  They are excellent tree climbers and take their prey high into the trees to keep away from other predators.

It was nearing sunset, so we headed to the Sopa Tarangire Resort for the night.  http://www.sopalodges.com/tarangire-sopa-lodge/overview  Our libations here were Mt Kilimanjaro and Serengeti beer.  After our buffet dinner, the staff entertained us with music.  Although personnel from each of the resorts had come into our rooms to spray for mosquitos, this was the first night we slept within mosquito netting.  Hard decision:  whether to leave the netting to go to the bathroom.

The following morning we were up early for breakfast.  When leaving, the vervet monkeys and rock hyrax came out to say good-bye.  Our tour guide wanted to make certain that we saw all the animals we could see while we were in Tanzania.  So our schedule usually was -- up at 5:30 AM, hot water turned on at 6:00, breakfast at 6:30, and then load the vans by 7:00.  It really didn't give us much of an opportunity to enjoy the wonderful Sopa Resorts. 

Next we journeyed to Olduvai Gorge, where in 1959 the Leakeys excavated 1.8-million-year-old human fossil fragments at what is called the "Cradle of Mankind."  As we continued through the Maasai land, we saw numerous farms, children in school uniforms, and small villages.  There had recently been a flood near the Lake Manyana National Park.  We did not visit this park, but could see its vastness as we started our climb up towards the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  (I also want to make note that these guides did not have arrangements with curio shops for bathroom breaks, and some of the areas were basically "holes in the floor.")

We will travel through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area towards Serengenti National Park.  Ngorongoro is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Under its protection are the Olduvai Gorge and Crater; both of which we will visit.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Conservation_Area There is an airstrip not too far from the entrance.  It is hardly used, however, because of the fog and high winds.  Raphael gave us a quick peek at what the crater looked like before continuing on towards the gorge.

One animal we did not expect to see in this area was a camel.  Camels had been donated by a Danish researcher to determine whether the Maasai would be able to use them for hauling, especially water.  The Maasai seemed to show no interest.

I felt like I was in a James Bond movie when we pulled up to reception at Olduvai Gorge.  Watch and see their old-fashion security system.

Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important archaeological sites on earth.  The geological strata exposed in the gorge reveal a remarkable record of animal and human evolution from about two million until fifteen thousand years ago.

The Gorge is approximately 31 miles long.  The name Olduvai is a derivation from the Maasai word for a commonly found wild sisal plant called "Oldupai."  Among the significant finds are the range of stone tool types, the thousands of animals fossils, and the bones of early Homo sapiens.

The hominid fossils show the evolution of humankind over a two-million-year time span and provide a sense of our recent emergence in the world of modern humans. 

Add caption

The museum displays the works of Louis and Mary Leakey's five-decade, as well as more recent, investigations of the gorge. 

After sharing our lunches with the local birds, we began our journey toward Serengeti National Park.  Needless to say, there were no paved roads, and by the time we got to the entrance, we were totally covered in dust (as witnessed in this photo of me with Raphael (keeping in mind that he has no grey hair)).