Day 7

This weekend, we visited Ngorongoro Crater and Oldupai Gorge. It was certainly an eventful weekend, so I'll break it down by days.

On Friday, we had class in the morning and left TCDC (the compound where we stay) after lunch. We piled into two safari jeeps (Toyota Land Cruisers) and headed out past Arusha. I sat with three others in the back jump seats - the seats were great for a good view, but not the best for dodging motion sickness. We drove west for roughly an hour after reaching the Maasai Cultural Museum and the National Snake Park. The trip through the Maasai Cultural Museum was interesting. It had several exhibits about common Maasai life and practices. Afterward we went into the Snake Museum, which in addition to many snakes, also had crocodiles and turtles. It was a nice stop, but we left after an hour or so. We then continued to travel for about two hours to Karata, Tanzania, a small town close to Ngorongoro. The countryside was extremely beautiful but also dynamic. We started in rolling hills with trees and grass, then transitioned to dry plains and sparse vegetation. It was reminiscent of the southwest or eastern Montana. I was a little unsure of our living conditions when we arrived, but it turned out to be an amazing lodge. The view was spectacular, the beds were extremely comfortable, and the food was delicious. We were definitely spoiled. Unfortunately we arrived later in the evening, and had to leave in the early morning, so we couldn't stay at the lodge for too long.

Saturday morning, we got up early (though not as early as the drivers wanted), had breakfast, and left the lodge. We drove about 30 minutes to the entrance to Ngorongoro. Thus begins the single-most bumpy road I have ever traveled on. Words cannot effectively describe the bumpiness of this road. We drove for roughly two and a half hours (it felt more like two and a half days) through the reserve and finally reached the Oldupai Gorge lookout. Most people (including myself before the weekend) call it "Olduvai Gorge," but this is actually a misnomer. The gorge was named by the Maasai, for the plant that is found in the area - Oldupai. The German explorers, in their infinite wisdom, recorded the name as "Olduvai." Regardless, it was a fascinating site. We had a brief lecture, walked through the museum, recovered from our motion sickness, and returned to the jeep. We then descended into the gorge (another unbelievably bumpy and steep venture), and saw the site were the first Australopithecus Boisei fossil was found! There was a nice little monument on the site, although it was actually a few feet removed from the precise location (due to stream flow). It was incredibly dusty, as you can imagine, but unbelievable to be in the region where the human race began nearly 3 million years ago. After taking pictures we returned to the jeeps (a common theme throughout the weekend) and left the gorge.

We then retraced our path for about 45 minutes and came to the Ngorongoro Crater overlook. The crater is ENORMOUS. It was the site of a volcano (not unlike Crater Lake), which collapsed and only the perimeter remains - thus forming the crater. It is now home to tons of wildlife. So, we went down to the crater floor (enter yet another bumpy road) and drove across the crater. The view was absolutely incredible. We saw zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, hyenas, flamingos, lions, elephants, wildebeests, hippos... and I'm sure I am forgetting many others. We drove for a bit and had lunch at the bottom next to a small lake. After eating lunch, we drove out of the crater and went back to the entrance to the reserve. My car stopped at the entrance to wait for the other car, which was delayed for a bit. While we were standing outside waiting, we saw a baboon walking directly toward us. We were a little nervous, but didn't think much of it. It turned away from us, but then walked to the side of our car - where we had a side door open. Suddenly, it jumped into the car and stole a box of crackers! It then managed to rip the box and bag open and eat all the crackers. Another safari bus later parked next to us, and they too left their doors open. This time, however, the baboon wanted a little more. It jumped completely into the side of the bus (where people were still sitting) - causing everyone on board to scream and jump out. It was a little chaotic for a few seconds, until the baboon became scared and ran away. It was definitely funny.

We returned Saturday night extremely exhausted and incredibly dusty. I slept for at least 10 hours, and luckily we had today (Sunday) as a free day. I tried to upload pictures (nearly impossible with a slow internet connection), and later went into Arusha with a few other people on the trip. It was nice to get into town, although it's still hard to navigate on your own. Tomorrow we meet our host families, and move in with them for a few weeks.

Until next time!