Travelogue Tanzania 2009
Programme Day 6 – Ngorongoro Crater to Serengeti
At seven we leave our hotel heading towards Serengeti. On the way we visit the tiny museum at the archeological site of Olduvai Gorge where one found some of the oldest human skeletons. Even older than those are the oldest human footprints.
Then we stopped at a Masai village where one can see how the Masai live. But the chief wanted to charge such an exorbitant price for visiting the village and taking photos that we declined and continued our trip. By the way, the reason why you hardly see any pictures of humans in this travelogue is that people in Tanzania don’t like to be degraded to photographed objects by rich white tourists. Please have a look at section Critical Review.
Short after passing the gates of Serengeti National Park we see lions hunting. Four or five lions sit or lie close to the road. Then they bring themselves into position, hiding in the high grass. Zebras are coming in, heading directly for the hidden lions. But zebras are cautious and clever. They walk in a long stretched line, one scout quite ahead. The scout spots one of the lions from a safe distance and the zebras change their heading. The lions do not even try to catch them, it would be hopeless. Wow, that was really exciting.
By lunch we check into Serengeti Sopa Lodge. Here we immediately spot the beautifully colored lizards.
In the afternoon a short game drive. Only a short distance from the hotel we see two young lions on a tree. The guides here tell the story that lions started to climb trees just a while ago, probably because it is a bit cooler up there and there are fewer tse tse flies. Climbing the trees seems to be pretty easy for the lions, but coming down again looks rather difficult.
