After breakfast, we packed up the tents and headed north to the Serengeti. On our way, we passed through the Ngorongoro Crater, which was formed by a volcano now dormant for over 2 million years. Entering the park we encountered a whole family of baboons, young and old, just sitting on the road. This would be the first sighting of many. We continued up the crater rim and got a magnificent view of the inside of the crater, which stretches well over 15 miles. In the Ngorongoro highlands we got our first glimpse of zebras, standing in a group by the side of the road. Below is a picture of the view of the crater.
For lunch we stopped at Olduvai Gorge, the site of the famous archaeological explorations of the Leakeys. First, we learned that in fact the correct name of the gorge is Oldupai Gorge (with a 'p' not 'v'). Oldupai is the name of a species of plant that is found all along the gorge. Somehow there was a mistake in the translation when it was first published as Olduvai, but that is now how it is know everywhere except to the local people of Tanzania.
The most famous discovery at this location was the fossilized footprints of what is to believed to be the first hominid that stood on 2 feet. These footprints are thought to date back 3.5 million years. They were the tracks of 3 Australopithecus afarensis walking together. Although no skeletal remains were found here, skeletal remains of this species of hominids were found in Ethiopia and called "Lucy". The museum here had skeletal remains of hominids dating back 1.8 million years and also some of the stone tools that were made by these hominids. It was pretty interesting!
After leaving Oldupai Gorge, we continued our drive to the Serengeti. As we were approaching the park, we saw thousands of Wildebeasts running to our right. As we drove on, we stopped and just in front of us the wildebeast were crossing the road! In addition to the adults, we also saw many young wildebeasts (our guide guessed they were only ~2 weeks old)!
As soon as we entered the gates of the Serengeti Park, we saw a spotted hyena sitting right next to the road eyeing a herd of gazelles. The hyena was definitely much larger and stockier than we expected.
Just a bit further down the road, we saw 2 different species of vultures and a stork eating the remains of some dead animal. YUCK! They are all really ugly birds, but, of course, they serve and important role in the ecosystem.
One of the most exciting events of the day came just after we passed the Serengeti Welcome Center. We encountered the great predator, the lion! There were 2 old male lions (babu simbas) sitting right next to the side of the road, relaxing in the afternoon heat. This definitely set the bar high for the rest of our safari!
In addition to the lions, we also got up and close with more giraffes, zebras and elephants. We even caught a brief glimpse of a leopard sitting in a tree, but he moved too quickly into the grass to be able to get a picture. We finished the day off with some sightings of a african buffalo and some hippos. Although we should get better pictures of both of these tomorrow.
After heading into camp, we helped set up our tents and then hit the 'showers' to wash up. This was a new African experience for us. The hole in the ground toilets, I'm totally over it now as they are present everywhere. The 'shower', however, was a first: no spigot, no running water. There was just a yellow bucket with a scoop. You had to go around to the side of the building to fill the bucket with ice cold water, carry it back to the shower enclosure and then use the scoop to pour the water over yourself. The water was FREEZING and the shower room was pitch black. We had to take turns with one person 'showering' and the other person holding the door open for light and serving as a lookout for people coming this way. Needless to say, although we stayed at this camp for a couple of nights, this was our only 'showering'.
After dinner and a warning from our guide not to keep food in our tent and not to stray too far from the tent, we went off to bed, listening to the sounds of the animals in the distance
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