Ngorongoro to Serengeti

We were just about to leave the crater and head up to the crater rim when we saw a couple of safari vehicles off in the distance (BTW, we're in a very nice Toyota Land Cruiser that seats 9-10 people - so lots of space for the 4 of us and our driver/guide). So we went to see what they may have been looking at and there it was...a beautiful lioness laying down, totally out of breath and only a few feet away was an incredibly large African buffalo that she had just killed. It is hard to imagine that a lion could easily kill something so large.

The circle of life is so apparent out here.




It was a good day for seeing animals. The guide said it's rare to see all of the Big 5 in one day - and we had.

On our way to the Serengeti we visited a Maasi tribe's boma (a grouping of twig/grass/cow dung huts surrounded by acacia tree branches (full of thorns/spines). These branches act as a barrier to outside intruders (wildlife).



The Maasi people continue to live according to their strong traditions and culture. They are polygamists and one chief may have many wives. Each wife has her own hut and all his wives and children live within one boma. They are nomadic in the sense that they migrate based on the land and how well it is suited to giving their cattle proper grasses for feeding. When the land is no longer suitable, they move and build a new boma.

We visited their school (readying the children with basic reading and math skills) and spoke at length with one of men living within the boma.

It was interesting to see how they lived and to experience a bit of their culture.





As we were driving, seeing giraffes, zebra, etc in the fields and along the roadside, we commented on how strange it seemed...but that this is where they live. We are so used to seeing these animals in a zoo, and to see them in their natural habitat seems so strange.

Finally we see a very small sign pointing to Ndutu (where we would be camping) and we looked at what was supposed to be a road...but was nothing more than tire tracks that we would follow across the plains for 28km. Very cool!