Day 4 of Safari and we were headed to the Ngorogoro Crater where 6 millions years ago hunters and gatherers walked! Amber was still feeling under the weather but her fever was gone-zo :) Just in time for her BIRTHDAY! Before descending into the crater we stopped at a near by Maasai Village. Background: Maasai are a nomadic tribe that span from Egypt to Tanzania. They dress in blue and red checked material and their main source of income is cattle, goat, and sheep raising, along with jewelry making. The women build the houses out of bamboo, acacia branches, and cow dung, while the men tend the herds.
Upon our arrive to the village we were greeted with traditional Maasai dancing then headed into the village. Yet another round of dancing was held. This time Marilyn and I joined the women, while Amber took pictures :) We got to wear the traditional Maasai beaded neck wear. Jumping, hollering, and calling was involved. The flies were swarming like crazy! It was sort of sad to see them all over the childrens faces, especially in and around their eyes. Next, we got a "tour" of their homes. Amber and I were asked if we wanted to try their porridge or their source of drinking material; cow's blood. We passed and politely told him "hapana sante" (no thank you!). Then it was time for some shopping around the village, with a short stop at the school house out back! Money was spent by all. It was fun to get local hand made gifts for family and friends ;)
To the crater we went! We descended down into the crater and were greeted by the usual zebras, wildebeests, wart hogs, and cape buffalo. Much to surprise, just 15 minutes into our journey we spotted a male and female lion mating in the field. Several minutes later, we noticed a multitude of safari vehicles in the distance. Efraem took us there quickly and we were shocked to see a black rhino! (side note: there are only 9 left in the entire WORLD) This was a once in a life time sight! Not only was he close to the road, but one of his rhino pals was out in the distance. TWO BLACK RHINOS!!!!! Thinking we'd "seen it all"....on our way to the picnic site where we planned to have lunch, we noticed another caravan of vehicles.... as we crept toward the site, we noticed several lions right against the cars! As we made our way closer, we counted a total of 7 female and 1 young male. It was by far the closest we've ever been to these majestic beasts! One was even leaning against the right side of our car! We stayed around and watch several of the female prepare to hunt a herd of wildebeests, but decided to move on to lunch because Efraem informed us it would take a while for the kill to happen.
We ate lunch among the hippo pool and then headed toward the ascent location. On our way, we spotted a cheetah, praying on gazelle.Needless to say, it was quite a safari day, and we attribute it all to Amber's Birthday. The animals must have known that we had a birthday girl in our vehicle.
Once again, worn out from all the excitement, we headed back to our main hub, Arusha, where we planned to spend the night at the Impala hotel again, before heading to Dar es Salaam the next afternoon.
Until next time.... kwaheri!
Pictures at the Peacock :)
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