Heaven is a Place on Earth ( Part 1)

The next morning you could feel the excitement in the air. The five of us had all repacked our luggage with the essentials of what we would need on this outdoor adventure and we were waiting giddily in front of the lodge. I couldn’t stay still, so I went for a small walk around the lodge’s garden and took in the beautiful plants. A bird of paradise, a lantana plant and the most deliciously smelling flowers called frangipani. It was only when I turned around that I saw movement, slow and steady. A tortoise - my first animal sighting! Apparently there are three tortoises in total that live in these gardens. Finally, a car honked and the gate opened. When our adventure vehicle rolled on to the driveway I thought all my christmases had come at once as there in front of me stood my dream car: a cream coloured Landrover Defender 4x4. We were introduced to our Guide Landoli and started loading up the van. Once we were all piled into the car and made ourselves comfortable the journey began. First, we had to pick up our cook Baga aka our “stomach engineer” as he liked to call himself. Next, we stopped by a supermarket to buy some drinks and snacks. Once we were equipped with all the essentials and snacks for the next few days we finally set off on our adventure. The first park we were heading for was Tarangire National Park. We drove over 2 hours out of Arusha and the landscape got drier and flatter. We were passing dusty fields that were dotted with goats and cows here and there were Massai were herding them. Occasionally, you could also spot a tiny Massai village in the distance. The little round huts blended in perfectly with the landscape. After a while we drove towards a massive gate, a big baobab tree already greeting us. Plenty of other safari vehicles were already parked outside. While our guide got our permission for the park we ventured around. The park had collected a variety of skulls and bones and it was impressive to see the size of an elephant skull up close. But I wasn’t here to see the dead, I was here to see the living animals! And so we jumped back into the car, popped the roof open and off we went into Tarangire National Park. It didn’t take long before we saw the first animals, Thompson gazelle. The Thompson gazelle look very similar to impalas but they are smaller and have a black stripe on the side, which impalas don’t have. We made our way deeper into the park and it was a great feeling sticking one’s head out of the roof, feeling the wind, and keeping an eye out for animals. The roads can get quite rough though, so one has to hold on tight in order to not be thrown around too much. The Tarangire is well known for the great number of baobabs that are dotted around the park, bushy shrubbery and a vast amount of elephants. And it did not disappoint. As a great lover of the baobab tree I was already very content spotting these immobile giants. There is a Swahili myth about the baobab that says that the baobab was one of the most beautiful trees when Earth was created. It started to complain and got so arrogant that the Gods wanted to teach it a lesson, pulled it out of the ground and replanted it the other way around. That’s the legend of the “upside-down tree”. Then, far in the distance in a plain below us we could see plenty of grey boulders, only those boulders were moving. No way, those were all elephants?! We made our way down to that plain and sure enough, other cars had also arrived to observe this fabulous spectacle. At least 30 elephants of different ages and sizes were huddled together, playing in water puddles and enjoying themselves. I was absolutely speechless. Wherever you looked there was something going on. A baby elephant running behind its mum, two elephants snoozing in the sun, an elephant splashing around in the mud. I could have stayed there and watch this herd for hours. But there was plenty more to explore. The landscape of the park was really nice and changed dramatically. From rather rocky areas, to areas dotted with a lot of trees to open spaces. We saw some zebras grazing right beside the path beside us and giraffes that somehow manage to pick the leaves off of the thorny fever trees without getting their tongues poked. Then, we made a pit stop at one of the few toilet huts in the park. The area was located on a ledge of a small hill overlooking a river down below. When I squinted my eyes I could see a small group of elephants walking down the river towards the hill. And there he was, a tiny little elephant hiding behind his mama’s legs. After a short while, the group of elephants made a turn, slowly stepping out of the river bed. The last elephant to make the climb was the mother elephant. Very slowly she lifted one leg and placed it on the side of the riverbank, nudging her little one with her trunk to follow suit. Then she motioned to lift the hind leg to push further up. The tiny elephant baby was obviously struggling but the patience and motivational nudges from his mum were just beautiful to see. I felt like cheering him on when he finally managed to climb out the river bed and trotted alongside his mum trying to catch up with the rest of the group. What a heartwarming thing to observe.

The sun was already descending, soaking our surroundings into a beautiful golden hue when the most magical thing happened. We were cruising down a path, already on our return to the main gate when our guide slowly stopped the car. From the left side a massive elephant appeared out of the bushes to cross the road, followed by another and yet another - this time a baby elephant that had difficulties keeping up with its parents. A whole herd crossed the road in front of us, literally only inches in front of us. I had not expected this to happen. Overjoyed with this close encounter we finished the day and made our way to our lodge, located roughly an hour away from the national park. At the dinner table the five of us celebrated the great start of our safari and enjoyed our dinner, prepared by our stomach engineer.

The next morning went off with a rocky start. Apparently, our car had had some issues with the petrol distribution system and so our guide had spent all night at the garage to fix it. Oh dear… I remember when we went to Mikumi National Park back then our car also had a flat tire on the way. So, maybe this was part and parcel of a safari? I was hoping that our vehicle was safe to continue though and that we wouldn’t encounter any more problems. Well, of course we would but I will come to this later. We set off on our way to the Ngorogoro Crater. What used to be a volcano is now a Conservation area, a one-of-a-kind. Other than in National Parks the Ngorogoro Area is a shared land-use zone, meaning that it can be used by Massai for hearding and living but it is also a protected area for wild animals. The drive into the park was rather long as one had to first ascend to the top of the crater ridge. The road took us through a lush rainforest and the scenery reminded me a lot of Lushoto. I was almost expecting a chameleon to pass the street. Once we passed the ridge we descended again into the crater. The road was pretty steep and we passed rather dire and dusty landscape. Many Massai, especially kids, were herding their goats, all of them waving to us excitedly as we whizzed past in our car. Was this how royals feel, waving to people, I wondered? I was happy to wave back though, at least these people didn’t seem tired of seeing tourists yet. Once our car climbed down the road towards the bottom of the crater the view was absolutely stunning. One cannot imagine the sheer size of this crater. The crater is also a very unique ecosystem. For example, there are no giraffes, because the long-legged animals cannot get down the steep ridge. Also, the other animals don’t mix much with other animals from other areas. That is why the gene pool of the Ngorogoro lion population has become so homogenous that researchers are starting to monitor the gene patterns. The landscape is very flat except of course the ridges of the crater that loom on all sides like huge mountains. Big herds of wild beast, zebras, impalas and Thompson gazelle crossed our paths though. We even saw some warthogs and a hyena hiding in the tall grass. In the middle of the crater is a rather large lake. Sure enough, a rather obese hippopotamus was lying flat on the ground enjoying the sunshine, not a worry in the world. Even though we kept our eyes peeled we didn’t get to tick off any more animals from our wish list (e.g., lions, cheetahs, leopards). Instead we got to enjoy this marvellous landscape. The park closes at 6pm but given that we still had to make our ascend back to the ridge we had to leave relatively early. Also, we had some more issues with our van that slowed us down. The four wheel drive failed, meaning we were on a normal two wheel acceleration. However, it was still light when we reached our camp for the night. The campsite was located right on the edge of the crater’s rim, over 2000m high and overlooking the crater. A beautiful spot. Unfortunately, the couple from Berlin split from our group this evening. They were continuing on a different route, so they drove on to another camp. So we were down to three people, me and two Swiss people. However, we had different company since not far from our camp we could see zebras and even some giraffes peacefully grazing. I guess we were truly surrounded by nature. The showers weren’t up for much and so I made do with a flannel bath and went for dinner. There were two buildings at the side of the camp, the kitchen and the eating area. The eating area was basically just an empty shed where safari operators set up their own tables and chairs and everyone had dinner together. The kitchen area was a larger shed with some cemented counters but nothing else, no electricity or running water. Every safari operator/ car brings their own chef and they all cook together. It’s remarkable how they prepare a three course meal with a tiny gas stove and some hot coals. This was a true “off-the grid” experience but the food was nonetheless delicious. We got a lovely potato soup, some vegetable, chicken and rice, freshly baked bread, and fresh fruit. With the amount of fruit I had already eaten these past few days I must have replenished my vitamin levels for the whole year. When I returned to my tent after brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed a whole group of green eyes stared back at me in the glow of my head lamp. I scanned the field and sure enough, right behind my tent was a whole herd of zebras grazing just inches from my tent. I carefully slipped into my tent and under my duvet as it had become extremely cold. While I was laying there wrapped in multiple layers of clothes and slowly falling asleep I could hear the zebras snorting right beside me. What a privilege it was to be here, surrounded by nature and wilderness.