Back to trip index
 

We departed from our scenic lodge at Ngorongoro Crater and drove down into the rift in central Tanzania. The road passes through Maasai country and thier Bomas dotted the rolling countryside along the road. We saw many Maasai of all ages herding their cattle as they grazed during the day. Shortly after leaving the crater area we came upon of a group of young Maasai boys that were dressed in costume with masks doing their high jumping dancing. We all did the tourist thing and got plenty of pictures.

As we drove down into the Oduvai area the land changed from green woodlands to an arid and rocky desert landscape. The gorge itself is a network of deeply cut ravines that have been erroded by river drainage that has exposed layers of strata. The exposure of the strata is the reason the area has proven so rich in the discovery of the fossils and artefacts of our human ancestors. The Leaky museum is a small rock building at the crest of the gorge that has informative exhibits about the gorge and the discoveries made there by the Leakeys. As you stand on the edge of the gorge and look down on the arid landscape it takes some imagination to envision what this area looked like when homo habilis left there footprints in the soft mud. As you drive down into the gorge you have to admire the Leakeys for their tenacity in working in this dry barren country to make their wonderful discoveries. At the bottom of the gorge we met our museum guide who took lead us up a ravine to the original site where discovery of the first homo habilis jaw bone was discovered. We did not get to see the "first footsteps" site because it has been covered up and is off limits to visitors. As we drove out of the gorge it was hard not to feel the sense of history even in such a desolate place.

Our destination for the day was the Wilderness Travel private camp located about 50 miles north of the Olduvai Gorge in an area near the Alamana River. As we headed north we left the road such as it was and headed out onto open plains that threaded through hills and large rock formations. We passed a few remote bomas but otherwise there were no signs of civilization. Wildlife on the other hand was everywhere. We drove past groups of giraffe and Thompson's Gazelles. We spotted a newborn gazelle calf lying flat on the plain. By instinct the helpless calf lies motionless in plain site, to "hide" from predators. We came upon a herd of Eland that began running in front of us. We had a real "hatari" moment as we followed closely in their path.

About midday we had one of the only problems on the entire journey. The radiator on one of the vehicles was leaking and it was overheating. Our innovative guides came up with the MacGyver solution of adding tea from teabags to the radiator. The small tea leaf particles plugged the hole in the radiator enough that we had no trouble for the rest of the day. We also took the opportunity to have a picnic on the plains. We were joined by a lone Maasai boy of about 8 who wanted some food. We gave him a banana and some chocolate which seemed to make him happy. After lunch we stopped a

As we neared our destination, the landscape changed again. We began to see large granite dome-like rock formations raising from the flat plains. These are the kopje formations that serve as small island habitats for wildlife in this area. This is the home of the Rock Hyrax. We wound our way through these formations and finally came to a large circle of kopjes that was the private campsite where we would spend the next few days. We were guided to our rather luxurious "tent" with all the amenities and then we all met in the dining tent and watched the sun go down. After a wonderful dinner we all got a good night's sleep after a long travel day.

(Click on map for interactive Google map)