Day 24: 21 August 2002 7:00 pm
The group climb aboard four-wheel drives in restless mood for their optional excursion into the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Acacia tree, Serengeti
First day of our three day safari ($255 per person) that includes national park fees, camping fees, all meals, transport and a driver. This is probably the cheapest way of accomplishing this safari without having your own vehicle. Word of warning - you must bring your own drinking water with you. There are very few places to buy drinking water and the basic camp sites have hardly any running water. We took with us our tent, sleeping mats, sleeping bags and a day sack with change of underwear.
We had to cover over 300km to reach the Dik Dik public camp site in the Serengeti National Park. It was a long, tedious and rough drive over dusty, dirt track that made me begin to question whether it was worth it.
To reach the Serengeti NP, we had to drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, passing many Maasai villages. The Maasai are banned from the Serengeti NP so that the grasslands are protected from their cattle over-grazing, and the lions are protected from the Maasai tradition of a warrior killing one before being eligible to marry.
The Maasai now live in the Ngorongoro CA. Their cattle are allowed to graze in the crater, but the Maasai can only live on the rim of the crater and in the surrounding land. It must have come as quite a shock to the Maasai, who do not believe in land ownership, when the Serengeti NP was formed and they could no longer roam over this land with their cattle.
Our day did not start well, as Tom returned from the toilet with bad news. I gave him two Imodium against our tour leader's advice, as it is very difficult to go on safari with the runs. You can hardly get out of the Landrover for a loo stop when viewing a pride of lions.
Nothing prepared me for the vastness of the Serengeti plains (Serengeti in Maasai means 'endless land'). Our safari began at 3pm and our driver was tipped off about various different animals and their locations on his CB radio. We were lucky enough to view a pride of 12 lions at very close range, and observed Agama lizard, serval cat, warthog, topi, hartebeest, gazelle and hyenas. Sunset was a magical moment when three giraffe gracefully loped across the plains for a perfect photo.
The park officials have strategically placed blue and black clothing as tsetse fly traps, but there were quite a few flies coming into our Landrover - Belinda got bitten through her sock. Tsetse flies carry sleeping sickness and are larger than the bush flies - my advice is not to wear blue or black.
The Dik Dik camp site had long drop dunnies but no running water. There are no fences and we heard lion and hyena in the night. Everyone complained about the long drops, but we both thought they were fine - I've seen far worse in my previous travels. Tom's stomach complaint deteriorated further, so I dosed him another Imodium and would only allow him dry or plain food.
There was no camp fire with dinner, so we huddled together in our fleeces and could not wait to get back into our tent. Pack warm clothes if you are planning a trip to East Africa.
Then disaster struck. As we were walking back to the tent with our torches, I tripped over a massive guide rope pegged out at ankle height across the gap between the tents. I escaped unscathed, but Tom was not so fortunate and went flying into the gravel and rock, cutting the palms of his hands to shreds. Flipping ultra efficient Germans, pegging their tents out to the extreme!
We carefully washed Tom's hands in the washing up water, trying to get all the dirt out of them, and used numerous plasters to patch him up. I felt so sorry for him as his hands were badly bruised and stung all night. It didn't help matters that it was like Piccadilly Circus right outside our tent, as six people decided to stargaze in their sleeping bags and made no attempt to lower their voices.
Positives: Viewing a pride of lions and a gorgeous sunset across the Serengeti plains.
Negatives: Germans should be banned from erecting tents - I just hope Tom's cuts are not infected.