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Monday 13th September
Our alarm went off at five o clock as our game drive was to start at six. Relief was over both our faces, camping in the Serengeti had been an experience but we were more than glad of the promise of a warm bed and a hot shower at the lodge. A quick tea and biscuits saw us share our nights experience with Tom. TJ had fallen asleep almost instantly, I however had taken longer to drop off and was lullabied by a chorus of Lion roars and many a Hyena. You may think I was there shivering with fear in my tent, indeed I thought I would be, but instead found it amazingly intriguing, trying to decipher distance and what they meant. The Lions were close but not as close as the Hyenas, I wouldn't of left the tent for anything!
We started our game drive and as we left the camp marvelled at the stunning sunrise over the plains of the Serengeti, something tells me we are going to see many marvellous sunrises and sunsets on our travels! We headed out to a different, more Kojped area of the Serengeti in the search of the illusive Cheetah. Our morning was spent circling the large granite monuments, later we were to learn that these were some of the oldest stones in the world, but we only managed to spot a herd of Elephants. As the morning progressed the sun warmed the somewhat crisp air and just as our patience was dwindling Tom let out a yelp and accelerated sharply towards the low horizon. We both held on for dear life as the 4x4 bounced towards an as yet unseen treasure. We slowed as both of us gasped at the sight of two cheetahs sharpening their claws against a tree. You may not think this as cause for much excitement but the tree was close, the Cheetahs even closer, a couple of metres from our viewpoint. We were the only people there witnessing as one went to roll in the grass and the other sprayed his urine on the tree, marking their territory. We were amazed at how close we were and how lucky we had been, many people come on safari and don't get to see a Cheetah, as they disappeared into the distance we all wondered where they would be going and which lucky people would see them next. Both of us were excited and astonished at our luck, it was thrilling to see the shy cats so close.
As we journeyed on our morning was coming to an end, as if as a reminder of something we hadn't seen the Serengeti provided. We passed a van which Tom informed us was a Hyena research vehicle, and sure enough in the distance we got to see one, loping along in in telltale manner. We were both glad to have seen one even though it was from such a distance. Further down the track however we were given a bigger treat as we caught sight of a large pack of Hyenas to the right of the truck. As we slowed to a stop as if on show they headed in our direction and on passing us stopped to investigate. Again we were left counting our blessings as these usually shy nocturnal animals were allowing us a glimpse into their lives, they paused as if posing for our pictures, their mouths fixed smiling for the camera. This had been a great way to end our last drive in the Serengeti which in my mind despite it's barren vastness had given us the most extraordinary sightings.
We returned to camp and gladly packed our things away, our tent had provided a refuge from the harsh Serengeti night but we were both pleased, TJ ecstatic, to be exchanging it's hard floors for the matressed ones of the lodge. We had brunch, broke down the tent, packed up the Landcrusier and headed back on the bumpy road back to the Ngorongoro crater. On route we were to stop at a Masai Village for a tour and a glimpse at what it is like to live as a Masai. We were both intrigued as to what it would be like, we both weren't quite expecting what we got either!
As we approached the village looked exactly like we had expected with the typical stick fencing, wattle and dorb huts and cattle being grazed by the younger tribesmen. As we stepped out of the truck the chief's son greeted us, before he explained what was going to happen he let out a shrill cry. As we watched tribeswomen came out and started to hum while some tribesmen, weapons in hand started to grunt deeply as they circled us in a dance. It didn't take long before I was dragged up, given a spear and told to follow their moves, round I went, thrusting the spear above me groaning as deeply as I could. Needless to say I felt like a bit of an idiot. We were then taken in to the village and in the centre clearing given another demonstration of the Masai dancing. All the men, including myself, was humming and jumping up as high as they could taking in turns to better the next let's just say White men indeed can't jump, and I was giving it my best shot, but they were springing up like gazelle! Meanwhile TJ was taken hand in hand with the tribeswomen and shown their dance which wasn't as energetic as mine but included a tuneful hum to go with it, I was happy to see that she looked just as stupid as I had done, instead of wailing when they did she persisted on doing it by herself just after them, boy did I chuckle to myself! All of them were so colourful in their Masai clothing, the women wearing reams of colourful beads, all the ears pierced with gaping holes, scars running across their faces. You could have studied them for hours they were so interesting. We were then taken in to a Masai hut, the Walls were made of mud and dung with the Oldavai sticks as a roof. Inside the conditions were cramped with a couple of elevated wooden and straw beds and a pen for the animals, all in all it was so basic and the smells and insects that crawled around would have put off most people. The light was so dim with an area in the middle for a small fire, we were both astounded that people would choose to live in this way. What was of note though was how resourceful the Masai were, you could see that nothing went to waste, they used the money from the tourists to buy their water and the rest they were totally self sufficient. We were both pleased to leave the hut, mainly because we didn't want to disturb the sleeping Masai lady for much longer but secondly TJ had spotted cockroaches in the walls and roof, she did well to last as long as she did! We left and were taken to a small shop full of trinkets and jewellery, feeling obliged we both bought a bracelet, wanting to give them something for showing us around. Then we went to see their unfinished Nursery where children were learning to count, it all looked very staged to me, paper strewn about the place, teachers sitting on their backsides while the kids squabbled. The roof had not been finished and I wondered for just how long that had gone on for, as if on que the Masai asked for a contribution towards it's building. I declined but TJ on her way out, less cynical than myself, wanted to give some money to help the school, so we did. It had all been very interesting although I felt a lot of it had been put on for tourists, just me I guess. We headed back to the truck where Tom was chatting to some of their elders, as we said our goodbyes one of them said something in Swahili, some laughed and Tom told us that the Elder liked the look of TJ. "How many cows" I joked, everyone laughed and he came back with twenty... Now that's an awful lot for a Masai and would have made me rich and able to take two wives... Was I tempted?... Let's just say TJ didn't see the funny side and slapped me back into the car as everyone laughed. It had been an interesting visit.
Carrying on the journey up the crater the day was drawing to a close. We reached our magnificent lodge as the sun dropped behind the far wall of the crater and as we checked in we could tell we had made the right choice for our accommodation. The lodge was situated right at the top of the crater and had spectacular uninterrupted views across the whole of the crater's floor, it was magnificent. We were shown to our room which had the same stunning outlook and almost cried at the sight of the clean bathroom, western toilet and soft plump bed! After a long shower each where the dirt visibly washed off us, TJ rang her parents while I went to take some pictures of the crater before nightfall . It was great to be clean again, having a cold beer and even being able to catch up on some football. Again we had a nice dinner but went to bed as early as we had been up, we were both shattered plus we had to be up for 6:30, something we both didn't really want to do. The safari had been incredible but I think after all we'd done we had had enough of the safari lifestyle and just wanted a day to relax. That wasn't to come for at least another two days though.
Mark & Tejal x
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