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Ngorongoro National Park Safari and painting my master piece!
Jambo!
I am currently sat in my tent, all packed up and ready to leave camp tomorrow. To be honest I have missed a few days out writing this as I simply couldn't be bothered but now I'm ready to catch up!
On Sunday 3rd August, 2 days ago, we went on our second day of Safari! What an incredible experience! We set off at the crack of dawn and reached the entrance to the national park about an hour and a half later. I was with the same group as the day before and had another fantastic day with them and our driver, Moses. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the worlds most famous safari sites and it definitely lived up to its reputation! As we climbed the road the to top it became really really foggy, so much so I was slightly scared to be traveling along such a rubbish road unable to see what was coming. When we eventually broke through the fog and reached the top it was absolutely bloody freezing, we were at just below 3000m! After a quick loo stop we went down into the creator, the views were incredible despite the weather! It didn't take long once we were down there to start spotting the animals. In order of appearance here is a list of the first few animals we saw... Buzzard, Warthog, Zebra, Wildebeest, Crown Crane, Spotted Hyena and a Golden Jackal. I really enjoyed taking pictures of them all up close and using my binocs off Grandma and Grandad :) On the journey to the creator I found myself having a little think about both Grandmas and Grandad/Grandpa. I really do/did have the best grandparents anyone could have and not having some of them around anymore is tough! Every time I have soup for tea I remember Grandma and Grandpa and when I hear a joke or eat Eclairs I think of Grandad. I know it's silly little things but that's what happens. I'm sure Grandad would be chuffed to know his Morrisons joke was enjoyed by all the students here! I also have a little keyring on my bag this time off Grandma... She actually gave it me last time I went travelling but I forgot to take it with me then.... It's good to have it with me now though :) Anyway... Back to the Sarafi :)
After the start of the safari I got to see something new! By the way... we spent the whole day stood on our seats with our heads popping out the roof of our Jeep! As we approached a pond I could see about 20 Hippos popping out of the water! They were massive and didn't really do much but I still thought they were very impressive! Some of them did a roly-poly for us and then we left them to it. After that we saw a few Ostrich before things got really exciting!
We were diving down one of the roads and saw a few Jeeps pulled up. As we approached we saw a female Lion lying in the grass. I had finally seen a real life wild Lion! :) I was made up and took lots of pics! However... we weren't that close to her and she just sat there. A bit further down the road though things got very very exciting!
There were about 15 cars in total all stopped! Our driver, Moses, barged his way to the front and about 5m from the Jeep was a dead Wildebeest being eaten by 2 female Lions, a 3rd Lion was prowling around the Jeeps! As we were at the front she walked right down the side of our Jeep and if I had been brave/stupid enough I literally could have put my hand out the window and stroked her! She then decided to have a nice lie down right in front of our Jeep! For the next 10 mins we couldn't move and I enjoyed taking pics of her really close up with my tripod! Seeing a Lion so close was brilliant and just a little bit scary! Eventually she got up and went on her way... we moved on and then saw hundreds of Buffalo enjoying an afternoon stole across the creator!
We then went to another Hippo pool for our lunch and were joined by a few very cheeky diving Eagles! After lunch we got back in our cars and headed for the creator exit!
However.... It wasn't over yet!
5 mins down the road the Jeeps all stopped again! This time we were in the middle of the traffic and in the distance could see a big daddy Lion! A real Simba! He moved slowly across the road in front of us without a care in the world before carrying on with his own business. It was a great sight!
***So I had to take a break from writing my blog for tea. I came back to finish it off but then heard a load of drums and singing. We have just been treated to a performance of gymnastics, dancing and music by some locals. Great end to the evening :)***
So back to the blog... After we saw the Lion we made our way out of the crater up a very very steep road! The views at the top were incredible and after a stop at the view point and a few shops we went back to camp. I purchased a massive painting for my classroom wall and also two magnets. I got the lot for £19 which wasn't bad seeing as the first price quoted for the picture was $60!
Over the last few nights I have also been creating my very own master piece. Basically around town there are loads and loads of little shops selling local hand carved wooden things and paintings. All the paintings look the same but are actually all done by hand! I was a little skeptical at first but now I have seen it with my own eyes and actually done it myself! The local artist, Tembe, has a shop on our camp and also runs his own painting school under a tree. Over the last few nights he has guided me through the steps of my painting. We started with the backwash and then he outlined my animals. I then painted the animals in before adding the detail and shading effects. It took me a very long time and I'm over the moon with the final result! :)
Yesterday we had another full day of project work. This time we went to a local nursery where Camps are building an extra classroom. Our job was to basically mix the concrete and poor it into wooden sets to create the lintel. This was hard work as we had to mix 4 wheelbarrows of sand with 2 of rocks and a bag of cement, all by hand! And... we had to keep it wet and runny in very high temperatures!
Another part of this project was landscaping. We worked all day to create a path to the toilets from the nursery. We dug a trench, put large rocks in it and painted them white. We then cleared the grass from in between to create a very simple but effective path!
At the end of the day we had competed both our projects and hit our targets!! Great effort and hard days work done! We went back to camp and I did a bit more painting and washing before tea and bed! :)
So today has been our last day in Manyara. This morning we went with Ibrahim, Camps staff, to learn some bush craft skills. The students were set the task of creating a shelter big enough for 13 people in half an hour, they had sticks, banana plant leaves and bark string. It was funny to see some of their efforts and team discussions but in the end 2 of the 3 groups did a pretty good job. We then had a go at using a bow and arrow before making fire without a match or lighter. I really enjoyed doing this but after a while I got board of spinning a piece of wood around, nicked some of the demo smouldering embers and used them to start my own fire! All the students thought Dom and I had done it from scratch and we quite rightly took the credit! After all we had used our initiative!
When we got back to camp we had our lunch and packed ready to leave tomorrow. I finished my painting by adding yet more detail and colour!
This evening I had a beer sat by the fire as the sun set and then had tea. Like I said before I had just gone to bed but then heard the music. After a few songs I went to see what it was and I'm glad a did. Great musical/gymnastic performances by local people :)
Tomorrow we head to Tanga on the coast. Everyone is looking forward to it as we have heard it is beautiful! We have 3 nights at the main camp to do project work and then we start our scuba diving! I can't wait!
Anyway.... Time for bed now as I'm up at 6:00am for our monster journey!
Love to all x
- comments
Darren Holland Bitter! Sounds awesome! 8 hours I spent at Ngorongoro and not one flaming lion