All pics will be available via FB.
This morning we started our day at 7:30 with breakfast including a Spanish omelet, toast, pineapple, watermelon, coffee, crepes, watermelon juice, sausages, and condiments. We refueled and headed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We visited the Ngorongoro crater and took a panoramic picture. Then, we headed to a Maasai village and was greeted by the chief and the village who sang us a song. It was such a surreal experience. There were about 120-130 people living in that village. We saw the houses and school. The village school was one room with a teacher, chalkboard, and desks similar to those we have in Uganda. The children attend this school until about 10 and then go to a primary school across the mountain. The houses were made of dung and bamboo. The houses were very tiny, like the size of a bathroom. They have two “rooms” in their house, one for male and one for women and children. They also have fire pit inside the house for cooking. They also have a part of the house that is for the animals when they are young. In order to get married, they have to give 20-30 cows to the bride’s family. When the Maasai asked me how many cows I cost, I told him 100 cows. They can have 3-4 wives.
This morning we started our day at 7:30 with breakfast including a Spanish omelet, toast, pineapple, watermelon, coffee, crepes, watermelon juice, sausages, and condiments. We refueled and headed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We visited the Ngorongoro crater and took a panoramic picture. Then, we headed to a Maasai village and was greeted by the chief and the village who sang us a song. It was such a surreal experience. There were about 120-130 people living in that village. We saw the houses and school. The village school was one room with a teacher, chalkboard, and desks similar to those we have in Uganda. The children attend this school until about 10 and then go to a primary school across the mountain. The houses were made of dung and bamboo. The houses were very tiny, like the size of a bathroom. They have two “rooms” in their house, one for male and one for women and children. They also have fire pit inside the house for cooking. They also have a part of the house that is for the animals when they are young. In order to get married, they have to give 20-30 cows to the bride’s family. When the Maasai asked me how many cows I cost, I told him 100 cows. They can have 3-4 wives.
We saw the following animals:
·
Wildebeest
o
Migrate in a single file line
o
Travel with zebras because the zebras always
know the way
·
Zebra
o
Brown stripes until the male turns 6 and the
female turns 4; then their stripes are black
·
Giraffe
o
Live up to 28 years
o
Gestation period is 14-15 months
·
Ostrich
o
Males are black and white; females are grey
o
Lay 6-8 eggs, incubation period is 42-60 days
o
Males sit on the next at night because he is
black and blends into the scenery to protect the eggs
o
Run 80 kph
o
Eat seeds, grass, insects
·
Elephant
·
Camels
·
Baboons
·
Thompson gazelle
·
Lions
o
They mate for 7-8; the mate every 15-20 minutes
(we got to see this); They mate every 15-20 min. because the females need
friction for stimulation of their ovaries
o
We watched them mate twice!
o
Then, he moves to the next one
o
Live in prides (can be up to 17)
o
Gestation is 3 months
o
Have a new lion every 18-23 months
·
Hippo (dead one)
·
Water buffalos (including a dead one)
After the safari, we headed to camp. Our camp is called
Nyani, which means baboon in Swahili. The camp was quite impressive with a huge
kitchen area for all of the cooks and a large common area for eating, relaxing,
playing cards, etc. There were also showers and toilets with real toilet bowls!
We set up our tents and waited for dinner. When we entered the common area, we
found our table set up with coffee, tea, and popcorn. Our cook, Silvano, made
us leek soup with bread and butter for the first course.The main course was fish, salad, and rice. It was absolutely delicious. After dinner, we chatted with some of the other campers. We met some European guys and shared our safari adventures. I actually slept comfortably for my first night of camping!
