After settling in at the Bougainvillea Lodge it was time now to see the wonders. I was woken up by the service lady at the lodge and who reminded me that it was 8:00 in the morning and breakfast had already started an hour back .
” Your guide is waiting for you and the check out time of the lodge is 10:00 am in the morning sir . I suggest you hurry up.” Damn I though – the body clock was shot – I had been up all night writing for my blog and trying to perfect a template for my News Letter and now I was late!
Breakfast was European with fruits, potatoes and cereals. It was cold at the lodge at 16 degree one needed a jacket till at least the the afternoon when sun was upon us.
We headed out, Dixon my guide and I in the Landrover and we arrived at the Ngorongoro Park first and went in. The park is rich and green very fertile land here as this was the land at the edge of the volcanic crater.
I stopped DIxon to capture some shots of the crater from the valley above.
Although it was a bit misty but I think I got what I wanted – amateur photographer that I am. The Ngorongoro National park is of a totally different colour the soil is chalky and white in colour, there are not as many animals to see as in Tarangire but I saw the black Masai Mara tribe on this side of Tanzania for the first time.
They where black shawls around them and have a special white face decoration on them .This i noticed was amongst the children their forehead and face painted white. “ This is to tell everyone that they have been freshly circumcised and have gone through the pain of the circumcision ceremony , a very important tribal ritual in this part of the world.” Dixon said as he chewed his lunch while we took a break in front of the Serengeti National Park.
A famous brand of Tanzanian Beer is also called Serengeti and has a Cheetha as it’s symbol.
But it was to be my lucky day as Dixon spotted a Pride of Lions resting under some bushes. They where five of them , couple sleeping the others looking out for any danger near by.
They looked majestic and so sure of themselves , one of them even gave me a stare as I observed them carefully. Most of the Land Rovers of other tourist stopped next to us to enjoy this rare treat.
The Italians behind me clicked away with their large camera lens and oh how I wish now that I had a bigger lens to capture their rare beauty. I made up with what I had and took different angles at times. Then came to main course literally, this is a rare sight a Lion getting ready to hunt his prey.
This time it was a warthog who was grazing at a distance. The lion bent on all fours hid himself in the brown and golden savannah grass , his hide being of the same colour he was easily able to hide himself from its prey’s gaze.
Slowly he moved forward keeping his eye on the target , this went on for 10 min , suddenly he took a plunge and chased after what would soon be lunch.
But in less than a split second the warthog was able to distract the lion and run to safety. It was a no kill an attack not very successful. The lion stopped looked around and as if to say “ Next time I will get you.” , strolled away. Serengeti had turned out to be an exciting affair.
Now I am back at the Sopa Lodge where I am set to spend the night. I have already spotted an offer for a Ballon Safari tomorrow for 500 dollars and it looks like I am going to take it though I am worried again that my weight might get in the way of getting afloat !
