- 178 Views
- 3 Min Read
- (0) Comment
Getting weary of school, exams and presentations, last week we decided to go for a day trip to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. To the four of us from Uganda this was an opportunity to visit a place with a mutual relationship between man and nature. Almost separated from the rest of the continent, there lies a beautiful, eye catching land isolated from the world with a unique history. A world heritage site that literally houses the cradle of human civilization, the Ngorongoro Crater with diverse wildlife and Olduvai Gorge.
That morning we started our trip at 4am in the morning from Keys Hotel along the way, the woods were filled with brittle silence and it was a chilly morning, we had a stop over at the African Galleria Café to grab some hot tea as we warmed up to proceed with our Safaris and also later in the evening as we returned from the Conservation Area.Here we had an opportunity to see a huge selection of beautiful, diverse African art with an extensive collection of visual art, excellent wood carvings, ornaments, precious stones, sculptures and accessories. The African Galleria is also home to the beautiful Tanzanite, rarer than diamonds and exclusive to only Tanzania exhibiting magnificent blue and violet hues, I would say a safari to the Crater without a Tanzanite tour is incomplete.
As we entered the Conservation Area, the driver and guide had to check in, so it was a perfect time for us to refresh and learn about the history of the park at the nearby museum.
Before proceeding down to the crater, we stopped to enjoy the view from the rim. It is glorious to see the sides of the caldera rising up from the floor creating this prefect crater with Lake Magadi standing in front of us and the mini Lerai fever tree forest around the Hippo pools down in the crater and clouds rolling over the top of the crater rim hiding the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, the view was pre-eminent.
Inside the crater, the view is extremely breath-taking, almost bizarre. It’s as though everything else has stopped moving expect for the comfortable Toyota 4*4 Landcruiser that we drove in on that beautiful sunny day, it’s a no wonder that Africa’s Golden Jackal has found its home here.
In the Crater we visited the Masai villages and enjoyed the untouched landscape the villages sit in, truly redefining the experience of Ngorongoro Crater we were very lucky with our sightings of hyenas, Elephants, Zebras, Buffalos, Hyenas, Wildebeests, Hippos and thousands of beautiful pink flamingos
Its lunch time and we are making our way to a private picnic spot on the Crater floor, there Keys Hotel staff spring into action to attend to our every wish as we indulge in a savoury meal served against the backdrop of groups of other Tourists and watching Hippos bouncing in clean water.
All too soon we’re speeding towards the exit. In an effort to avoid crowding and protect the local environment, each safari vehicle is allowed a strict number of hours in the crater – and our time is up. Back along the rim the road is steep, the vegetation green and the whole scenery is like something out of this world as the car spun around at the bottom of the hill, spraying gravel in a wild circle and for a few hours in that windy truck I felt like a kid again as I screamed Tobalabura Tobalabura, the trip had ended and we were going back to Keys Hotel to dance, eat and party all night long. The music here is also very interesting
