Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Ndutu Wilderness Camp

We left Rhino Lodge this morning and explored some more of the Ngorongoro Conservation area.  We quickly left the forests for stands of acacia trees, and then open plains.  We visited a Masai village where we saw traditional dancing and the inside of a Maasai hut.  This village is in a drier area of the plains, where they rely on trucks bringing water for the village and fairly high cost.  We also saw the kindergarten, for children ages 2 to 5 before they start the primary school several kilometers away.  

 

After the village we continued driving down the Ngorongoro escarpment to the plains.  We turned before the entrance to the Serengeti for a safari drive around lake Ndutu.  At first we mostly saw antelope and some larger and less common antelope called elan - which have horns like antelope but the body type of a North American moose (in my non safari-guide opinion).  As we got close to the lake we saw many zebra and quite a few wildebeest, which our guide explained were the stragglers from the great migration, the majority of which has reached the central Serengeti by now.  We called it a day a bit early because of a heavy rain, but were excited to see several giraffes munching acacia leaves within sight of our camp.

Yes I said camp.  This is the only night of the safari that we are staying in a camp instead of a lodge.  It's called the Ndutu Wilderness camp, and it is truly out in the bush.  Our tent comes complete with 3 twin beds, a shower, and a toilet.  To take a shower you tell the camp staff, who brings your 20 liter allotment of hot water and dumps it in the tank at the back.  Since I have no sense of how long you can shower with 20 liters of water, I used it sparingly.  Having survived our camp showers, we are now relaxing in the bar/seating area with a Tanzanian beer.  Like last night, we've been warned to watch for wildlife, but not to worry if we hear things close to the tent because "we assure you the animals will not bother you inside."  Our tent comes with a flashlight and a whistle... the whistle in case the animals do threaten to come in??

And amazingly, our Tanzanian phones ave service here, and in the crater, and almost everywhere we've been.  Our new friends who hiked Kili said their guides' cell phones worked all the way to the summit.  And yet my Verizon phone doesn't work in the basement at Children's...