Safari Njema

We are finally back at our lodge in Moshi so this will be a long review of the past several days out on safari.

Anytime you head into wilderness like the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti for a few days, you are going to have adventures and encounters that you will never forget. I will share just a couple highlights of the past few days in one long post here but a few pictures will also help tell the story.

Everyone loved our time at Rhotia Valley Tented Camp in the hills above Karatu. Dave said the view from the tents could be from somewhere in Napa Valley. The rolling green hills with their patchwork of rich tilled soil for as far as the eye can see is one of my favorite landscapes in

Tanzania. The occasional small farm houses made from the red soil of the region complete the story book picture.

Rhoda Children's Home

A few of us visited the orphanage just across a small valley from the camp. Proceeds from the lodge go to support the orphanage. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and children as George, the owner of Rhotia Camp, showed us around. George is from the Netherlands and was moved to establish this wonderful symbiotic operation some years ago. 



There is a full bakery on sight and a school bus to take the children to school each day. Before we walked back to camp, Amanda and Dave got involved in some volleyball instruction with a few of the kids.

We were up before dawn to make our way to the Ngorongoro Crater. The morning was cool and rainy as we made our way along the rim of the crater so we had no view of where we were headed. Descending the steep winding road into the crater feels like going into the land of the lost.

After passing through the foggy rain forest along the rim, we moved slowly down into the crater through an amazing canopy of acacia trees. By the time we ascended the even steeper switch back road out of the crater later in the day, we had seen more wildlife than you can imagine. The variety of animals we encountered was breathtaking and included four of the “big five.”

Along with dozens of other creatures, we saw elephants, lions, Cape buffalo and even the rare and endangered black rhino. This left only the most difficult member of the big five to encounter, the leopard. 

We knew we still faced a long, jarring drive all the way through the Ngorongoro lands outside of the crater and up to our tented camp in the central Serengeti, but we had no idea what this 
long rich day still had in store.

After the pounding, dusty drive to cross into the Serengeti, we were able to shift back into game viewing mode as the incredible variety of wildlife surrounded us on the vast plains. Ostrich, zebra, wildebeest, Thompson and Grant gazelle, giraffe, topi antelope, hart beast, warthog, hyena and hippo just to name a few. 

Oh, and in the distance, lounging high in an acacia tree, a leopard!

We were all more than ready to reach camp as the dying light of this long day found us winding through muddy trails after the rains, searching for the way. The Serengeti is about six thousand square miles, so locating a little wooden sign on a stick indicating the way to camp can be a bit of a challenge. Our driver Peter was doing his best until we slid off the main trail. Peter tried to keep our Landcrusher, as Belinda calls it, from losing momentum but it was too late, we were axle deep in heavy mud and going nowhere.

In the Serengeti. Stranded. At night. Lost.

Peter could not get a signal on his cell phone from the jeep, so he had to walk out into the darkness to try to get a connection. With hyenas yelping nearby, he disappeared in the direction where we were watching lions not long before. Back in the car, my group was making the most of this odyssey of a day by sharing snacks and enjoying this rare experience.

After more than two full hours sitting in darkness, a couple guides from another camp showed up and pulled us out of the mud. Peter had gotten word that since the roads were so washed out, we were being diverted to a different tented camp in the area.

It would be more than another hour of driving through the night in the Serengeti, something otherwise completely illegal to do, before we would finally reach our camp well after 11pm. Along the way, we saw several hyenas pass through our headlights and at one point a large hippo was so shocked to see us that it leapt into the air. That’s right, I said hippos can jump!

The entire staff of the camp was there to greet our jeep and though we were all more than ready to crawl into bed, the table was set and they had kept a delicious, multi-course meal hot and ready for us. Outside our tents we could hear the sounds of all the creatures we had shared the darkness with over the past several hours. Lions and hyenas and elephants were loud and clear as I drifted off to sleep.

Our remaining time on safari was amazing. We saw lion prides and sat with large groups of elephants. We saw a couple cheetahs and every type of bird imaginable. 

On our way back across the Ngorongoro lands we turned down a path in the midst of the sweeping vistas of mountains and valleys to visit a Maasai boma (small village). The Maasai welcomed us outside the boma with songs and chants. We visited inside their small homes made of sticks, cow dung and banana leaves.

We continued back around the rim of the crater and this time the day provided a clear view across this natural wonder. After many hours of driving, we were looking forward to reaching our lodge. John and Sue had occupied the extra bumpy rear seats in the Landcrusher and they were ready to be done for the day.

Shortly after turning down the rough dirt road leading toward Lake Eyasi, we were stopped by police set up in this somewhat unlikely, remote spot. There is a kind of shake down ritual that often happens with these police and they had Peter out of the car in a heated discussion. John was looking at his phone sitting in the back and the police guy decided that John must be taking pictures of them or their car. They hate that.

The officer demanded that John come out of the car and follow him. I did not want to escalate things but I got out and followed anyway. Inspecting John’s phone for the damning evidence, the officer became more angry and vocal when he convinced himself that John had intentionally deleted a video of this whole operation!

By the time this international police action was ended, John was back in the jeep with his phone, Peter had paid a $5,000 TZ shilling fine (about $2) and I was chatting with the officer about being mchungaji (a pastor) and why I love Tanzania so much.

So that brings you up to date. Today we will visit the primitive Hadzabi tribe. The bushmen live as they have for thousands of years as hunter gatherers without even building much of anything for shelter. We will report back and add all the photos when we get better wifi.

Kwaheri for now.