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Right in the centre of the Ngorongoro Conservation area (which is about 8300 sq km) in the Great Rift Valley, 2 million-year-old volcanic layers lie relatively 'exposed' by a 50km long ravine that is
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Michelle above Oldupai
Gorge
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100m deep in places - Oldupai Gorge. Oldupai or Olduvai (as it was once misspelled and stuck) was a place I had wanted to visit for a long time. What is so special about it, is that it is one of Africa's most important archeological sites relating to the evolution of the human race: it's not only the source of some of the oldest fossils of our oldest possible 'ancestors', it has some of the oldest fossils of pre-modern man - Homo Erectus - our most recent ancestor.
British archaeologists / paleoanthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, explored and excavated this area back in the 40's and 50's and found a number of important human-like (technically called 'hominid') fossils. The most important, in 1959, was a skull dating back 1.8 million years nicknamed Nutcracker Man because of his large ….molars.
They also found bipedal, hominid footprints fossilized in volcanic lava dating to 3.6 million years ago! Crazy! (These are known as the Laeotoli footprints 25km south of Olduvai).
The importance of all this stuff along with excavations in Kenya and Ethiopia just north of Ngorongoro, is that it is evidence that 2 million years ago there were at least three human-like species living in this area: 1) our Nutcracker man (latin name Australopethicus boisei), which appears to have died out; 2) Homo Habilis (another upright hominid) famous for using tools, and which seems to be have been either absorbed by or evolved into species number 3) Homo Erectus - possibly the most recent ancestor to us Homo Sapiens.
So, all this evolutionary evidence is still subjective with many speculations and gaps, and who knows when there'll be a complete picture, if at all. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed down into the gorge to see the 'Cradle of Mankind' but enjoyed the small interesting museum and quick lecture from the museum guide. But what fascinating stuff! And I was glad to finally be here at this important part of human history. *Mush
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Driving into Ngorongoro
Crater - we spot a cheetah
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We visited Oldupai Gorge on our transit through Ngorongoro Conservation Area, on our way to the Serengeti. After a day in the Serengeti, we arrived back in the NCA and we spent another crowded night in a campground overlooking Ngorongoro Crater/Calderra. We convinced our guide to get up a little early and try to avoid the crowd and queue's at the gate. We were one of the early entries, and it paid off dividends. We enjoyed some stunning views of sunrise over the crater in relative silence, and on our way into the crater, we found our first big ticket animal - a cheetah out for a morning stroll, or hopefully, hunt! We watched intently, as more and more vehicles gathered. It seemed like the cheetah was laying in wait for the Thomson's gazelles to move closer, but when it seemed like they were real close, there was no action from the cheetah. I guess it wasn't hungry or something, and we didn't get to see the world's fastest animal in action.
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Baby Wildebeest protected
by their mothers
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The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is another of Tanzania's Unesco World Heritage sites. The crater is 20km in diameter, and holds an immense array of wildlife below the caldera walls. The animals are free to roam in and out of the crater, but it seems like the abundance of grazing area and water within the crater, creates a fantastic habitat for most. The area itself was very volcanic, and there are many peaks, craters and alkali lakes within the area boundaries. Some amazing scenery, and throw in all the wildlife and you've got yourself a real gem. Too bad everyone knows about it!!
The costs in itself may deter people from going there. Not only do you pay $50 each to enter the NCA for a 24 hour period, it also costs $30 per person to camp above the rim. Then the big one…. each vehicle that descends down into the crater has to pay a $200 fee as well. I don't have a problem
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Yawning Hippo in
Ngorongoro Crater
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with trying to restrict the vehicles in this way, but at least show that there is something being done with all this money. As is typical in Africa, it seems to me that this just goes into politicians pockets once again. Very frustrating!!
The Ngorongoro Crater is in Maasai tribe lands, and they still bring their cattle down into the crater to graze. Surprising to me, since there are plenty of predators down in the crater, and it seems like a cow or goat would be an easy snack. But, I guess they've been doing this for centuries, and who am I to speak on their traditions and lifestyle. It seems to work for them, so they know much better than I.
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Eye to Eye with and
Elephant
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Driving through the middle of the crater, you see the crater walls looming all around, the salty Lake Magadi in the middle with it flamingoes walking elegantly along whilst looking for food, herds of wildebeest interspersed with zebra scattered throughout, and every now and then, a hyena, golden jackal or serval cat slinking along looking for a meal.
It was calving time for the wildebeest, and we saw many a wildebeest that looked like it was on wobbly legs, and less than a week old. Tiny little creatures, always protected by mother, just learning how life works for them. A large waterhole in the centre created a nice home for a pod of hippos. These ones were quite active, showing their jams often and doing a strange thing by rolling upside down to cool off. It was strange to see their short legs and toes wiggling above the water.
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Lioness and cubs in the
Ngorongoro Crater
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There were large herds of buffalo, elephants that were so curious they would come nose to nose with some of the safari trucks, and plenty of lions either lazing in the grasslands or resting on the branches of trees. We managed to watch one pride for a while, and there were two tiny little cubs out playing. Our first real chance to watch lion cubs, and it was hard to move on.
To top off Bernie's Big '5', we did finally see a couple of rhino, but they were so far in the distance it was very difficult to see. You could tell by the shape of the body, but could not see any details.
Early on, we came across an interesting sight, maybe not so interesting for what it was, but how the animals reacted. There was a dead zebra very close to the road, and it had obviously died quite
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Lioness having her 'fill'
of a zebra
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recently of natural causes. There were a few hyena stalking around it, but for some reason, they did not move in for a meal. There were no other predators around, but we finally got tired of waiting and moved on. A few hours later, we came back to see what was happening, and as we approached we saw a large male lion sitting contentedly with a bloody beard, obvious that he had just had his fill. The lioness was now having her chance on the half dismembered zebra carcass, with the entrails all hanging out the back. Just beyond the female, the hyenas were running about anxiously, whining, howling, laughing noisily in communication waiting their turn. In the distance sat two vultures, knowing they would be last to feed.
As soon as the lioness moved away, having satisfied her hunger, the 30 hyenas moved in quickly. They ravaged this carcass in about 10 minutes, leaving no trace that the zebra existed. Bones cracked, entrails exploded in their jaws, and some ran away with a leg or other zebra part in their
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The hyenas move in the
scavenge and tear it apart
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mouth with a few others chasing closely behind. One managed to run off with the whole zebra head, and had two other hyenas in tow. There was also something that looked like a scene from a Christmas turkey dinner - two hyenas pulling at a leg each in what appeared to be pulling of the wishbone!! I guess their wish was just having a meal. It was unbelievable to watch them dismantle this animal in this way. The bizarre thing to me was still why they didn't move in for a feed hours earlier. I guess there is some kind of animal hierarchy that made them wait for the lions to feed, even though there was none around, and the hyenas could lose out on a tasty meal. Very interesting, and our first REAL viewing of a feed. National Geographic alright!!
We finished our Ngorongoro experience by driving through the surprising forest in the bottom. Quite a different vegetation than we expected, and baboons climbing among the trees. We exited on a very steep, windy road out of the crater, with final views over this amazing landscape. What a fantastic day, but our 24 hour period was up and we had to head for the gates and home to Moshi. *Stub
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