Serengeti, Suffused with Splendor
From the International Herald Tribune, January 2, 1998
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| By Nick Stout ''Look! There's a hyena!'' ''Isn't it a jackal?'' Our guide stopped the Land Rover and calmly picked up his binoculars. ''That,'' he declared with confidence, ''is a bat-eared fox.'' Bat-eared foxes, as it turns out, are twilight creatures not often seen in midafternoon. They are recognizable to trained eyes by their oversized ears and large, bushy tail. But what did we know? There is nothing more serendipitous than a safari in the Serengeti sanctuary, Tanzania's vast national wildlife park. Covering almost 15,000 square kilometers and extending even further into the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, the sanctuary is home to millions of migrant mammals and nearly 500 species of birds. For anyone who has been tantalized by Tarzan's terrain, the Serengeti will not disappoint. Safaris may be arranged at any time of the year for almost any duration, but they are arguably more fun on dry turf than wet. Late November was the season of the ''short rains,'' the brief downpours that occur just when the picnic is put out. The short rains are annoying but, we were assured, not nearly as depressing as the long rains of April and May, when the Tanzanian skies let loose for days on end. It rained during each of our five days in the wild, but there was plenty of sunshine, too. From the safety (though certainly not comfort) of our Land Rover with its retractable canvas roof, our group of four plus the driver covered a good part of what is known as the Serengeti ecosystem. In addition to the Serengeti reserve itself, this included an afternoon in Lake Manyara National  Park, with its tree-loving lions and famous pool of
hippos; a stop at the Olduvai Gorge anthropological site, where
science's Adam
left his skull, and two days in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area,
including
its spectacular volcanic crater, 20 kilometers wide and 600 meters
deep,
where Masai herdsmen coexist with just about every animal known to
Africa.Setting out from the town of Arusha, the main gathering point for Serengeti safaris, we in our caravan of six vehicles followed the paved highway for about a half-hour, stopping en route to buy some soapstone and ebony figurines at one of those ubiquitous souvenir centers that accepts credit cards and offers worldwide shipping. Then, turning off the main road onto a bumpy, muddy path, we said good-bye to asphalt for good. The Land Rover now took some getting used to as it coped with the contours of the clay. One passenger compared the experience to horseback riding. There is a natural artistry to the African atmosphere along this route, the rich wet grassland green contrasting vividly with the rusty red-clay roads. We passed through the farms of Mto Wa Mbu, known for their banana beer, and reached our first overnight resting place, the Kirurumu Tented Lodge, in time for lunch. The twin-bedded tents, with electricity and indoor plumbing (internal zipper flaps ensure privacy), provided the illusion of camping with the comforts of a modern bungalow. Properly spaced to provide a sense of seclusion, the tents were set on a hillside overlooking the scenic Rift Valley that extends northward into Kenya. If I had had an extra day, I might well have spent the whole of it on my veranda with a serious supply of scotch and soda. Alas, time was short, so after a hurried lunch, we drove in the rain to the Lake Manyara park. The on-again, off-again roof was open when we spotted two lions sprawled on the limbs of a large tree  that extended to
the road. Couldn't they just jump into our Land Rover, I
wondered? They probably could, but they didn't seem interested.Abundant with baboons, although increasingly empty of elephants, Lake Manyara National Park probably deserves more than an afternoon. We did succeed in finding the famous pool of hippos just as the sun was sinking. Dozens of them were playfully splashing about and projecting their enormous yawns. Soon, when it was dark, they would emerge from the water to consume — each of them — about 50 kilograms of vegetation. The next day was a session of stop and go, checklist at hand as we differentiated, with the help of our guide, between waterbuck and topi, or reedbuck and klipspringer. For two days on the plain, we chased cheetahs, hunted hyenas and gazed at gazelles. We watched a baby giraffe outrun a hungry lion, and came upon the remains of a wildebeest that was not so fortunate. We passed by a grandpa buffalo, and while I was fixed on his curious, curly horns (they reminded me of a Spanish civil guardsman's hat), our guide zeroed in on the animal's eyes. "Look how red they are,'' he said. "He'll be dead by tomorrow.'' Wrong. Next morning grandpa was still standing guard over his herd. Speaking of herds, there was nothing to compare to the wildebeest — or gnu, to those in the know. In the Serengeti, there can be thousands at a glance and more than a million all told. The most prehistoric-looking of all the antelopes —sort of a humorous hybrid of horse and heifer — the wildebeest just grazes contentedly, taking in more grass per mouthful than any other herbivore. Not only lions and wildebeest eat well in these parts. The cooks at the Lobo Wildlife Lodge, an inconspicuous luxury hotel cleverly hidden among rocks on the Serengeti's northern edge, know better than anyone how to grill a wart hog or a topi. The vegetarians in our group did not get their money's worth. From the Lobo grill we headed back toward the big ''cooking pot,'' which is what the ancient tribesmen thought the great crater looked like when they named it something that evolved into "Ngorongoro." People have written also about a modern Garden of Eden. It is not quite that, but  there must be few
places where man and beast live in such harmony. Unlike the Serengeti
reserve, which is off limits to human settlers, the Ngorongoro crater
is open to the Masai nomads.The main attraction here is the black rhino. Only 20 or so remain of more than 100 just 30 years ago, and some of them are affectionately named. ''There's Fausta,'' our driver said excitedly, peering through binoculars at a tiny spot on the horizon. She is known for her V-shaped horns and concave back. Arusha is teeming with touts offering safaris of all stripes and colors. Beware. Many of these so-called safari companies will happily take your money but be nowhere to be found the next day when you show up for the trip. Tanzanian tourist authorities can supply lists of reputable safari operators. We were quite pleased with ours, The Safari Company, which arranges safaris to order. The company has a team of well-trained English-speaking guides, and I cannot imagine anyone better than Waziri Williams. Ask for him. Prices for a group of four average between $1,300 and $2,800 per person, depending on the type and length of safari. This includes full board at the lodges and camps, national park fees, ground transport and guides. For more information contact: The Safari Company, P.O. Box 207; Arusha, Tanzania; tel: 255-57-3935; fax: 255-57-8272; e-mail: mia@habari.co.tz. |