Lake Manyara National Park

Today we were up and out of the Legendary Lodge by 8am to head to Lake Manyara National Park, which is a small park and an appetizer for the wild times to come in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.  Breakfast at the lodge consisted of fruit, yogurt, fresh breads, omelets, and of course the locally grown coffee.  On the way to the jeep, I snagged an extra buttery croissant to add more jelly to my belly.  Our guide for the next 3 days, Kevin, is very friendly.  He has been a safari guide for the past 16 years, so he has seen it all and heard it all. The majority of his clients have been from America and he has also visited the States numerous times.  He especially liked that all the Smithsonian Museums are free.  I told him I volunteered at the zoo in the Ape House and he chuckled.  He told us he is very used to Americans so we should feel free to ask any questions we want.

When Kevin first started as a guide 16 years ago, the only requirements were: knowledge of how to get from Arusha to the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, and the ability to drive a jeep in the Bush.  He knew all three and was instantly a guide.  Now guides go to school for 2-4 years of training to learn about conservation, the ecosystem, and the various wildlife.  Kevin likes to quiz us during the ride to make sure we are listening.

The government is putting in new roads so part of the ride was smooth and other stretches were cratered and bumpy (not as bad as the roads in Rwanda or the roads to Chengdu in China (which take 1^st prize for the bumpiest and dirtiest of them all).  The seats in the jeep are quite bouncy so it was like being on a hoppity hop (those big, red, round balls with a handle that kids ride); we were constantly jostled about and often had to hold on before our heads crashed through the pop-up roof.  Kevin asked us if we planned to climb Kilimanjaro while we are here and we chuckled and said no.  He climbed it 3 times.  Veta mentioned she had a friend and former co-worker who had climbed it a few years back.  I will not name names, but he held a fundraiser to raise money for his trip. She explained how this nameless and shall I say shameless guy came back with tales of his adventure.  These tales, it seems were as tall as Mount Everest.  Apparently he told people that the weather is so unpredictable that many people do not make it to the top.  In fact, he had stepped across skeletons of unsuccessful climbers on his way to the top.  At that point, Kevin started laughing and saying, “That guy was pulling your leg!”  Kevin told us that the weather is pretty mild and that there were no human skeletons or remains of any kind.  Veta’s friend had told her that the climb was sooooo treacherous that fallen climbers had to be left on the mountain because it is impossible to bring them down.  Kevin really got a laugh at that.

As we continued driving, we passed a friend of Kevin’s on the side of the road so we stopped to give him a lift.  He was headed to the next town to catch transport back to Arusha.  Kevin introduced us to Alex Legumbe and told us he was a very experienced climber.  Alex had climbed Mt Kilimanjaro so many times that now he trains guides to take tourists on the climb.  His company has sent him to the US for additional training to learn various emergency techniques when climbing.  He has been all over the US to the various national parks.  Kevin told Alex about Veta’s friend’s Kilimanjaro story and the two started howling with laughter.  Alex said Veta’s friend must have read Into Thin Air and “borrowed” some of the facts from that book to embellish his adventure.  Apparently, there are no dead bodies or human skeletons on Kilimanjaro – Mt Everest…yes, but Kilimanjaro…no way.  So it appears that her friend’s adventure story was a boldfaced, italicized, capitalized, neon green painted lie that is as tall as Mt Everest, which is actually the subject of the book Into Thin Air.  The author and climbers in the book were friends of Alex’s.  So if that nameless and shameless friend reads this blog…GOTCHA!!!!!!

Listening to Alex talk about the feeling of accomplishment one experiences upon reaching the top of Kilimanjaro has kind of inspired me to try it.  Perhaps my next trip will be a climbing tale, but a true one. I was also told to do it over a 7-day trip so my body will have time to adjust to the altitude.  Trying to do the climb in 3-4 days is hard on the body.

We reached Lake Manyara National Park around 10:30am.  The park is not that large.  We were able to spot lots of baboons; the park is practically overrun with them.  I think they will soon out number all the other animals 10:1.  We saw lots of elephants, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys (the ones with the bright blue balls and red peckers), zebras, impalas, cape buffalo, a bushbuck and Veta’s favorite – giraffes.  In fact we saw a heard of ten munching on treetops towards the end of our game drive. It was almost 5pm when we finally drove out of the park to head to Rhotia Valley Lodge, the camp where we are staying for the next three nights.

What’s nice about the camp is that the proceeds support the orphanage and school for some of the local children.  The camp is very simple and rustic with permanent tents built on platforms for guests to stay.  On site, there is a large vegetable garden (which the local elephants often visit in the evenings to graze for midnight treats) that is used to feed the lodge guests and the children.  They also have an onsite bakery where the staff bakes fresh bread for the lodge and children and to sell in the local market.  They have set up a biofuel system that uses the cow manure to fuel the generator and are also establishing a system to use human waste as well.  They also have solar power as well. It’s a really cool place founded and run by a married couple, two retired Dutch doctors.  We met them.  Their names are Marise & Joris and they seem like very warm-hearted people with healthy senses of adventure.  At night guests must be accompanied by the staff to walk to or from their tents because of the late night elephant raids on the vegetable garden.

I am excited because our last day here will be spent with the kids in the orphanage.  I brought a lot of school supplies, books, and games for them.  I hope to participate in some games and perhaps help with preparing some of their meals or baked goods.

Tomorrow, we head out at 7am to go to Ngorongo Crater.  It’s about a 2-hr drive down a steep decline from the rim to get into the crater below.  I have read so much about the animals in the crater that I cannot wait to go so I better cut this short and get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day and I need my peepers sharp to catch a glimpse of the Big Five…I am hoping to see a kill…wish me luck.