We drive out of Karatu to reach the gates to Ngororongoro Conservation Area that is home to the spectacular crater and the endless plains of the Serengeti – a fitting name borrowed from the Maa word, Siringit.
Dawn is breaking and the idea is to catch sunrise in the crater. At the gate, the baboons stir from the night trees, stretch and yawn to reveal massive jaws.
The gate keepers to the heavenly abode scrutinise our tickets, especially the Kenyan IDs. My dad’s Kenyan ID states place of birth as India. For the Tanzania National Park’s, Kenya’s Kenya Wildlife Service, he must provide his passport to prove he is Kenyan or he will not be allowed out of the NCA. Bizarre.
To cut a long story short, we do miss sunrise over the rim – but the view is surreal, for no one seeing this for the first time would believe there’s a crater below the opaque white-mist blanket.
And as the ethereal orb in fiery hues of gold rises to chase away the mist, it’s jaw-dropping to watch the ancient crater reveal itself.
With caution, the driver steers the safari cruiser down the crater’s side to reach the bottom where there’s already excitement for the lions are in the vicinity, close to the lake in the crater.
In that first light, the burnished grass and the tawny cats meld but as the eyes adjust to the different shades of the savannah grassland, three handsome cubs with the confidence of youth strut to the shoreline.
They are too relaxed to hunt, their bellies bulging. The gazelles and all ignore them, knowing the cats are not in hunting mode. As we watch, the trio cross the road to reach the shade of the acacias before the sun turns on its heat and do what cats do best – sleep in the heat of the day.
By the crusted lakeshore, a lone hippo lies. The saltwater lake named Magadi, from the Swahili word for salt. The water laps around its massive size but it stays immobile. I wonder if it is too tired to waddle to the fresh water springs or it’s now too old and will nature take its course? The massive river horse is in the wrong place and its end looks close.
Meanwhile the gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes make the crater look like the Garden of Eden – tranquil with all the earthly creatures in it – except for the Maasai giraffe who stay on the rim for their long limbs are too fragile for the steep descent.
It is a veritable October-fest in the crater. The safari drivers have let all know there’s a leopard in the forest, seen by the early birds. But it proves elusive and we give up the wait only to be enchanted by a pair of mini-leopards frolicking in the sun-bleached golden grass that has not seen rain in months.
The two spotted servals are in a playful mood, seemingly on a hunt and if they are, we don’t see it as they soon meld into the tall grass. They are fantastic hunters with their keen sense of hearing and long legs to leap for birds in the air, catch rodents emerging from their underground burrows, frogs, fish and insects.
In this Garden of Eden, we wander past the elephants, herds of buffalo and antelopes to reach the Ngoitokitok Springs for a picnic lunch. It is a busy place, the Ngoitokitok Springs creating the bluest of a large hippo pool.
A small flock of flamingos mingle with the Yellow-billed storks. But the kites above are the hunters to watch out, swooping down on the unsuspecting human to snatch a morsel from the hand. The maître-de is an enormous Marabou stork amongst the lunch time revellers. It's a comical picnic.
The black rhino and leopard don’t show despite being seen a few minutes ago. As we begin to ascend the crater’s wall, Ali our driver exclaims, “Look, a Golden wolf!”
It’s my first sighting of this rare canid, appropriately called the African Golden Wolf.
Fact File: We stayed at the Lilac Hideaway, a small boutique but affordable hotel, 24 kilometres from the crater.
