Elephants Fart (And Other Things I Learned on Safari)

Kili was the impetus behind this trip, but seeing as it takes 20-24hrs to get here, I might as well stay as long as my money and sanity allow. My apres climb activities inclueded a safari (2 nights each at Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti) and Zanzibar (3 nights).

Here's what I discovered on safari:

Ngorongoro is convenient but don't expect solitude. Ngorongoro is more accurately a caldera, and specifically the largest unbroken one in the world. It's about 9 miles wide, 10 miles long and about 600ft deep. I don't know for sure, but I think that's almost as big around as the Capital Beltway. (Edit: it's not. But for my DC friends, imagine the area bounded by the Beltway, 395 and 66 was a giant hole in the ground. For my NC friends, it's about as big around as the Beltline.)

It has a nice concentration of wildlife - including the seldom seen black rhino - but it's proximity to Arusha also makes it popular.

So popular that the Tanzanian government has been jacking up the access fees. My guide Dennis told me that last year it was $50/vehicle/day. This year it's $200, mostly to control the crowds. Even then, I counted maybe 20 vehicles one day. This is a lot, esp. when they're all in one place looking at the same thing... like a black rhino.

Seronera is much the same. It's a bit further from Arusha, but probably the most accessible part of the Serengeti. It also has a lot of wildlife thanks to two rivers in the area (they look more like creeks, but nevermind). This also means crowds whenever someone finds something interesting, like a leopard in a tree or lion cubs. But there's no annoying crater rim fencing you in, so it's not hard to completely escape the madness.

Elephants are the most fun to watch. I never could get close to them in Ngorongoro, but they're almost unavoidable in Seronera. Elephants are great because a) there are usually several of them together, b) they're slow-moving, and c) they're usually doing something. I've seen them nap, eat, bathe, play in the mud and even get into a tussle, all within 100ft of the Land Cruiser.

Leopards are rare... and really damn lazy. There's nothing more boring than a well-fed cat. A housecat will spend up to 18hrs a day sleeping if it's getting enough to eat, and I think leopards are the same way. I only saw one in the Seronera, and that lazy bastard was sleeping in a tree.

Elephants fart... very loudly. This isn't much of a surprise, considering their bulk and their flatulence-inducing diet of grass. Mercifully, I never found out what they smell like.

The birds are very colorful.  I was surprised to see so many colorful bird species in such a drab environment. Bright green, iridescent blue, red, yellow.

Elephants are mostly right-tusked. Elephants, like people, favor one appendage over another. Pachyderms prefer to use one tusk for digging and scraping, and this one is the shorter one due to wear. For most pachyderms, this is the right tusk.

Thompson's Gazelles are everywhere in Seronera. So much so that you get sick of seeing "Tommies." If you've gone more than 5 minutes without seeing one, you're asleep.

Lionesses do most of the hunting, but it's not some gender inequaity thing. Female lions do the hunting because they are not encumbered with a mane and other showy markings. This makes it a lot easier for them to sneak up on prey. Male lions can and do hunt, but aren't nearly as successful.