BRUSCA

No Ordinary Journey (Part 3 - Crater Highlands Trek)

Posted by Brusca under Tanzania

Continued on from No Ordinary Journey Part 2

We finished our Safari with a lunch at the Ngorongoro park gate where Mosses filled out some paperwork before we headed off to Nainoknoka, which is where I would start my hike with Justin. I found I just couldn’t get into eating the safari lunches, perhaps my appetite was still playing up. Either way I couldn’t finish my lunch. Turns out this unfinished lunch would haunt Kellie at the next stop, as a full grown male Baboon decided to join her in the vehicle to get a hold of this unfinished bevy of food. I wasn’t there to see it but it sounded like it gave Kellie quite the shock. They said it was a good idea to look your vehicles with Baboons around and now I can understand why.

Kellie and Mosses after our day in the Ngorongoro Crater

On the way to Nainokanoka I started to feel the excitement building for the next adventure, a 50km trek through the Crater Highlands, covering Olmoti, Empakia and Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano. About 6 weeks prior to the trip I marked June 17 to be the toughest day of my trip with a 25km hike. With my health/appetite not quite there Mosses our safari guide had his doubts about me completing the trek. This only served to fuel my determination, I knew it would be tough but now I had someone to prove wrong.

We arrived at Nainokanoka and Mosses was quick to communicate with the group of Maasai and our ranger awaiting our arrival. Mosses and Kellie had to make it back to the Ngorongoro gate before a 24hr cutoff time. I was left with Peter, a Maasai guide and Loada our ranger for the trek. The setup had 3 tents, 2 singles for myself and Justin and one for the cook and guide I assumed. I spoke with Peter briefly and luckily he was quite competent in english and Loada had a smattering of english as well. They both allowed me 15 minutes to get settled into my one man tent before we headed for a 3km hike up Olmoti Crater.

On the way up Olmoti Peter and Loada attempted to teach me a few things about the local Flora and Fauna, the one thing that stood out the most was the stinging nettles they pointed out and not to touch those, it wouldn’t be long before I discovered why they are called stinging nettles.

Olmoti Crater

We reached the top of Olmoti and what an amazing view. A world on it’s own survives in this crater. Peter tells me for the predators in this crater it is always best to hunt at night as there is not alot of cover during the day. Simply amazing. Peter showed me the view to the east and the village he was born and raised and offered me the opportunity to go take a look when we head down.

We were back down in no time and Peter took me to his village for a very cultural experience. The Maasai put on a show of ceremonies they partake in and I was blown away. Soon after Peter took me through a hut to explain how they live and how they cook their food.

Back at camp after visiting the Maasai cultural boma and our cook for the trek Hamisi arrives after a long journey and 2 flat tyres and gets straight to work on cooking dinner. Justin soon arrives with our guide Shibani and we look over the map of our trek for the next few days and had our first meal from Hamisi. My appetite was still not there but I managed a little bit.

At Nainokanoka the facilities were minimumal, a toilet (hole in the ground at best) was all that was available. The next two camps we were told had no facilities, so it dawned on me even more so at that point how much of an adventure we were about to embark on. Later that evening I had to use the “facilities” and found some nice leaves to wipe my hands on afterwards only to quickly and painfully discover that the leaves were stinging nettles. OUCH! That stung for a good hour.

Day 1 - 25km

We woke the next morning to a cold crisp and cloud covered day and managed to down some light breakfast before heading off for the first day of hiking. A 25km trek that took us up to Empakaai Crater. I applied my blister guards and Justin, Shibani, Loada and myself headed out. The cook Hamisi and two Maasai assistants would follow soon after with the donkeys carrying our gear.

The first section of our hike was through flat grasslands, which then lead to a road we followed for about 4km. Soon we were heading into a very strong headwind and a steady incline which seemed to last forever. My backpack weighed about 7kg with my camera gear and snacks and with every uphill step against the headwind it just seemed to get heavier and heavier. We soon reached the 17km mark and were about to take a rest before getting into some steep climbing when I felt the awful feeling of one of my quad muscles twinge followed by a sharp pain running down the side of my left leg. I couldn’t put any weight on it and just plonked myself on the ground. As we took a break Loada took a look at my leg and Justin had some magic deep heat to rub on my muscles. It seemed to do the trick but as we got up to continue on Loada grabbed at my backpack and volunteered to carry it. It wasn’t really a fair trade as all he was carrying was a sleeping bag that was almost lighter than air. I had also noticed the inevitable sting of a blister forming on my left heal. I had placed the blister guard in slightly the wrong place.

Walking across the grasslands

We moved on from the 17km mark and headed up a steep section. The rub down of deep heat on my leg had done the trick and soon we sat down for some lunch and our cook Hamisi passed us with the donkeys carrying our gear.

We reached the end of the steeps and that was a huge relief as that meant that hardest part was over for the day. We were only 4km from the next camp and it was mostly small hills from there. Essentially we were at the top of Empakaai crater but did not have the view yet. Soon the view came in and it was truly amazing.

The view from the top of Empakaai Crater

After admiring the amazing view of Empakaai crater we moved on to the camp grounds and what a relief. I knew my blister had grown and my sore quad had had enough. I removed my boots and drained my blister and made sure I took care of it so as not to be a problem for the rest of the trek. Hamisi cooked an amazing dinner, which consisted of an awesome cucumber soup and spaghetti bolognese.

Day 2 - 15km

As I opened my eyes and woke on the second day of our hike I felt my muscles crying out in soreness. I rubbed my legs down with deep heat and prepared for the next lot of hiking.

After our toast and coffee we made our way back around the edge of Empakaai crater with Loada in the lead. We arrived at an opening in the thick forest, which led us down a narrow path heading into the crater. It was a long decent and I was quite worried about the ascent back and my sore quad. The trek down into the crater was simply breathtaking, with black monkeys swinging through the trees as we arrived at the bottom. The forest opened out into a clearing at the bottom with a gorgeous lake populated by sparse groups of flamingo. I sat down with Justin and we ruffled for our cameras. The view of the lake was amazing and we found a fresh flamingo kill from the night before with fresh hyena tracks.

Empakaai Crater and Lake Empakaai

Justin at Lake Empakaai

We didn’t spend long at the lake as it was a steep climb out and then a 12km hike across to the Acacia camp. WE made our way up and eventually reached the top of the crater once again. We met Shibani our guide for the rest of the days hike and wished Loada farewell as he had to head back to Nainokanoka.

Justin, Shibani and myself headed up the road along the rim of the crater. The road was dusty and Shibani had warned us to expect it to get worse, and it sure did. As we headed down the backside of the crater the dust was rampant, and at one point I was almost up to my knees. We met some Maasai kids collecting firewood and they followed us for 2km.

Being followed by some Maasai kids carrying firewood on our way to Acacia camp

We approached the Nairobi village and the dust started to settle a bit. Shibani walked into the village to pay the park fees and Justin and I waited just outside the village for him to return. A bunch of Maasai gathered around us and laid out their merchandise for us to buy but our only goal at that time was to reach Acacia. Shibani returned and we headed off, with Maasai kids in tow. By the time we reached our camp the kids had been following us for 3km. We settled in and the kids decided to set up stalls to hang their jewels so we could view and purchase. We rewarded their persistence with a few sales.

The Maasai kids followed us for 3km and we rewarded their persistence

Day 3 - 12km

The thought of the last day of hiking was exciting. It had been an amazing trek and the scenery and people were amazing. But I had the end in mind. Each day had had it’s challenge and I wondered what the days challenge would be.

We moved off from camp for our last day of hiking and headed towards Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and onto Lake Natron. The scene had changed once again and we walked through a dry river bed surrounded by Acacias.

Soon we reached an old abandoned village used prior to Ol Doinyo Lengai erupting 2 years earlier. We moved on and headed up over the ranges that run past the western face of Ol Doinyo Lengai. The landscape reminded me of the moon. Covered in a grey dust/ash like substance, and to walk in was not pleasant as it was like walking in sand for 12km. Two years prior it was green and lush, but now everything is dead.

As we moved across the ranges we came across a Maasai family migrating back to Nairobi where the prospects of food and farming would be much better.

The landscape was simply amazing

Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano

We could see Lake Natron in the distance and the point where we were to be picked up, so the end was near.

As we approached our pickup point I felt a large sense of relief and we were greeted enthusiastically by Mosses (the safari guide from last week) which was fantastic to see as he had doubted that I would make the distance. I was happy to see him to be able to prove him wrong but also because he is such an amazing character.

Just prior to arriving at the pickup point

Mosses drove us to the Lake Natron campsite where they had facilities like flushing toilets and showers. Justin and I cleaned up for the first time in 3 days, and we were a right mess might I add. Afterwards we headed back out with Mosses and a Maasai guide for a short trek to a local waterfall. This is the most natural and beautiful waterfall I have ever seen and we lapped up the fresh cool water our bodies had been craving for 3 days.

Our due reward for completing the hike

When we headed back to the camp we knew the campsite had a bar, which we did not hesitate in heading to quench our thirst. Beer never tasted so good after that trek. We bought a round of drinks for everybody back at the camp in celebration for completing the trek and soon settled in and camped for the last night before heading off to Lake Manyara in the morning.

Enjoying the taste of a Kilimanjaro beer after our trek

TO BE CONTINUED - Lake Manyara, E’Unoto and Zanzibar

No Ordinary Journey (Part 2 - St Jude & Serengeti)

Posted by Brusca under Tanzania

“Jambo, Jina langu ni Bruce”. Atleast that was my feeble attempt to introduce myself to the moderately dressed wowan I was squashed next to on the Dala Dala. She looked at me, somewhat startled and quickly a wry smile came over her followed by some Swahili I failed to comprehend, but to my embarrassment, the majority on board the Dala Dala understood and subsequently loud laughter ensued. All I could muster was a smile and think to myself how “screwed” I was as it was a 40 minute ride back to Moshi.
To my surprise she attempted to make more conversation with me and even introduced me to a gentleman behind us I can only assume was her husband. It was a broken conversation but it seemed to do the job to calm my nerves.
Half way home the money collector asked me for my fair, I handed over 1000 shillings, the lady tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at the collector and it was easy to see she wanted me to pay her fair, I did so without hesitation, not from fear but for respect to her for giving me the time. She subsequently showed respect when exiting the bus, by bowing her head gently into mine.
It wasn’t long before we reached Moshi and I recognised where I was. I made a beeline past the bus station and around the bank where the guard stood with his machine gun, I wasn’t about to make any withdrawals, I needed the toilet fast as my bowel situation had worsened. Fortunately I was able to control my bowels for the day but could not any longer. I was ever so thankful for my gastro kit I had so cleverly (nurse persuaded me to buy) purchased prior to leaving. I took the three pills required got changed and headed for the Bristol Cottages office where I was able to check mail and update facebook. It was about 30 minutes later my day ended, between the pills and my bowel movements I had no energy left and found an animal channel to watch, which ironically was showing the Crocodile Hunter (Swimming with Alligators). I struggled to get through the night and hoped that this condition would pass before the next day.

I woke the next morning feeling like a new person, things seemed to be working as they should, despite a lack of appetite I felt good. I packed early and made my way to reception to check out. I was all hopeful of catching the bus and making it to St Jude in Arusha in time for their school parade but was advised by reception it was safer to catch the later bus, I made the decision, although expensive, to take the taxi to Arusha as St Jude was not something I wanted to rush through.

It took a good couple of hours before I was checked in at the Outpost in Arusha and found myself at the School of St Jude.

Students at the School of St Jude

I jumped out of the taxi and was greeted warmly by a man named Felix. I had communicated with Felix about my visit prior to leaving. He was very welcoming and informed me the school parade had been moved to later that afternoon, so unfortunately I missed this. He also told me we were limited to entering the classrooms as some students were in exams. So we sat down and Felix explained the history of the School and Gemma, it was great to be sitting there getting the history of it all. We soon moved on and Felix gave me a tour around the School.

Students at the School of St Jude

Felix took me through both campuses and we met a lot of workers and teachers along the way. I had a bag of goodies I brought over Felix was carrying while I took photos. I felt a bit bad as they were heavy so I asked when was a good time to hand those over. We decided the school materials (pens and books) would best be handed over at the beginning of the school term, but I could hand over the soccer ball and the Wildlife Warrior goodies after lunch.

So to my surprise I got to have a sit down lunch with all the students, approximately 500+, this was awesome and there was such curiosity on their faces. We had a pretty staple lunch of beans and rice. Soon afterwards it was time for a 15 minute break and I broke out the goodies of the soccer ball and Wildlife Warrior materials. The kids lapped it up and it was such a joy to see.

Handing out the Wildlife Warrior goodies

Students from St Judes with some school materials I delivered.

Soon after I moved on from St Judes. It was a privilege and Felix was and awesome host.

I got the taxi back to the Outpost and met with Peter who I had chatted to about guiding me around Arusha. I had learnt by now that having a guide around these places was imperative. We headed out on foot as soon as I arrived back from St Jude. Peter showed me through Arusha, the markets were amazing, something you never see here in Australia. We collected a few items I needed for the upcoming Safari. We spent about 3 hours on foot around Arusha and I was exhausted after that day as I was not feeling 100%. All I needed now was to crash for an hour before Kellie arrived for our Safari.

Around 5pm I received a text from Kellie telling me she was not far away. Kellie organised a dinner at a restaurant named Stiggies. Stiggies is Australian owned and he was quite the character having lived in Arusha for over 30 years. To my surprise I was actually able to stomach some food.

The next day it was up early to meet our guide for the Safari. His name was Mosses and he was a pretty cool and charming character and had been doing the safari thing for some time.

We headed off and made our way towards the Ngorongoro Crater and the Rift Valley. It was about a 4-5 hour drive to get to the Serengeti, with a short stop on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater. What a site.

Ngorngoro Crater Panorama

Pretty soon we were heading down the side of the crater descending into the Serngeti. It was a long and very rough road.

Entering the Serengeti

I was amazed at how quickly the animals just started appearing. Elephants, Gazelles, Zebras, Secretary birds… the horizon was soon covered with animals.

Elephant in the Serengeti

Wasn’t long before we came across 2 males and a female lion

Lion in the Serengeti

Lioness in the Serengeti

We spent the afternoon scouting around with Mosses and found an amazing site of a Leopard in a tree with a fresh kill.

Leopard with a fresh kill

It was getting late and after stopping to nab some sunset shots we headed to our camp. Unfortunately Mosses had never been to this camp and got a little bit lost in the Serengeti after dark, interesting times. We arrived at our wilderness camp at around 7:30pm and I was completely shot, a combination of the long day in the hot car, my tummy bug was not boding well so I had to lay down and skip dinner.

I have to mention that the camp was only about 10 minutes down the road from where we were viewing the animals, no fences, nothing between us and the animals accept a zip fly. The next day we woke to a Giraffe not far from our tent, that is something to truly remember. I felt good but still not good enough to eat a great deal for breaky. We moved on back into the Serengeti for some more game viewing.

Day 2 in the Serengeti was mostly about seeing Elephants and Giraffe, we did see 2 more leopards but nothing like the first day.

Giraffe in the Serengeti

Once again we headed back to camp and I was feeling good enough to try some dinner, although it wasn’t much it was an improvement. I felt bad as the meals were high quality meals. The next day we packed our bags as we were going to be camping at the Ngorongoro Wilderness camp that evening. We headed out for our third day in the Serengeti. I had been busting Mosses about seeing a Cheetah so that was our goal, and Mosses delivered.

Cheetah in the Serengeti

I love Cheetahs and this was a special site to see in the wild. We moved on and left the Serengeti heading for the Ngoronforo Wilderness Camp. I don’t know how they did it but it was even better than the Serngeti camp, located on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater.

Our camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater

I managed to down a bit more food than the previous night and we caught up with two people from the US doing pretty much the same safari.

The next day we woke early for a half day in the Ngorongoro crater. It was only 200 mteres before we came across a heard of about 40 Elephants. We kept descending and soon came across two wildebeest fighting for territory. I have some amazing footage to share of this, so stay tuned for that. Our last great action was a male and female lion and two Rhinos.

Lion in Ngorongoro Crater

We then headed back up the crater so that Kellie and Mosses could drop me off at Nainokanoka, where I would meet Justin to camp before our big 50km hike through the crater highlands. It was sad to say goodbye to Kellie and Mosses as I had enjoyed the safari and their company a great deal.

TO BE CONTINUED ON THE CRATER HIGHLANDS TREK