Eurafrika Pt. 14 - "Endless Plains"

I rested in the back of the jeep as we drove to Serengeti, watching the dry Tanzanian scrub land go by. Cattle were herded down the side of the road in search of what little grass remained in the overgrazed, dry terrain. A van with a Chelsea logo on its windshield passed us; I was happy knowing I supported 'Africa's team'.

We drove into a small town. I mentioned earlier that Tanzania was the front lines of the Cola Wars, but there's more to it than that. The shops were all of identical construction and funny names like 'Half London Bar'. They were plastered with signs for Coke; Pepsi; Portman (tobacco); Zain and Vodacom (cell providers). I guess people everywhere love coke, cigarettes and cellphones: the things that make them relax and feel like they are not alone in this world.

Before we knew it, the jungle had returned and we had arrived at the gates of Ngorongoro: a gigantic volcanic crater that is now a wildlife sanctuary. Our jeep climbed the slopes on narrow red dirt roads, overlooking steep gorges . Our guide Simon was a great driver, and he had to be; the road was barely wide enough for two vehicles and trucks came around the bend at speed. As I looked down into the depths below, my dread of heights reemerged. I told myself that if anything happened I would be dead pretty quick and that I did pretty well in life. This seemed to help.

We had reached the crater rim and stopped to take a look. It was like a secret kingdom, protected and hidden from the outside world with giant walls. We didn't linger; we'd be getting a better look after visiting the plains of Serengeti.

We drove along the crater rim; I was shivering a little as it was noticeably cooler. We went through a pass and all of a sudden the lush green jungle and given way to grassy steppe lands. The road looped around a great vale surrounded by mountains on three sides. There were Maasai herders herding sheep not far from their village that lay in the valley below, like their ancestors had been doing centuries ago; it was like looking back in time.

As we left the valley, pasture lands became dry, rocky foothills, like something you would see in Arizona except with acacias instead of cacti. We passed over dry creek beds. The road was bumpy and the sky was filled with dust in this miserable land.

And then the road leveled out and we had reached the Serengeti, the endless plains of Maasai legend. When I first heard of this place, I dreamed of it like being in an ocean of savannah, with only grassy plains as far as the eye can see. And it was an ocean, but only of dry barren plains. The only thing living here was four of us traveling inside the jeep. We stopped so that me and my dad could relieve ourselves. It felt charitable, as we were providing moisture to an area that hadn't seen any in months. It was almost unimaginable that a few months later that these would lush savannas teeming with life.

We had reached the gates of the park itself and the landscape began to improve. There was more and more grass and in the distance a hill rose out of the land as we approached it. According to the map this was Naabi Hill, where the visitors center is and where the park really begins.


Simon got some interesting news on his radio and we broke off the main road. We drove by pride rocks, like the ones in the Lion King, the only landmarks sticking out of the infinite plain of grass. There were jeeps parked ahead and we knew this to be a sign that there was something interesting to see. It was a cheetah, its face covered with the blood of the gazelle it was eating. The agile beast would take a few bites of its meal, focusing on the vitamin rich legs, and then pause to make sure there weren't any lions nearby. Impalas could be seen vigilantly watching in the distance.

We drove further along the dirt path and sure enough there was a pride of lions not too far away. But they posed no threat to the cheetah, they were just sleeping.

We rejoined the main road; we had to get to the lodge as the sun was going down. We weren't the only ones, we passed several trucks, the only lifeline between our accommodations and the outside world. Giraffes could be seen marching along the horizon. Giant hills rose out of the ground and as the sun set you could see little lights on them. This was where our lodge was.

Simon skillfully drove on the road up the hill. We passed these kite-like objects that were hung from trees. Each one had a big blue vertical stripe down the middle. We wondered what these things were.

We arrived at the lodge in darkness. It had been a long day of travel. We were escorted first to our rooms, then to dinner and then back to our rooms: a necessary precaution considering we were in thick of the wilderness at night. Dinner was amazing again. I was excited for what I thought would be the greatest show on earth.