The Splendour of Africa

The first time I saw the gulleyed, symmetrical, conical volcano my natural propensity of appreciating aesthetic value was blurred by the blasting midday sun coupled with the prevailing, dry, dust laddenned North East trade winds that forcefully struggled to raze down its only obstruction –Ol Doinyo Lengai mountain-in rolling plains of northern Tanzania.
Upon close inspection, the treasury enveloping the classical strato-volcano that raises majestically from the Gregory rift valley to a summit elevation of 2890m and boarders the Nguruman escarpment to the east was unveiled. The enthroned Lengai crater towered high, its unique natrocarbonatite lava glistening from the western horizon. The northern crater glowed with its bizarre hornitos of white and gray lava.
Standing on the shuttering glass-like stones, two hundred meters from Lengai’s foot, I had a panoramic view of the tropical verdant grassland straddling on either side of Eastern Africa’s most active volcano. Scattered within were umbrella shaped acacia trees beneath which grazed a pack of sub-Saharan fauna, ranging from the glossy brown skinned impalas to the artistically striped zebras. An incessant flow of a nearby Ewaso Ngiro river together with thunderous echoing roars of a lion pride completed the sense of wilderness.
‘’The Natron,’’Suraya, a travel guide said as he pointed to an orange depression in the northern direction. Lengai’s closeness to the Natron basin not only exemplifies the region’s relief resourcefulness but also explains its sparse population, with the scattered, contemporary styled scrub tented Maasai manyattas being the only visible specks of human settlement.
As the 13th day of August gradually aged, brilliant rays superimposed in the sky as the sun sank beneath the glorious slopes of the Lengai and like an army of ants soldiering through a distinct path, a group of Maasai elders, with ochre-dyed hair, red cloths and ball-edge clubs on their hands, plunged towards the summit. The conservatives were paying homage to the epitome of their religious belief, The Mountain of God, which other than peace assured them of rainfall and security of their livestock.
All in all, beyond the overwhelming isolation of the northern Arusha region of Tanzania, a magnificent magnet of aesthetic, geologic and religious value lies and whoever yearns to embrace its splendor will surely take the challenge and schedule a visit.