Day 23 - SAT - 6/10/12 - Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
It was a busy animal spotting morning with a beautiful backdrop of the sunrise. We saw storks, an eagle, 5 giraffe, 3 hyenas, guinea fowl, krestle and 3 hot air balloons drifting over the Serengeti ;). We also saw 2 jackles, starlings, lovebirds, coo-coo, geese, hippos, more hyena, another 5 giraffe, a marsh eagle and on our return to camp for brunch and to pull our tents down, we saw mongoose running about around our tents.
After brunch we headed in the direction of the Ngorongoro Crater and spotted more animals along the way - impala, 2 elephants, gazelle, ostriches, dic dic (a small antelope) and more elephants with a baby elephant. We were also told the rangers burn the long grass as smaller animals don't like going into it, so it gives them more area in the Serengeti to go.
We visited a Masai Village on the way to our next camp site. Kearnsy and I were greeted by a village representative and the village men and women seperately sang to welcome us. We were then escorted following their bright dress and plentiful beaded necks to the middle of the village where they again separately sang songs but where Alan also danced (jumped with a stick) with the males. All the villagers had shaved heads and they were all dressed traditionally in Masai blankets for the men and bright cloth that is pulled around to make skirts and dresses for the women and accessorised with beaded necklaces that were 20-30 rows deep that also bounced when they bobbed to their songs.
We were shown their houses and invited in. We sat on their beds made from timber branches and animal skins pulled tight to form mattresses. It was quite dark and wood fired smoky smelling with only a small (10cm x 10cm) window. The huts are made out of straw, bark, twigs and grass packed in cowdung and mud around a branch frame. Only the women make the houses and all the women of the village build a new one when a woman gets married. Masai Warriors tend to cattle and protect the village from animals. Multiple wives are allowed and are often kept in each village. Boys move through 4 stages to becoming warriors and men. We saw some who were in stage where they had white painted faces. They would stay in this stage for 13 months and are only allowed to visit the village once a day as they must fend for themselves.
That night we spent the night on the cusp of the Ngorongoro Crater. Later in the night some of our group were heading to the toilet before bed from the communal eating area and were told by the rangers on patrol that there were 5 lions hunting a zebra so it was best if they pee outside their tents if they thought they would need to go again during the night!
