130916 : We woke up to a bright and sunny morning. Unfortunately, I am not too sure of the name of this place. Shame on me. This place is spacious, and has a very nice swimming pool with clean toilets but there were a lot of locals using the pool the day before. I did not see any tourists using the facilities. Breakfast (toasted bread, pancake, fried egg and papaya) starts at 8am.
We waited at the lodge for an hour because we were waiting for visitors from Arusha. It was getting late. We were supposed to leave by 8.30am, but ended up leaving by 9.15am! This is ridiculous. The cook brought our packed lunch for us in the Jeep. Today, we are headed for Ngorongoro Crater.
As the National Parks do not allow payment by cash, the guide/driver needed to stop at a bank to top up his card. He could not do it the day before because it was a public holiday. So, we waited in the Jeep for an hour. I was annoyed as I glanced at my watch. While waiting, the kids approached our Jeep to sell some of their necklaces. One of the passengers in our Jeep bought one of the necklaces.
At 10.50am, we reached the gate of Ngorongoro Crater.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is a protected area and a World Heritage Site located 180 km (110 mi) west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The area is named after Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera within the area. Ngorongoro was named by the Maasai as El-Nkoronkoro meaning Gift of Life. This was because they were migrating from Central Africa for a permanent settlement. That is why the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is mostly occupied by the Maasai.
The main feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority is the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera. The crater, which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 610 metres (2,000 feet) deep and its floor covers 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from 4,500 to 5,800 metres (14,800 to 19,000 feet) high. The elevation of the crater floor is 1,800 metres (5,900 feet) above sea level. The Crater was voted by Seven Natural Wonders as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa in Arusha, Tanzania in February 2013. Source from Wikipedia.
There was a viewpoint to see the panaromic view of the Crater before we drive inside the Crater.
There were a number of Maasai villages to be seen as we drove further inside.
The last point of registration. We started our safari drive at 12.15pm. As expected, the animals are less active. I did not have high expectations to see many animals.
Enjoy the photos of the wildlife.
My sister caught sight of a sand-tornado.
This is the National Bird of Tanzania - the Grey Crowned Crane. Gorgeous, isn't it.
The grey crowned crane is about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and weighs 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs) and a wingspan of 2 m (6.5 ft). Its body plumage is mainly grey. The wings are also predominantly white, but contain feathers with a range of colours. The head has a crown of stiff golden feathers. The sides of the face are white, and there is a bright red inflatable throat pouch. The bill is relatively short and grey, and the legs are black. They have long legs for wading through the grasses. The feet are large, yet slender, adapted for balance rather than defence or grasping.
The grey crowned crane has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red gular sac. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. Both sexes dance, and immature birds join the adults. Dancing is an integral part of courtship, but also may be done at any time of the year. Source from Wikipedia.
We had our lunch in the Jeep by the Hippopotamus Pond. It stinks a bit. We saw them turning around to keep themselves cool in the water. It was very hot.
This is Ibrahim, our driver / guide from Jay Adventure. Our agent outsourced to him. I mentioned in the prior post on our first day in Tarangire on how unsafe he made me feel. Today, I will share another bad experience we have with him.
After lunch, Ibrahim got a call from the other rangers that a lioness was sleeping next to a Jeep. It was surprising to see how calm the lioness is sleeping. The animals are very used to the presence of humans. I did not get to see how the Jeep managed to drive away. One of the lioness' paw was beside the tyre. Coincidentally, the lioness is laying next to the Jeep named Simba, and that means lion in Swahili.
We saw a lion and lioness somewhere very far where no vehicles are allowed to drive in. The Jeeps can only drive on the allocated driving route. My sister zoomed through her camera and I snapped a picture from her camera. Haha. As you can see, afternoon is a good time for a nap. The warm temperature. The cooling breeze.
Our game drive was shortened to 3 1/4 hours, as we were on our way back by 3.30pm because I told the driver / guide that I have to leave for the airport by 10pm. Fortunately, we reached the hotel by 9pm, giving me one hour to pack my stuff to leave for the airport. It was a bad traffic from Arusha to Moshi, taking us close to 5 hours!
Before exiting the Crater, all the Jeeps were queuing up behind an elephant who was taking a stroll on the driving route. Haha!
Let me relate the tipping experience we had with Ibrahim. We are advised to tip him at the end of our safari drive.
Ibrahim was forcing the clients to tip him more than the usual. He dropped the Spanish clients (there were 2 of them) and I was there to witness the conversation. The Spanish client gave TZS20,000 for the 2 of them as they were advised by their agent that it was USD8. Ibrahim commented that this is too little and it should be USD10 per day and should be getting USD20. As the Spanish clients were not fluent in English and did not want to cause a commotion, they proceeded to give an extra TZS10,000. Then, our turn came. I gave him USD12 as advised by Jackson, our agent representative from Trekking Hero (USD15 per day x 2 days / 5 people in the Jeep x 2 of us = USD12). In actual fact, on the first day, there were 6 people in the Jeep. On the 2nd day, there were 7. Therefore, we were actually giving him more. When Ibrahim saw the amount, he asked "Only this?". I said this is as advised by Jackson and explained to him the calculation. Ibrahim went on to comment that Jackson meant as USD15 per person. Now, his story differs from the one given to the Spanish clients. I refused to believe his explanation and I told him to call Jackson if he did not believe me. I am unsure if he called Jackson because I have left to collect my luggage as I was running out of time to go to the airport. It was really unbelievable that he would try to extort more money from the clients and trying to convince us that the agent meant something else in the tip. I was frightened inside me because I was in a foreign country, not understanding the local language and afraid he may convey any message to anyone (as he did not get the monies he wanted) and was thankful to leave that night to the airport, whereas my sister was leaving the next morning.
While I feel that it was a fee well-paid for my trek to Kilimanjaro, I felt that the fee of USD549 I paid for the 2-day safari was unreasonable due to the events that happened - the timing delay resulting in a short time spent in the safari (less than 5 hours for both days - you can read on Day 1) and also being in the safari from afternoon onwards resulting in not much animal sighting; and the tip extortion.
My trip to Tanzania has been very memorable in the mountains and the safari. I suppose one is bound to experience some unfortunate events in their trip and I had mine during our safari drive with Ibrahim. Nevertheless, this will be added to my lessons learnt from my trips and teach me to be more cautious when dealing with anyone.
My trip to Tanzania has been very memorable in the mountains and the safari. I suppose one is bound to experience some unfortunate events in their trip and I had mine during our safari drive with Ibrahim. Nevertheless, this will be added to my lessons learnt from my trips and teach me to be more cautious when dealing with anyone.
The main reason I went to Tanzania was because of Mount Kilimanjaro. If you wondered why did I not go to Zanzibar, one of the famous must-go places of Tanzania, it was because I did not share much keenness in it and also my sister is not a beach person. Well, me neither unless I take up the diving activities but my sister is not a diver. I had 2 days to spare and went for the safari drive. It would have been nice to have more days to spare to experience Serengeti (the famous National Park in Tanzania which is also a Unesco), but after my experience with Ibrahim, I did not feel like I missed much. You would have comment - Then, spend a bit more for the safari guide. Ah, the common misled thought that high price = better services. I beg to differ. It depends on luck, sometimes.
Update as at 12 December 2016: In Kilimanjaro trek, David refunded us the amount of tip we paid for the extra 2 porters (we had 8 instead of the arranged 6) as he was equally puzzled how we had 8. I was very surprised on his kind gesture but I know for sure, this is one honest agent.
For the safari drive, David refunded us a portion of the amount we paid. I wrote to him a detailed feedback on how the safari drive was as I have illustrated in this post and my previous post. He suggested to refund me and I was so surprised he did that because I did not think any agents would be bothered. He asked the amount to be refunded and I did my own research on the Web. I found a post dated 2010 in Lonely Planet on the price and multiplied by the inflation rate. He agreed to the amount. He also thanked me for my feedback and will take it into account. I hope you will have a more improved safari drive experience with Trekking Hero.
Despite the distance, he took the extra step to transfer the monies back to me after reading on my detailed feedback. I am pretty sure there is no agents out there who will be bothered to wire transfer the monies to you to compensate you. So readers, you can take Trekking Hero as one of the reliable and honest agents in Tanzania.
Update as at 12 December 2016: In Kilimanjaro trek, David refunded us the amount of tip we paid for the extra 2 porters (we had 8 instead of the arranged 6) as he was equally puzzled how we had 8. I was very surprised on his kind gesture but I know for sure, this is one honest agent.
For the safari drive, David refunded us a portion of the amount we paid. I wrote to him a detailed feedback on how the safari drive was as I have illustrated in this post and my previous post. He suggested to refund me and I was so surprised he did that because I did not think any agents would be bothered. He asked the amount to be refunded and I did my own research on the Web. I found a post dated 2010 in Lonely Planet on the price and multiplied by the inflation rate. He agreed to the amount. He also thanked me for my feedback and will take it into account. I hope you will have a more improved safari drive experience with Trekking Hero.
Despite the distance, he took the extra step to transfer the monies back to me after reading on my detailed feedback. I am pretty sure there is no agents out there who will be bothered to wire transfer the monies to you to compensate you. So readers, you can take Trekking Hero as one of the reliable and honest agents in Tanzania.
Here is a summary of my days in Tanzania.
7 day Kilimanjaro Trek
Day 4: Baranco Camp to Karanga Camp
Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
Day 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
2-day Safari Drive
Day 1: Tarangire National Park
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater (this post)
Total Amount Spent (the most important question for every person)
Kilimanjaro Trek = USD1,649 for the 7-day package
Safari Drive = USD549 for 2 days
Tips (for Kilimanjaro where we tipped slightly more than the advised amount by USD105 because we felt that the team deserve it as they took care of us so well) = USD610/2 = USD305 per person
Tips (for Safari) = USD22/2 = USD11 per person
Food in Keys Hotel, Moshi = USD39/2 = USD19.50 per person
Total = USD2,533.50 (USD1 = RM4 at time of purchase) = RM10,134 (I am not rich. I just save.)
Regardless, it has been a good experience in Tanzania. Never in my wildest dreams that I thought I will step foot in the African continent, let alone trek Mount Kilimanjaro. But I did. Thank you, Universe for this opportunity.
2-day Safari Drive
Day 1: Tarangire National Park
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater (this post)
Total Amount Spent (the most important question for every person)
Kilimanjaro Trek = USD1,649 for the 7-day package
Safari Drive = USD549 for 2 days
Tips (for Kilimanjaro where we tipped slightly more than the advised amount by USD105 because we felt that the team deserve it as they took care of us so well) = USD610/2 = USD305 per person
Tips (for Safari) = USD22/2 = USD11 per person
Food in Keys Hotel, Moshi = USD39/2 = USD19.50 per person
Total = USD2,533.50 (USD1 = RM4 at time of purchase) = RM10,134 (I am not rich. I just save.)
Regardless, it has been a good experience in Tanzania. Never in my wildest dreams that I thought I will step foot in the African continent, let alone trek Mount Kilimanjaro. But I did. Thank you, Universe for this opportunity.
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