Running with the herds

Our last morning sunrise, giraffe’s hiking by and luggage waiting to head to the Land Cruisers

On our way to running with the herds and all the other animals…we ran across male lions and elephants. The one lion decided “ugh” I don’t want to pose for these idiots so he trotted off to the bushes. The other one seemed to pose!

Riding with the herds across the plains and up to the most beautiful rock outcroppings was incredible. Taking photos as we jostled across wasn’t easy but soaking up the whole experience and ambiance was more important. Not another Land Cruisers in sight! When we wound down lunch on our rock, we did see one vehicle trail of dust in the far distance. FYI information – Japan helped build Tanzanian roads. Almost all the vehicles are Land Cruisers -makes sense and it wasn’t a bad long term forward thinking investment! We had to leave Matt from our Novato family behind at our Serengeti camp as he tested positive for Covid-19 – just like our trip to Ecuador – no one else in his family came down with it. What is it with Covid?

The vastness of this area of Tanzania is incredible. You glance around and see no development, no vehicles, maybe a bomba with cows and the Maasai now and then and you just want to cry at the beauty. Why do people want to come here? When you are here it is obvious! Larkin continues to soak in the beauty and enjoy all the geology!

On our way to Olduvai gorge we passed the shifting sands which are mounds of black volcanic ash that move due to winds. These sands are crescent-shaped with the sharp arms pointing the way the wind is going. It was beautifully symmetrical. We saw markers in the ground showing its movement. The dunes are called barkan which form when there is dust on the ground and a unidirectional wind that creates movement. The volcanic ash collects around a rock and continually forms what appears to be a small sand dune. This one moves approximately 10 meters a year. The local Maasai tribe believe that the dunes originated from Ol Doinyo Lengai (Mountain of God) which is the holiest place in their culture, a volcano to the north that is visible on the clearest day. From what I remember the men are able to hike to the top of the Mountain of God and leave offerings but the women are not allowed to do that but they are allowed to go the shifting sands and bring offerings. Supposedly you can pick up the sand and throw it in the air and the grains will pull together due to magnetism. We didn’t try that!

Onto the Ngorongoro crater past Olduvai Gorge!