I booked a safari on the cheap, then my plans unravelled

“You could see anything out there,” says Aron, our tour guide.

I cannot see anything out there. From inside the 4WD there is jungle and beyond that my sight is swallowed by thick fog. This, I think, is a bust.

A 4WD on safari in Ngorongoro Crater National Park, Tanzania.Credit: iStock

An African safari usually tends towards expense and sometimes extravagance, but this is a safari on a shoestring. Going cheap is easier if you have unlimited time but with only a post-work-conference weekend to spare, this is an experiment in tightening the shoestring until it might snap.

Two co-workers and I book Travel Africa Safari’s two-day budget package, with return flights from the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

From here things begin to unravel. Our Precision Air flight is delayed which triggers a cascade of complications: our original destination can’t facilitate night landings and with our new arrival time being after nightfall, we are rerouted.

But our luggage doesn’t receive the message.

At the foot of the mighty, cloud shrouded mountain, in Kilimanjaro International Airport, the luggage carousel starts and after three bags, stops. The crowd stands around expectantly and slowly it sinks in that our evening is a bit of a mess.

We eventually arrive at our hotel at a later hour than intended, but with luggage, and wake early. As we set off in the morning rain, I feel chastised by my assumption that I reside at the apex of an oiled, well-resourced machine turning for my benefit. Here the rules are different.

The road levels out and our 4WD passes a lookout into foggy nothingness. The descent begins and the road changes from red mud to concrete. Gradually the fog thins and then lifts altogether.

Into view comes a steep mountainside and below a wide savannah. Soon the sun punches through clouds, to glisten on the lake and print silhouettes of the tiered acacias on the yellow grasses below. The trials of last night are suddenly justified. Our sleep-deprived tour group is now wide awake and reverently silent.

This is Ngorongoro Crater, a geological marvel. Twenty million years ago, during the first faulting period, volcanic activity pushed up vast mountains like Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro, once the taller of the two. Then around three million years ago, this immense volcano erupted causing the cap to collapse and sink 600 metres below the caldera to produce the plain before us.

Aron stops the vehicle to raise its detachable roof so we are now free to stand and peer out. Back inside, our halting descent is impeded by a jam of 4WDs ahead.

There are Masai settlements in and around the Ngorongoro Crater.Credit: iStock

The country’s Ministry of Tourism states that nearly 2 million foreign tourists visited the country in 2023, an all-time high, and most come for safari.

Aron gestures down to a cluster of thatched roof huts enclosed by a stick fence. “That is a Masai settlement.” The government has been trying to relocate these people, famous for their red cloaks and colourful jewellery.

In 50 years, their population has grown more than tenfold to 93,000 and their cattle compete with wildlife for grazing land. Yet Masai activists claim the true reason is to make room for bigger game parks, to bring in tourists. Competition for resources has always been determined by the law of the jungle.

We continue our halting descent. At the crater floor the road becomes gravel while outside is a spectacle of safari glory.

Aron points to a kaleidoscope of giraffes. They are far away but their noble plod, the swagger of their midriff and shape are unmistakable. Then a herd of zebra, with their stark coats, cross in front.

“They look well-fed,” says one of my co-tourists. One zebra with fat haunches stops in our path and drops her head to munch grass, indifferent to our presence.

Herds of zebra are abundant in the Ngorongoro Crater.Credit: iStock

“Their stripes are like fingerprints,” says Aron and then, paradoxically, “if they are chased by a lion, they can hide among the rest, so the lion gets exhausted.”

We then pass gazelles that peer back, their ears flicking flies. Their beautifully shaped ribbed horns rise to a threatening point. Two leap together through the grass, then drop their heads and clash horns, like high-fiving a passing friend.

We approach a body of water with salt-crusted edges. “That is Magadi, a soda lake,” explains Aron. Beside the water’s edge is an animal congress. Knobbly-kneed flamingos stand preening and water buffalo slump in the mud. When one finally raises its massive weight its flanks are briny white.

The water’s edge is common place for flamingos and water buffalo to congregate.Credit: iStock

Water buffalo are one of the Big Five, a checklist for tourists to rate their experience. Everyone sees buffalo. So too elephants. Rarer are lions, then rhinos. Almost nobody ticks off leopards.

Less kind are the Ugly Five: hyenas, storks, vultures and warthogs. And Wildebeests. “Wildebeests are not smart animals,” explains Aron as we pass a herd. “They get lost, lose their young, get chased by a lion. Two minutes later they forget, then they come back and watch the lion and get chased again.” I tick off wildebeest.

Over the radio comes a burst of chatter that includes “simba”, Swahili for lion. Aron engages the gears. We are on the move. 4WDs stopped at different locations converge, queuing before a black drainage pipe. From raised roofs, occupants ahead are staring, pointing binoculars and taking photos.

Safari 4WDs often form a viewing queue when there is a lion sighting.Credit: iStock

One by one, each 4WD moves into position, watches for a few minutes then moves on. When our turn arrives, we edge forward. Into view comes an immense lion. Imperial even while asleep, he is stretched out on his stomach, paws like bear traps. His fur looks thick and soft.

We stop about 30 metres away. He opens his amber eyes to slits and stares directly at our vehicle and then, assured we present no concern, he rolls over. I feel a flutter of fear in my gut despite being safely encased. He yawns and falls back into sleep.

We return to the road and skirt the lake. Then another burst over the radio. Aron accelerates but has to join a long line of khaki 4WDs. It is absurd to be stuck in traffic in the wilderness. Many vehicles have only a few occupants. From the raised roof fingers point into the distance.

“This is very rare,” says Aron, “sometimes we go for 15 days and never see this.” I aim binoculars in the direction where everyone is looking. Between two white 4WDs, which Aron explains are rangers, is a black rhino and beside her a small, pale, grey four-legged animal poking just above the yellow grass. Looking closely I see it has a tiny horn. It’s a baby rhino.

“The rangers are trying to move them to the forest to protect the baby,” says Aron. Black rhinos are endangered with populations vulnerable to poachers. The animal’s horn is prized for its supposed medicinal qualities throughout Asia.

A mother’s long gestation of 16 months means extended vulnerability. This, the world’s largest caldera, is a natural feature from which rangers can patrol for poachers from hidden bunkers, making it a refuge for endangered species.

Through my binoculars I can see the mother has become irritated with the rangers’ proximity, their vehicles belching fumes. Suddenly, she charges; the reversing vehicle backs off quickly.

Black rhinos are endangered and are frequently moved by rangers to forested areas for their own protection.Credit: iStock

For the rest of the afternoon, I feel dazed. Partly this is from fatigue but also I feel moved by the mother and child rhino. I would have once rolled my eyes that a weekend package with airport transfers might provide a profound experience. Yet, I had witnessed a mother protecting its child, an instinct so universal the common heritage between us became momentarily clear and poignant.

When we stop for lunch beside a waterhole, American tourists take group shots beneath an acacia, while behind them hippopotamuses lurk in the mud. Aron hands out a survey from a researcher. One question asks if you would volunteer to save the black rhino. I think about it and decide I would. What I had seen is in need of protection.

After Ngorongoro I’m informed by Aron that my midday return flight tomorrow is a cause of concern. Rather than see the Tarangire National Park and risk missing the flight, we need to return to the city tonight. I receive a partial refund.

Given Precision Air’s performance last night I have tightened this shoestring to the limit.

Details

Getting There

Major carriers from Europe and the Middle East can get you to Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport. From there catch Precision Air, or the more reliable Air Tanzania, to either Arusha or nearby Kilimanjaro. Ideally, leave a day’s buffer for connecting international flights outward.

Stay
Arusha is well-serviced by hotels, ranging from the five-star Gran Melia Arusha at $490 a night, to mid-range options such as Karibu Heritage House at $100 a night.

Visit
The $US800 ($A1300) Budget Tour with Travel Africa Safari Agency includes airport pick up and drop off, food, beer, an excellent guide and, of course, the safari itself.

The writer travelled at his own expense.