Day 3 -Safari (Kellen Young)

Hello,

Starting in the early morning around 6:00 was the first part of today's schedule. Breakfast was served at 6:30, which included eggs, toast, watermelon juice, sausage, and other food. We all prepared well for the safaris. A 15 - 20 minute ride took us to a gate located at the base of a mountain before entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We rode steadily up cliff sides in the cold and cloudy morning before stopping at a lookout area. In  the area, our first important destination was Olduvai Gorge which was close to 1 hr and 30 minutes away from the lookout. Olduvai Gorge is known as the birthplace of humans because it is the main site where fossils resembling humans are found. Our guide and the museum in the area spoke of how evolution changed the Austrolopithecus family, "Southern Ape", into the Homo family. After visiting Olduvai Gorge we rode for about 1 hr to the Ngorongoro Crater, which is the area where a giant volcano collapsed leaving a large indent in the Earth. We saw many animals inside the crater as well as outside the crater, but the thin layer of soil prevents trees from growing in the bottom. Most of the "browser" animals like Giraffes and Elephants might not be found in that area.  The most common animals happened to be Gazelle, Antelope, birds, and many wildebeest. The most exciting parts of the safari included finding sleeping lions, hidden elephants, and a single Rhino far off in the background. All areas in the Conservation are amazing to see whether you are inside the crater, or high in jungle areas. The most important lessons learned while there would have to be the importance of the environment and to care for the species that cannot be found anywhere else but Africa.

Take Care,

Kellon

(P.S.) The next blog post will be in two days. Please enjoy the Safari pictures below