I will spoil the surprise from the start here... we saw ‘The Big 5’ in Ngorongoro Crater! What an amazing, diverse and geographically surreal place with an incredible abundance of rare species. It was jaw-dropping... we saw a dog, then a cat, a squirrel, a rabbit, and we even saw the elusive North American hipster... The Big 5? Check... OK, OK... we saw the real Big 5! The 5 animals all hunters wanted to bag, behead, and mount on their walls somewhere back in Europe or North America (I’m looking at you Ernest Hemingway). We knocked two more off the list almost immediately during the drive along the rim to the campsite, after having seen an elephant the day before. Water Buffalo gathered in great numbers in the pools along the side of the dirt track road. Then, as the sun was setting and Jim and I were still standing, heads popping up out of the top of the vehicle, we came around a corner as the sun was getting low, and right there, running down the road towards us was a leopard! As we got closer it jumped off the road and onto a trail. Even eagle eyed Daniel didn’t see it. In his defense, he was driving the car and at a lower angle... But Jim and I had nothing better to do!

We got to the tent site, Simba 1, just as the sun was going down. It was a really cool place. It had a music festival atmosphere to it, with probably 50 tents spread out in a large field with a giant tree in the middle. The gents set the tent up while Mr. Delicious got to work on our food for the evening. All the while Jim and I sat back, drank some wine and listened to music. We sat in our camp chairs and took in the sunset over the crater rim. I am sure I have used this line before, but sometimes life doesn’t suck.

We were up early to get going on the drive down into the crater. We passed some Massai boma’s, the gated compounds the families live in, and then dropped down into the Ngorongoro Crater, probably one of the most concentrated area’s of rare large animals in the world. It was a long a bumpy day, but we saw ‘em all... We saw lots of elephants, buffalo, hyenas, zebras, ostriches, flamingo, wildebeest, and other things... we even saw a few of the rarer park species: lions, rhinos (from a distance), a cheetah and some hungry hungry hippos. There were a whole bunch of other animals we were told about whose names I just can’t remember, but none of them were as impressive as the animals mentioned here.

‘The Big 5’ is a recently new concept to me. I just figured they would be the animals that I most associate with a safari: zebra, giraffe, elephant, rhino and lion... but as stated above, that is not the case... They were the big beasties that people wanted to kill. For hunters, the zebra and giraffes were just too easy because they were so plentiful. Instead it was those nasty sons a bitches that instilled fear and could take you out with the swipe of a claw or the swing of a snout: the lion, the rhino, the elephant, the buffalo and the leopard. For some reason the hippo isn’t in there... and those are some nasty guys you would never want to fuck with... ever. What really amazed me the most is how prehistoric these animals looked. Especially the elephants and the rhino’s. I can’t really explain... maybe it is the leathery skin or just the pure mass of the animals, but they are amazing specimens. Not to take away from the other animals we saw. If you were making a sci-fi movie, you just couldn’t make these guys up without seeming ridiculous. The zebra, the giraffe, the hippo... they are so absurdly beautiful.


Around 3:00 Jim and I were both spent, and ready to get back to the pool at the Impala. We cruised back to Arusha, nodding off along the way, until waking from time to time to see large trucks approaching us head on as we cruised in the opposite lane. Driving in Africa... good times. We got back to the Impala and tipped the gents, even throwing a few bucks the rookie’s way for his good natured company. Tipping is a funny thing in Africa. I guess it is similar to tipping in an American restaurant, as these guys are relying on the tips for their well being. One thing they have mastered in Africa, for more so than in the U.S., is showing their dissatisfaction in the tip you’ve given them. I just don’t get it. We tipped well above the recommendations of the guidebook and even the company operator, but still... Dr. Delicious seemed none to pleased with us as we parted ways... It is too bad. It sours a really good time. And it wouldn’t be the last time a trip ended in this manner.