Chateau de Barive / Gates / Earth / Barive & Madame Tanguy

There we go – food galore!

Distance: 13km
Duration: 8 hours
Altitude reached: 3950m

Chris decided to leave us this morning as he was really feeling unwell. I think he had a slight bout of hypothermia as his lips were kind of bluish. Unfortunately, his Camelbak which he placed next to him during [...]]]> Thursday, 15 Dec 2011

Distance: 13km
Duration: 8 hours
Altitude reached: 3950m

Chris decided to leave us this morning as he was really feeling unwell. I think he had a slight bout of hypothermia as his lips were kind of bluish. Unfortunately, his Camelbak which he placed next to him during the night leaked and left him freezing all night long in his sleeping bag.

On this day, we actually hiked up the same route we did the previous evening and continued till  the Lava Tower at 4600m. Then we descended again to our camp site which is at 3950m. It is in fact on of the vital acclimatization walk. According to our guide, if we made it up here, chances to get to the summit is high. Yeah!

But it was raining again! It was really nice of our guides to organize a warm lunch for us at about 4500m. We really needed that to warm us up. We had soup, fried chickens and vege empanadas. It was so good!!!

No pictures for today! My camera was clogged up with moist as I left it out of my bag the night before.

We headed up to the Lava Tower after lunch. Afredo started feeling really bad 30 minutes before Lava Tower so we gave him a Diamox. And then he kept going.

I felt completely ok! But again, I was walking like a turtle. I think my breathing technique helped too (regulated with my steps).

The vegetation declined eventually, leaving some sparsely scattered rocks and weird looking plants. And I had to take a pee break! My, it was quite a task to find somewhere discreet!

Before arriving at our camp site, we were greeted by majestic giant tree groundsels, celebrated kilimanjaro lobelias, evil-looking thistles called carduus keniensis and more lobelias. Magical!

We arrived at about 5pm. It was pasta night. Essential energy replenishing for our 6-days comrades who would be heading off for their big day the day after.

Oh, the view this night was amazing! Millions of stars shinning above us, and millions of city lights glittering below us.

Sopa Lodge is one of the 4 lodges located on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. It stands at the highest altitude on the rim (2800m) which was great for our Kilimanjaro pre-acclimatization (main reason for my choice).

The place was serene and lovely. I spent most of our free hours reading [...]]]> 10-12 Dec 2011

Sopa Lodge is one of the 4 lodges located on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. It stands at the highest altitude on the rim (2800m) which was great for our Kilimanjaro pre-acclimatization (main reason for my choice).

The place was serene and lovely. I spent most of our free hours reading and dreaming away on the rattan rocking chair in the room. The rooms are huge! The other hours were happy hours by the pool side. It was chilly on most evenings and hot water bottles were placed to warm up the beds (and feet!). The walk from our room to the main lobby got us quite breathless but good training for us! Dinner was well presented, yummy and service was impeccable. We also met Goodlove, our waiter who speaks too many languages, a young and ambitious man. He inspires me with his enthusiasm to live for a better future.

Most of all, it has a million dollars view of the crater. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Verdict: Yes! Yes! Yes! They were nice to accommodate us upon our request to a room with a complete 180° view into the crater.

Duncan was there, sharp at 7am. We? After some ritual rush and a very quick breakfast where Mr Fudge advised against anything containing local water as our tummies were not used to it (so no juices nor freshly cut fruits), we were ready to go at 8:30am. Late again!

Detoured to [...]]]> Saturday, 10 Dec 2011

Duncan was there, sharp at 7am. We? After some ritual rush and a very quick breakfast where Mr Fudge advised against anything containing local water as our tummies were not used to it (so no juices nor freshly cut fruits), we were ready to go at 8:30am. Late again!

Detoured to meet Achmed, the nice gentleman and owner of Basecamp who arranged the 3 day safari for us at a very last last minute, even with no down payments as it was too late to make any transfers (Yes, one day before our departure. I know, my bad!). A shout out to thank Achmed!

We settled all payments rather quickly and headed off as we had a long journey ahead of us. We did a pee stop at a souvenir shop where I couldn’t resist bargaining for wooden statues of a Masai couple. And a pair of Gazelles before we left. Hard bargaining though. Apparently they were spoilt by American tourists who were known to pay generous prices. Anyway, I still thought I overpaid but at least I paid an amount that I thought was fair.

Along the way, Duncan bought us some red bananas (just red on the skin). They were delicious.

After 4 long and sleepy hours, we arrived at Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate. While Duncan was doing the necessary registrations, we waited outside, watching baboons.

A funny incident occurred. A cheeky baboon sneaked up into an open window of a truck and snatched a bag of bananas from the sleeping driver. The poor guy woke up in shocked in jumped straight out from his truck. Next moment, the entire gang of baboons was heading towards him or more likely the bag of bananas. The poor guy still wanted to save his bananas so there was a little tug-a-war. Many people tried to help him but to no avail. In the end, there were many happy baboons eating bananas around us and an unhappy truck driver.

After getting clearance to enter the park, Duncan took us to our first sight of Ngorongoro Crater which we managed after a silent moment to word out, “WOW!”. There is no words nor pictures that can described the wonder we saw. It is indeed a mother nature’s wonder.

After that, we went to a picnic area for lunch. Here, we saw Marabu storks at a close range and they were ugly up close. They are huge birds. At first sight, I had mistaken them for blown up statues of an eagle-like bird.

I also had my first bush toilet experience. It was just a dark hole. Maybe for the better as I can’t see what’s in there…

Duncan handed us our lunch boxes. Although simple (Cheese sandwich, chicken drumstick, egg, banana, peanuts, chips), it was delicious. I guess the ambiance counts -view of the crater, bush toilet behind me and buffalo shit scattered around me. Priceless!

While I was eating, I felt being watched. Next moment, I saw a Kite bird diving towards me from the sky, heading for my chicken drumstick. No way I am sharing, so I leaped into the jeep just in time before the attack. Phew, what an adventurous lunch!

We continued our journey to Ndutu area to watch the great migration of the wildebeests and zebras. There were many breathtaking sceneries along the way.

There are about 1.5mio wildebeests and 300k zebras who make this annual migration together from Kenya. They go together in search of food and water. We saw so many wildebeests and zebras, as far as our eyes can see. They were mostly just grazing the grass or resting. It felt like being in a big big animal farm. Very calm and peaceful. We also saw a pack of wildebeest running in a line. Apparently this is how they migrate. Pretty amazing sight. (The horizon was dotted by them)

Some interesting insights about these travelling friends:
- Wildebeests and zebras eat different part of the grass so when entering a new area, the zebras will mow the lawn for the wildebeest to enjoy the juicy shoots.
- Wildebeests can “smell” water so it’s obviously useful to have friends who know how to sniff out places for a drink.
- Zebras have better eyesight and hearing so they can sense danger from predators quicker. They are also more careful travellers. It is also said that it helps for zebras to mingle with easier prey like the wildebeest.

Hah, that’s what friends are for!

There were also many graceful but shy Thomson gazelles. Lovely things! Couldn’t get any good pictures though as they kept running away. There were also many type of birds which I cannot recall the names anymore. Ah, we also saw some vultures devouring a deceased wildebeest.

Before heading off, we saw a family of giraffes grazing away.

Oh, one of the funniest creature we saw was the Dung beetle. The Dung beetles feed on the shit of the wildebeests. They roll new warm shit about until they find a safe place to bury and feast on it till it dries up. Out of curiosity, I read up later that the dung beetles improve nutrient recycling and soil structure, beside protecting other animals by improving standards of hygiene in nature. So indeed, every living creature has its own mission in life!

After another two hours of bumpy ride (@ African massage), we arrived at Sopa Lodge, our home for the next two nights. I was glad we chose this Lodge. To know why, read my review here.

This place is the best among our entire trip! Honestly, I prefer this over Malbrouk, as the wasted of food didn’t leave me with a very good feeling in the end of the dinner. Don’t like to waste food!!!

Apparently, it is usually overcrowded so best to place your bookings beforehand though [...]]]> Sept 13, 2010

This place is the best among our entire trip! Honestly, I prefer this over Malbrouk, as the wasted of food didn’t leave me with a very good feeling in the end of the dinner. Don’t like to waste food!!!

Apparently, it is usually overcrowded so best to place your bookings beforehand though we were quite lucky that night. Only had to wait about 10 mins before being seated.

And this time we got smarter – ordered just an antipasti and a primi piatti. Still, we were quite stuffed but I spared some space for dolce (sweets) – Crema Catalana. A must try in Alghero, part of its Spanish heritage. But too sweet for me!

The pasta dishes were unforgettable!!! Truly!

Price is reasonable too.

My Antipasti.

My Primi Piatti.

My Dolce.

My Digestivo – Grappa.

Cleaned!

The Ambiance.

Let the chef surprise you. And we were pleasantly surprised indeed!!!

It is said that the lady chef picks up the freshest stuffs from market each day and toss it up for the patrons to her delight.

Its a fixed price at 40€ per pax with drinks included (wonderful and unlimited wine!). [...]]]> Sept 12, 2010

Let the chef surprise you. And we were pleasantly surprised indeed!!!

It is said that the lady chef picks up the freshest stuffs from market each day and toss it up for the patrons to her delight.

Its a fixed price at 40€ per pax with drinks included (wonderful and unlimited wine!). Food kept flowing till we were so stuffed that I could only manage one piece of that heavenly calamar. So its a bit pricey unless you can really eat all that food.

But it was absolutely delicious especially the crab pasta – it was unforgettable!!!

The Antipasti

Primi Piatti #1 #2 #3

Secondi Piatti #1 #2 #3

Dolce – Forgot to take any pictures!

Digestivo – Grappa & Mirto

A nice new hotel with a modern touch in the typical Sardinian style. It’s located not far from the Old Town (10 mins walk away), nestled along one of the little streets by the main. It is clean, comfortable and NEW! I wouldn’t stay in all day long though as it’s kind [...]]]> Sept 12-14, 2010

A nice new hotel with a modern touch in the typical Sardinian style. It’s located not far from the Old Town (10 mins walk away), nestled along one of the little streets by the main. It is clean, comfortable and NEW! I wouldn’t stay in all day long though as it’s kind of small. There’s a little pool on the rooftop and some sun chairs for sunbathers. Breakfast was good, continental with fresh self-pressed orange juice and self-boiled eggs.

It was perfect for us as a base to rest after the long days of exploring Alghero.

I would recommend it!