We woke up early around 5:30 to the chanting sounds of the Christian orthodox and Mosque located on either side of our hotel. We didn’t have to be up till 6:45 but since we were awake, we decided to just get going and so we headed to Neche Sar to do the land part of the park. The entrance was very understated and it was easy to miss the dirt road located between a car repair shop and a primary school. A kilometer back was the actual entrance where we bought our tickets and picked up our armed guard (he sat in the back of the other landcruiser). We all got settled and we were off! Our trek began with a journey through dense forest where we saw and heard many baboons (Rafikii!) and then we entered into a more arid mountainous landscape turning the corner to a beautiful morning vista of the African plains at the base of the mountain next to the lake. We stopped for pictures and the chance to really take in the scenery as well as to imagine what the Paleo climate would have looked like. We continued up and up and over the mountains. At one point it was so steep that Lindsay and I both unconsciously sat up in that “anticipation for the drop of the roller-coaster” feeling but luckily it never came. In the highlands we saw zebras!! They stood out in such stark contrast with the bright green grass that it was really exciting to spot them.
We then journeyed down into the plains where we saw gazelles, dykers, dik diks, more baboons and a peacock (we think). All in all it was a fabulous four hour trip. Our return to Moche Borago was surprisingly smooth and at first we were confused until we realized just exactly how rough the terrain in the park had actually been. We were excited to return to the familiarity of our tents and it was surprising when one of us mentioned how good it was to be home and we all smiled knowing they meant “home” as in camp, not “home” as in America, and how true it was. We are to continue excavating tomorrow and its kind of sad to realize we will only be excavating about a week more.
For more, here is a wonderful article found on the new online magazine Face2Face Africa: Spotlight: NecheSar Nat'l Park
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