Hiking with Donkeys along the Great Rift Valley Escarpment

Empakaai Crater (Ngorongoro Highlands) to Lake Natron

My name is Anna and I have lived in Tanzania for the last five years. Many visitors are captivated by the big cats, elephant, giraffe and other incredible wildlife. For me, it has always been donkeys, or ‘punda’ in Swahili. Here, donkeys are a lifeline for many communities. They help with water, firewood, land cultivation and the carrying of produce to and from the market.  Donkeys are strong, resilient, intelligent and sensitive.

My love affair with these animals began some time ago, so when I heard about a hiking safari from Empakaai Crater to Lake Natron, accompanied by donkeys, I knew that I had to do it. What’s more, if you haven’t ever seen a baby punda, you haven’t lived.  I have tried to catch one and stuff it in the back of my car on more than one occasion.

I did this safari with Lion King Adventures.  The crew comprised Immanuel (Lion King guide who drove us from Arusha to Empakaai), Gilbert (Lion King Guide), Godwin (Lion King Photographer), Yusuf (Lion King Chef, aka Mr Delicious), Ngale (Maasai Guide), Meliyo & Sindila (Donkey Co-ordinators) and our stoic, gentle, sure-footed donkeys.

During my time in Tanzania, I have met many guests who would have liked the opportunity to get off the beaten track and spend more time exploring this incredible land on foot.  It is possible that you will see elephant, giraffe, leopard, buffalo on this hike, but opportunities will be much fewer than inside the National Parks. If you are happy to camp in the bush, have a reasonable level of fitness and are up for a bit of an adventure, this safari will blow your mind.

Quick Facts:

• Number of days hiking: 2
• Hike starting point: Empakaai Crater, Ngorongoro Highlands (elevation 3,100m / 10,200 ft)
• Hike finishing point: near Lake Natron (elevation 600m / 2,000 ft )
• Total distance walked: 25km / 15 miles
• Terrain: Rough dirt tracks, rock face with scree. Can be slippery if it has been raining
• Level of fitness required: Medium (you need to be able to walk for 5 hours per day.  The hike is through undulating hills, with a steep descent at the end
• Accommodation: Bush camping (no washrooms, running water or electricity;  sleeping in tents on the ground)
• Food: All food prepared by Lion King chef (one of the many highlights)
• Water: Safe, bottled drinking water provided.  Additional water for cooking carried by the donkeys in containers
• Safety: Maasai Guides throughout and Ranger whilst inside Empakaai Crater

Day 1

Our adventure began on a Friday afternoon in Arusha.  Today’s destination was a campsite just outside of Mto wa Mbu and above Lake Manyara. We arrived just as the light was fading. We unloaded the safari vehicle and started preparing dinner. There was a kitchen (of sorts) for cooking at the campsite.  I wondered how Yusuf would prepare a meal for 5 people using one small gas ring.  This man is incredibly talented, resourceful and hardworking. My thoughts wandered to my kitchen in the UK, with all its ‘essential’ utensils and gadgets and I felt quite humbled  watching him work. For example, instead of a bulky pair of oven gloves, he used two small squares of cardboard to move the hot pots around. During my time here, I have definitely discovered that less is more.

Sample menus:

On this safari, guests are not expected to help with camp chores, but personally, I like to get involved, and so did the whole crew.  After a couple of hours, we had whipped up a veritable feast.  I can honestly say that the food was better than I have eaten at most lodges in Tanzania.  Fresh, wholesome and really tasty.  I did not eat the fish brain, but I am told it is really good for you.  Yusuf regularly gives it to his young daughter and he assures me that she is already a genius.

I did some washing up, but was baffled by the Tanzanian equivalent to washing-up liquid.  It is called Axiom and comes in a small pot.  Ours was bright yellow and the consistency of cement. Apparently it helps to wash dishes, but I am none the wiser.  Answers on a postcard.

This night, we did not put up the tents.  Panorama campsite offers small ‘igloos’ for U$D 10 per person.  They reminded me of beehives, and are not for the claustrophobes of this world, but I managed a decent night’s sleep.

Day 2

I’m not sure if Yusuf went to bed, as he was busy in the kitchen when I wandered over at 6:00 a.m. I was greeted by a warm, welcoming smile and a cup of coffee.

Outside the kitchen stands an enormous yellow bark acacia tree. As the sun rose, the industrious yellow weaver birds resumed the building and modification of their nests, in the hope of attracting a lovely lady weaver bird. If the lady visits, and the nest is found wanting, she will knock it to the ground and the gentleman bird has to begin again. The sound of their endeavours was loud and wonderful.  I was reminded of Ernest Hemingway’s famous quote “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.”

We were on the road by 8:30, bellies full and excited about the day to come.

One hour later, we arrived at the Ngorongoro Crater viewpoint. The roads inside Ngorongoro Conservation area are quite rough and deteriorate significantly during the rainy season (very loosely November to May, with less rain in January and February).  That said, I always felt very safe with Ima driving.  The driver guides are highly skilled and depending on your threshold for adventure, you should feel comfortable at all times.  There is a wonderful community in the guiding world, and people always help one another if they are in need of a ‘rescue’. No vehicle left behind. The Crater was partially occluded by cloud, which just added to its mystery.  As we stood surrounded by mist, windows appeared, providing glimpses of the Lost World below.

The road to Empakaai Crater follows the Ngorongoro Crater Rim for some time.  After that, the land opened up and it really felt like we were in the Highlands.  Rich green rolling hills, with Maasai villages peppered across the landscape.  We stopped at the village of Nainokanoka to pick up our guide, Nglae. As he clambered past me in the jeep, I smelled woodsmoke, rain and earth.  We stopped briefly at Bulati to buy some meat for dinner.  We left with a couple of sheep legs, some ribs, and water for our containers.

The weather up here was volatile and large purplish clouds rumbled around the skies.  It was far removed from the hot dusty plains of the Serengeti, and a reminder of the diversity of this land.

Like Ngorongoro, Empakaai Crater is a collapsed volcanic caldera (a large depression formed when a volcano erupts and collapses).  The crater is filled with a deep alkaline lake which occupies about 75% of the Crater’s floor and is about 85m deep. If the weather is clear, you can see Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tanzania’s most active volcano), Kilimanjaro, and the Great Rift valley). We arrived at Empakaai Camp at around 1:00p.m.  I must use the word ‘camp’ loosely.  Empakaai Camp is a rectangle of partially cleared  land, 10m or so from the Crater rim. When we arrived, Ngale said he would show me where the toilet was.  I was a bit puzzled, as I had been told there were no facilities here.  He led the way through some fairly overgrown bush, swiping away the stinging nettles with his panga (bush knife).  I did wonder (fleetingly) if he was leading me to my death, but we then arrived at the toilet, which was a slab of concrete with a small hole in it, leading to a pit below.  Not really knowing what to say I came out with ‘Ooh.. that’s lovely’ (Sometimes I am so British).

Yusuf had prepared lunch in the morning and kept it warm in hotpots.  These are very common in Tanzania.  The idea of a cold lunch is abhorrent to most Tanzanians and we enjoyed a hot (ish) meal of chicken, rice and vegetables.

After lunch, we set off down into the Crater with Ngale. The path leading to the Crater Floor snakes back and forth along the steep sides. The descent takes around 40 minutes, and was a really enjoyable hike.  There were large numbers of huge trees, caught in an embrace with strangler figs. The forest felt ancient and so alive.

Down on the crater floor, it was incredibly beautiful and peaceful.  The only sounds were the melodic tinkling of Maasai cow bells, bird symphonies and the wind in the trees.  Ngale and I just sat close to the lake shore for about an hour or so in companionable silence.  Gilbert and Godwin did some exploring and came back with some wonderful footage of the flamingos. The water was a strange grey green colour and reflected the scudding clouds above.

The climb back out of the crater was quite challenging for me. There was quite a lot of stopping, pretending to be fascinated by a particular tree, or animal prints.  At one point, I thought I had successfully identified the sound of baboons in the distance, but Ngale corrected me and told me it was a leopard. ‘A leopard?’ says I.  ‘Yes, a leopard’ says he. Ngale didn’t appear to be concerned in the slightest, so I did my best impression of a person that comes across leopards in the wild regularly and we continued (at a slightly faster pace) up the path.

Upon reaching the top, we were greeted by our four pundas, happily munching on the juicy grass.  They had travelled with Meliyo and Sindila from Nainokanoka. I felt like a small child on Christmas morning and squeaked with excitement.  These guys were the fur-filled icing on my cake and I was happy to finally meet them.

Yusuf had built a fire and the sheep pieces were cooking slowly on a grill made from logs and tent poles (I did surreptitiously wander over to my tent and check its stability). I poked my head inside to see a very inviting bed.  A sleeping mattress, covered in a red shuka (the iconic checked cloth worn by the Maasai), a sleeping bag and small pillow.  I was already looking forward to going to bed.

Animals are very important to the Maasai people and they are well looked after.  At night time, they stay inside a boma, which is an enclosure made from tree branches.  This is to keep predators out, and the animals in.   At our camp, a simple boma had been created to keep the donkeys safe.  Once the sun had sent, they were rounded up and happily went off to bed.

Empakaai Crater is quite cool at night time so I wrapped up warm in my bobble hat and blanket.  We sat around the fire and Gilbert warmed his toes perilously close to the flames. Not long after the sun had disappeared, the stars came out.  For me, the star filled night sky is a time of comfort and peace.  This, accompanied by the crackling of the fire and the smell of roasting meat; we were close to heaven.

Day 3

I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. and clambered out of my tent. Yusuf had the fire going and was busy preparing food.  The air was clean and smelled of earth, vegetation and goodness. The sun was just beginning to rise, and we were treated to the most beautiful view of Ol Doinyo Lengai, its summit covered by a small cloud.  It is the Maasai people’s Holy Mountain.  Whilst staring at the volcano, a black kite flew over my head, so low that I felt the air swoosh.  Ngale had some leftover meat from last night’s dinner and threw a small piece up in the air.  The kite appeared from nowhere and caught it skilfully with its talons.

The donkeys came out of their boma and we began to pack up camp.  I looked around and wondered how they would be able to carry all of this stuff.  Watching the guides load up the donkeys was comical at times.  Two guides would pick up the loaded sacks (with difficulty) and attempt to get it onto the donkey’s back.  At this point, the donkey would move forwards, or backwards to thwart attempts, resulting in a lot of furrowed brows and barking of instructions in Maa, which I assume the donkeys understand. Apparently, holding their ears is the equivalent of putting the handbrake on. I was given this job, which I did warily.

Once fully loaded, off we went.  Donkeys are working animals in Tanzania and I have often thought how difficult it must be when you are expected to travel from A to B, surrounded by your favourite foods.  It’s a bit like me walking to the office and suddenly, there is a tube of Pringles on the side of the road, a bag of nuts, or a chicken leg, all for the taking.  Understandably, if there is any lull in the pace, the donkeys do try and squeeze in a quick snack. The role of the Donkey Co-ordinators is to help keep them focused, and moving in the right direction.  This is achieved through a combination of verbal instructions and the occasional ‘tap’ with a stick.

It is difficult to describe the beauty of this hike.  The path winds through the hills, affording you different views around every corner. We passed some local Maasai on the way, grazing their animals.  It is common to see cows, sheep, donkeys and goats together and I was reminded of Mary and Joseph’s epic journey to Bethlehem.  The birds were our constant companions, with a wide variety of songs and calls.

The approach to Acacia Camp was through a forest of yellow bark Acacia trees.  This camp was similar to Empakaai Camp: cleared ground, with a boma for the donkeys. Once we had everything set up, I felt an overwhelming need to become horizontal for a while.

After an hour or so, I felt better, but discovered that my legs didn’t really work anymore.  So, Godwin led us in a 30 minute stretching / yoga session.  There was a lot of giggling and I am relieved that my efforts were not captured on film.  On this hike, you are rarely walking on flat ground.  It is either up, or down.  This gives your leg muscles a really good work out.

There were quite a lot of flies at Camp, but we sat by the fire and the smoke kept them away.  Sadly, they all diverted to Yusuf who was valiantly trying to prepare dinner.  Insects are an inevitable part of bush camping, but luckily, these were not biting flies. They also went to bed after the sun went down, which was a relief for everyone.

We then played some cards, and listened to the sound of an owl (bundi) in the tree above us. Owls are not popular birds in Tanzania and many people believe that they bring bad luck.  Godwin informed me that hearing the hoot of the bundi means that someone is going to die. I prayed that it would not be me, at least not before I made it back to Arusha.

Day 4

The next morning, we were on the road by 7:30.  Our destination was Lake Natron, where the temperatures reach 40˚C / 100 ˚F.  It is best to walk in the morning, before the temperatures get too high.

Before we started our descent from the Highlands, we walked through some of the most breath-taking scenery.  It felt like we were walking across the top of the world.  We had a 360˚ view.  In every direction I looked, there was no evidence of people.  This may sound like a small thing, but it was very moving for me.  No roads, vehicles, villages, buildings.. nothing.  The quiet was a different kind of quiet, and I stopped frequently to absorb this new experience.  If a diplodocus had meandered into my vision, I would not have been that surprised.  The landscapes of Tanzania are so diverse, and walking through the Ngorongoro Highlands and along the Great Rift Valley Escarpment, I felt the geological power and beauty of this land, which has been slowly crafted over millions of years.

We then began our descent to Lake Natron.  At first, I was relieved that we would be going downhill. That did not last long. For me, this was the most physically challenging part of the hike.  The descent is steep, and the terrain is rock face, often covered in scree.  This required serious concentration and balance to navigate safely.  After about 30 minutes, my calf muscles began to complain.  I used my stick in my right hand and Ngale held my left hand.  Most people reading this would not need this level of support, but I find it difficult to stay upright at the best of times, so I happily welcomed any help that was on offer.  Half way down the mountain I had a sense of humour failure.  I could see the bottom of the mountain, but my legs did not want to continue.  I asked Ngale to leave me for a while and had a sit down on a rock.  The life that I live, I have very few physical challenges.  I do some form of exercise most mornings, but if I get tired, or I’m not really feeling it, I just stop.  I found myself in a new situation.  Giving up was not an option.  I had to get down the mountain, otherwise I would slowly roast to death. Ngale was helping me as much as he could, but it was my legs that had to carry me.  At one point, my bottom lip began to tremble and a few tears leaked out.  I had to dig deep.  Very deep. Eventually, I got up, and continued. Godwin captured some footage of me walking down, and said that I looked like an old man.  I told him that if he even considered using that footage, I would kill him.  I think he also managed to film the donkeys on their way down.  I have no idea how they managed. They are incredible. We finally reached the bottom, and I was able to look up from my feet and take in my new surroundings.

Lake Natron is often described as having a lunar beauty.  It is quite different from any other part of Tanzania that I have visited.  I felt quite vulnerable whilst walking there, because of the fierce heat. Make sure that your head is covered, and also your arms and legs.  The sun will cook you.

The lake gets its reddish colour from salt-loving organisms and algae.  Amazingly, 2.5 million flamingos make Lake Natron their home and it is one of their only breeding grounds.

Although most human settlements throughout history have formed around lakes and rivers, the barren landscape around Lake Natron tells a story of a place where survival is not easy. Many of the Maasai people call this place home, and we passed several small villages on our journey.  We also had a close up view of Ol Doinyo Lengai.  It is an active volcano and can be climbed, although it is very demanding.  Due to the heat, the climb up takes place in the middle of the night.

I finally reached James and the Lion King vehicle and was greeted with a clap on the back (I nearly fell over) and a bottle of cold water.  The donkeys were unpacked, they had a short rest and we said our goodbyes. They returned to their home in the Highlands.

I have thought carefully about why I enjoyed this safari so much.  The landscapes, the wildlife, the donkeys, definitely.  It is so rare to be untethered from the world that we have created for ourselves.  By this I mean vehicles, roads, computers, telephones, emails, social media, other people.  There was such an incredible feeling of peace, freedom and beauty throughout this hike and that is what I will remember the most.

Thank you to all the Crew, but especially the pundas.

Packing list:

• Well-worn walking boots
• Walking poles (optional). For me, a single walking stick was incredibly helpful during this hike.  I found it in the camp, so no special purchase necessary.  It helped me with my balance going up and down steep and uneven surfaces
• Head torch & extra batteries or charging cable
• Power Bank / cables
• Spare pair of light trainers for camp in the evenings
• Mosquito repellent
• Bite cream
• Panty liners / pads
• Wet wipes
• Warm hat / jacket for Empakaai Crater
• Sun hat
• Lightweight trousers and long sleeved top for Lake Natron (the sun is ferocious)

As with many things in Tanzania, itineraries are flexible and can be adapted to your schedule and budget.  This hike can be done at the beginning, middle or end of your itinerary.  It can also be extended to a 5 day hike.  For a sample itinerary, please click here.

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