MAJI MOTO CAMP 



A^ MAJI MOTO CAMP in the Rift Valley, Tanganyika, 

 Africa, 2 south of the equator, theoretically and 

 practically we were engulfed in energy. Here titanic forces, 

 past and present, nonliving and living, have been at play 

 during geologic ages, creating, destroying, advancing, 

 regressing. Our camp was in the midst of a dense tropical 

 forest that hugged the base of the high west escarpment of 

 the East African Rift Valley and was only a mile away from 

 Lake Manyara. The little rains had just ended. The grass 

 was green and in rapid growth. During the day the sun 

 poured down its energy. 



A short trek from our camp were the Maji Moto hot 

 springs. In the distance, to the east, was the highest of 

 all African mountains, the snow-covered Mount Kiliman- 

 jaro, and a hundred miles away was Mount Meru. To the 

 south was the beautiful Oldonyo-lengai, the Mountain of 

 God, and to the west was the enormous crater Ngorongoro. 



Besides these giant volcanoes, one towering 19,000 feet 

 and more into the skies, there were also volcanoes of lesser 

 size, down to mere potholes. It was as if every giant had its 

 progeny. 



The great crater of Ngorongoro is 12 miles in diameter. 

 It is surrounded by a rim or escarpment 1,500 feet high. 

 The soil of this crater affords a high yield of life energy; 

 the deep volcanic ash, the rainfall, and the tropical sun 

 produce a luxuriant growth of sweet clover. This supports 

 about 50,000 head of animals, the wildebeest predominat- 

 ing, and this unbelievable mass of Herbivora, in turn, 

 supports large numbers of lions, leopards, hyenas, and 

 vultures. 



For centuries, within this crater, the soil and the sun's 

 energy have been producing cycles of clover, wilde- 

 beest, and soil again. A constant stream of innumerable 



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