We left the lodge about 8:00 to begin our last day of safari:( .
Today will be a long day driving back through the Senengeti to the crater and then down into the crater and back out .
Our guide explained that the government owns the land that the lodges are built on but the lodges are also in the local region so most of the employees must come from the local area. Everyone we encountered was friendly, helpful and appreciative (often humored) by our attempts at Swahili.
As we left the Serengeti a few of our favorites were out to say goodby ~
right next to the jeep ~
The hippos were lively and ~
gave us a good show.
Simba rocks ~
Then just to reinforce that this is not just another zoo, our least favorite animal reminded us of the "circle of life." We'll never know, but David thought this wildebeest was probably running and fell in this ditch and broke it's leg ~ the rest is evident.
The hyena looked right at us ~ and since it was right next to the jeep ~ we took off.
Our friend, the warthog gave us another chuckle as we left and another image in our minds to erase what we had just seen.
We left the Serengeti with mixed emotions ~ it is so beautiful, we had seen so much, but there was much more on the horizon and we were anxious to see it.
They have a "Big 5" here on the safari circuit: the lion, the buffalo, the hippo, the black rhino and the leopard. We have seen three, so in the crater today we will be in pursuit of the black rhino and the leopard.
We continued our journey along the rim to the Ngorongoro Crater.
It was a beautiful day ~ the volcanic mountains in the distance ~
Ahead was Mt. Oldeani, the highest peak of the crater.
We had to stop at the check point to register and pay the $200 fee to enter the crater (this is in addition to the park fees). Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest caldera and is recognized by one private organization as one of the seven natural wonders of Africa. This is the most popular spot for safaris; because of the animals but also because of the crater itself. They only allow so many groups into the crater at one time and each group is only allowed 6 hours in the crater so more groups may enter.
The pictures certainly don't do this justice ~ it is b e a u t I f u l.
The road we will be taking ~ only one road in and one road out.
Vegetation that looks like cacti ~
Pretty flowers ~
and the animals ~
This is the season for new birth and we have seen an abundance.
The grant gazelle
Very green wooded areas ~
The hippo and the buffalo ~ side by side
The warthogs have such short necks, they often have to get down on their front knees to graze ~
We watched as it walked around like this nibbling here and there ~
The ostrich ~
These buffalo are huge ~ this guy soaked in the mud to cool off ~
The clouds started rolling in ~ some were pretty dark
Lunch was next to a pretty lake, however, we had to eat inside the jeep because there were large birds that would swoop down and take your food which we observed happening to others.
After eating we got out to walk around and laughed at the number of jeeps lined up ~
The skies were darkening and the temperature dropped. We thought we were going to have a repeat of our day in the Serengeti but we didn't. It definitely rained ~ just not where we were.
Noticing the hills in the background is significant because as it may seem impossible ~ all of these animals (except the hippo and the giraffe) migrate to and from this area seeking greener pastures during the hot dry season. The hippos were moved to the crater and stay year round while there are no giraffes in the area because the hills are too steep for them to navigate with their long legs.
We saw several Maasai with their herds in this area as well and they go up and down these hills EACH day returning to their village with their livestock for the night.
These two zebra were playing and then the "face off" occurred. They never moved. We watched for at least 15 minutes ~ still there.
There it is, the black rhino! It was rather far away, but there it was ~ we could see it with the binoculars and it was H U G E.
The secretary bird ~ eats rodents and insects
Zebra with a lake full of flamingos in the background.
Two lions lurking in the taller grass. We followed their gaze ~ a warthog and her baby. The baby was getting closer to the lions. They readied ~ but the baby turned and went the other way.
A big male further down ~ remember he let's the women do all the work
Blacksmith plovers ~
When the wind picks up, small funnels are formed ~
Leaving the crater ~ well we found the Big 4 but the elusive leopard escaped us. On the road out of the crater a jeep was stopped so we pulled along side and they told us a leopard had been spotted but we never got to see it.
Our last night on the road. We returned to the Country Lodge where we spent our first night but there was a problem with the water to some of the lodges so they asked if we minded moving to their sister lodge next door, The Bougainville Lodge in Karatu. Being so sorry for our inconvenience, they up graded us ~
We had this whole cottage ~
The rooms were very nice ~
The lounge area in the main lodge~
Our last dinner on the road ~
In the morning we said good bye and headed for Arusha about two hours away.
This was an amazing experience and we were sad to be leaving but wait ~ we still have four more weeks to explore Tanzania!
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