Going to Lake Manyara

We left the beautiful lodge on the rim of the crater and started on the way to our next destination.  There was one last photo op -

and time for a group photo.

Throughout our whole safari, we had kept pace with another TREK tour,

 driven by one of Chris' friends, Steve.  

This family group included grandparents, a brother and sister, 

and 2 grandchildren - from, you guessed it, Canada!

They were friends and co-workers - and typical guys!  Competitive, always trying to be ahead of the other one, joking and goofing around.    We were always watching out for each other, they shared wildlife sitings, and it made for lots of fun for both groups.   Chris told us that TREK is considered one of the best companies to work for and as a result, they are able to attract excellent driver / guides.   We could not have had a better driver - he really did make our trip fantastic.  

This cairn was dedicated to a German father, Bernard, and son, Michael, a duo of zoologists, the Grzimeks,  who had produced a film in the 1930's about the animals here and who were later instrumental in counting the animals and helping to map boundaries for the Serengeti.  They are buried on this spot.   This is a quote from one of the books written by Bernard:

"Large cities continue to proliferate. In the coming decades and centuries, men will not travel to view marvels of engineering, but they will leave the dusty towns in order to behold the last places on earth where God’s creatures are peacefully living. Countries which have preserved such places will be envied by other nations and visited by streams of tourists. There is a difference between wild animals living a natural life and famous buildings. Palaces can be rebuilt if they are destroyed in wartime, but once the wild animals of the Serengeti are exterminated no power on earth can bring them back."  (from Wikipedia)

How very true!  It explains why we were there visiting too!!

Then it was down the dusty trail - 

along the rim, with crater on one side and the Rift Valley on the other.

We checked out at the park gate

where they had some interesting displays, including this model of the area.  You can see how one side gets lots of rain and is green while the other side is very, very dry.   

If you research safaris at all, the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is one of the big three to visit.  And even though it was dry and there weren't as many animals as there might be at other times, we are so very glad that we had an opportunity to visit this amazing place!!

And then we were heading southeast to Lake Manyara.  There was always lots to see along the road!

As farmers, we are always amazed at the soil

and the farms - plots and fields carved out of the land.

Many homes had flowers blooming in the yard - so bright and colorful. 

Sometimes village businesses lined the way.

And people were busy with everyday living.  These push carts could be hired to move your load.  Pickup trucks were rare and walking was the mode of transportation for so many.  

Next stop:  Lake Manyara!

Driving in the Crater

You've already seen a picture or two of the road going down into the Crater -

when we shared the road with water-carrying donkeys.

You've seen the one-way road winding down the hillside on the middle right here.

Dropping down over the rim and descending 1640 feet to the crater floor meant that we were going steeply downhill.

And then came on to the flat floor where we followed the trails to see the animals.

In some areas there were large chunks of volcanic rock, deposited when the volcano erupted some 2 million years ago.  

The crater was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.  Near the middle of it is a huge soda lake.  We were here during the last month of the dry season so the lake was very large. 

When we first stood at the crater rim, I thought it didn't look very big and that it was mostly dry but once we got down, there were several different watering holes, water spots and little streams.   And the terrain was more varied than I initially thought.

We entered the crater from the west side where the rainfall is about 20 inches per year but on the southeastern corner, it can be double that amount.  This results in very different vegetation within the crater itself.

The Lerai Forest was like a jungle - so many varieties of trees and plants.

And the acacia thorn trees were there too.  You won't find any giraffes in the crater - there's not enough food for them and the sides of the crater are too steep for them to come down.  Amazing info, hey!

Chris said eating lunch in the forest was not a good idea because the baboons were such a nuisance, trying to steal lunches.

The bark on these fevertree acacias was very interesting.

And that took us over to the road leading out, again a one-way road.

You can see the road going back into the forest.

And then we started the switchbacks to get up and out!  We didn't count how many there were but it took more than half an hour to get to the top.  The gates are closed at 6 p.m. and reopen at 6:30 a.m. and Chris was always aware of being out on time.

It was quite amazing how quickly we climbed out, especially when we looked back at where we'd come from!

And once again we shared the road!

Crater Animals

As promised - oh, so very long ago! - here are some pictures of the animals we saw inside the Ngorongoro Crater.  It was very dry when we were there and so the number of animals we saw was down from what might be seen at other times of the year.

Grey crested crane

Kori bustard

(the world's heaviest flying bird)

Young heron

Burchell's zebra

Wildebeest

A pride of lions teaching the young ones how to hunt

More zebras at the rest station

Staying inside the safari vehicle is an absolute must so it was really hard to get pictures of us with animals.  But at this rest stop the animals were close so we could 'pose' with them.

Near the watering holes, it was greener.

We didn't see elephants or rhinos but there are some in the Crater.  There was one pond with hippos.  I'm sure visiting at another time of year would show you a completely different Crater.  

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge

Once again we stayed at a Serena Lodge, the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, with more unique buildings, this time on the rim of the Crater.  From our balcony that night we could look out and watch the moon shining over the African landscape.

At the Serengeti Lodge, we'd been 2' south of the equator with an altitude of 4859 feet.  You can see that we were much higher here and that meant a much cooler night.  

The whole lodge was built of local river rocks ( think they must have used every rock available!) and each room had a little fenced balcony looking out on to the crater.  It was a really interesting place!

This was our view.

And the next morning Bob captured the sun rising over the crater rim.  

The dining room was one level higher and this part of the lodge had lovely landscape plantings of native trees and shrubs.

The morning light was quite spectacular.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many meal time pictures but remembered to do it at this breakfast.

As we descended the staircase from the dining room, we spotted two local Masai women on the outside verandah, laying out treasures to sell.

I bought some bracelets and a piece of cloth that they would wear as a wrap (I'm using it for a tablecloth).

And then it was time to pack our vehicle again and get back on the road.  Notice all the little rocks again making up the walls of the entryway.  I can't imagine how long it took to build this complex!