Camped last night on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crater. Despite fearsome warnings of hyenas tearing tents apart if they caught the slightest whiff of a morsel of food (had I spilt any dinner on my shirt?) , slept well. Up at the crack of pre-dawn to drive down into the crater.
The crater was teeming with life - elephants, buffalo, lions, hippos, gazelle, zebra, wildebeest and a rather elusive cheetah. This was a truly fantastic day. By the hippo pool, lions lay sunning themselves, gazelles approached warily but didn't get their drink - didn't get eaten either. Hippos had wave-making sex, the lions yawned and stretched, a variety of exotic birds did their thing. Herds of wildebeest mooched majestically...
Very excited to spot a cheetah, who instantly disappeared into the grass. Patience paid off and it popped up again a couple more times. The camouflage was amazing, even when you knew exactly where it was, you couldn't see it.
Could have stayed for days here. Nearly stayed forever when our idiot driver nearly killed us all on the way out. Rather alarming but nobody hurt, though very glad to see the last of him.
Returned to Arusha for overnight at campsite with showers - hurrah! Three days of driving in open vehicle had left us all more than a little grubby and dusty.
The crater was teeming with life - elephants, buffalo, lions, hippos, gazelle, zebra, wildebeest and a rather elusive cheetah. This was a truly fantastic day. By the hippo pool, lions lay sunning themselves, gazelles approached warily but didn't get their drink - didn't get eaten either. Hippos had wave-making sex, the lions yawned and stretched, a variety of exotic birds did their thing. Herds of wildebeest mooched majestically...
Very excited to spot a cheetah, who instantly disappeared into the grass. Patience paid off and it popped up again a couple more times. The camouflage was amazing, even when you knew exactly where it was, you couldn't see it.
Could have stayed for days here. Nearly stayed forever when our idiot driver nearly killed us all on the way out. Rather alarming but nobody hurt, though very glad to see the last of him.
Returned to Arusha for overnight at campsite with showers - hurrah! Three days of driving in open vehicle had left us all more than a little grubby and dusty.
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