2nd – In the crater on the last day

As we would be leaving the crater at mid-day we departed earlier than usual. Breakfast was served at 0600 and departure when possible which ended up 40 minutes later. Getting out of the tent at around 0520 the sky was clear and you had – for once – an unobstructed view of the stars and Milky Way. Less than 10 minutes later it was all covered by a dense cloud cover. The sunrise was similar; beautiful colors and contrasts to start off with, and moments later it was all covered by clouds.

We drove off to the crater and before reaching the rim we came through several cloudy passages. After an hour, though, the sun had burnt through and the weather turned beautiful. We left mid-day and came back in Arusha 4 hours later where we checked back into the lodge.

We ended up seeing a rhino but unfortunately from a bit of a distance. We saw some lions, a lot of birds, zebras, wildebeests, buffalos and elephants. One saw a cheetah sneaking into some tall grass close to a herd of zebras, but they moved away before anything interesting could have happened. On the way out of the crater we saw 2 wildebeest fighting each other – that was a nice sighting to finish of an amazing safari.

Last time I visited the crater they had app. 25 rhinos. Now they have around 18; only 1 of them was poached, one died of natural causes and the last have been moved to other locations.

Tomorrow is spent on doing nothing; people are departing so they are picked up throughout the day to be brought to their next destinations. I have a flight at 2050 and another have one a few hours earlier – I might decide to join him to the airport; waiting there will probably not be much different from waiting at the lodge.

The zebra keeping a watchful eye on a lion passing by.

Rhino!

Grey crowned crane.

Two grey crowned cranes flying by.

Abdim's stork.

African sacred ibis.

Hippy keeping an eye out.

Yellow green vireo (I think...).

Speeke's weaver.

Pelicans.

Pelicans competing in the not-so-known discipline "Synchronized landing".

Great egret.

It's hard to see on the photo but these elephants were massive.

Close up.

Our last sighting in the crater; two wildebeest having a go at each other.

Surprise Easter trip!

Due to quite a bit of overtime at work last year I have been allowed to take a little bit extra off this year. This has resulted in me deciding to take some extra time off before Easter which gives me 2 weeks + change off in a row. I have decided that the two weeks is to be spent on staying home and doing nothing, not going anywhere for once.

Pfff. Yeah, right.

This turn I am going back to Kenya and Tanzania, an 11 day camping safari going through all the big fun parts containing wildlife. After the trip to Argentina it’ll be nice to just relax on the savannah, lazily looking at the wildlife.

23^rd – 24^th of March

Flight to Nairobi via Amsterdam.

25^th – 26^th of March

We will leave the hotel in the early morning to go to Masai Mara. According to plan we will arrive in the afternoon where we will set up camp which we will be using as base for when we are there. Despite the slightly late arrival we will still be able to have a late afternoon drive.

27^th of March

We have time for the regular morning drive before having to return to Nairobi in the late afternoon.

28^th of March

Today we will leave Kenya and cross the border to Tanzania and go to the town Arusha where we will arrive in the afternoon.

29^th of March

Visit Lake Manyara. Apart from looking at wildlife we will be visiting a local village and seeing the Rift Valley.

30^th – 31^st of March

Crossing through the Rift Valley we go towards the Serengeti NP. This area is pretty self-explanatory. Spending time on driving around and looking at animals. What’s not to like?

1^st of April

After the last morning drive in Serengeti NP we leave and drive to the Ngorongoro conversation area and driving around the rim of the crater to reach our next camp site.

2^nd of April

With an early departure from the camp we travel into the crater where we spend most of the day driving around taking in the sights (i.e. more wildlife!). In the afternoon we will take our leave and go back to Arusha.

3^rd of April

Flight out from Kilimanjaro Airport via Dar Es Salaam and Amsterdam.