Up early , today is home time straight through the world renown Ngorongoro crater that is of course a caldera , but crater just sounds more dramatic and from the air it was both mystical and dramatic , so I was looking forward to getting up close and personal with the bowl . First we have the long game drive through the Serengeti to look forward to . Final goodbyes as per usual , and my arrival party lined up as my departure guard , what a fantastic group of guys to have spent time with , while in the Serengeti. Breakfast this morning was just about the coffee and eggs , no cats . lunch packed Zeph revving and off we set.
Good morning Michael and Zeph
Please don’t go we have so much still to share
And so our morning started with a whole lot more to come over the next 180 odd kilometres to the crater that is of course a caldera. The Serengeti is awesome period , but there is something very spiritual about early morning sunrise in the bush , especially this bush , so we drove for the crater in silence , our thoughts our own our eyes drinking as we drove.
A little faster than Victoria zero tooooo
The sign the proof we had left , the arch and trees final confirmation , until we meet again sensational Serengeti. I asked Zeph to pull over so I could stand on her plains touching earth and thank this special place.
So we entered a new conservancy.
Zeph went to pay the park fees for the crater , as one has to pay an additional fee to get your vehicle onto the crater floor and I climed the hill to admire the view from the kopje to see what lay ahead . Wow !
Just a little way down the road from Naabi gate we came across this fellow , just like me doing it solo , the only difference really , is that I can’t travel at night but he can and does.
Not a small man.
The drive down was really interesting due to the fact that the Masai are allowed to live in harmony with the wild in this part of the conservancy , so you come across their boma’s , livestock and of course the Masai themselves living as they did traversing the plains with their animals, following the grazing and the water.
Masai Boma
Walking earth
Finally you are up and almost over and the view down into the crater sets the tone for what it holds and for what the floor will bring.
On the rim before we drive down
The bowl that holds or feeds all , as the crater is reffered to by the Masai . It is just that, a place that holds so much in such a relatively small area . The game after the Serengeti feels sparse but the diversity found in the natural wonder of the bowl is incredible , forest areas , plains , dams , rivers , swampland , woodlands and groves , you drive through the world in a place . On the floor looking around , it felt like an Imax movie 3D and all around . Zeph and I spent around 4 hours enjoying this world in one place.
Please give me the heads up , no luck
More cats
Zeph and I had lunch watching the hippo’s and looking up for Kites who apparently attempt to separate lunch from those trying to enjoy it , so we dine half in half out the Toyota , after our coffee we took the next two hours to finally get out of the crater and put foot for Arusha.
One last look
The road out
The sign out .
We drove for the rest of the day stopping off in a couple of small towns and at the office in Manyara to say hi and bye to Chris and then we hit the tar home .
What a week , I still have not stopped dreaming , it is wonderful dreaming while awake , thank you to all those who made this experience so special for me , the Serengeti will live in me forever.
Until we meet again.
