Ngorongoro Crater

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16/09/08 - 17/09/08

On the way to Ngorongoro Crater we stopped off at Olduvai Gorge, which shows evidence of human habitation spanning millions of years.
Leaving the Gorge we made our way to the rim of the crater, before descending to its floor. It is a strange site to see a mountian range around you, no matter which way you look. It's impossible to give a description of the size and beauty of the crater, as there is nothing with which you can compare it. No wonder it is one of the wonders of the world.
The crater, which is 2200 metres above sea level, was formed by a volcano collapsing in on itself, leaving a ring of mountain range around a lower central plain. The lowest point of the plains is 620 metres below the rim.
The crator has a variety of habitats which support a lot of different wild life, and is the home to the rare Black Rhino. Unfortunately we did not see any.
Next day we made our way to the Nainoka Noka Village where with an armed ranger, we climbed up to Olmoti Crater. This is the home of the Munge stream which as it leaves the crater creates a water fall. Reaching this piont we saw the Maasai herdsman watering their livestock, and met four Massai women dressed in their full traditional clothing. The women escorted us back down the mountain, as they were on their way to the weekly Maasai market, where hundreds of Maasai's gather to trade live stock and wares. In Nainoka Noka Village we visited a government run primary school. The school had 8 teachers and over 800 students, we handed out more pencils, pens, texter's and colouring in pencils to the students.
After lunch we proceeded back down the mountain and left Ngorongoro Crater Rreserve. We then had 3 hours of the worst possible road to travel on, to get to place pretty close to heaven. We averaged 20km an hour on a bull dust covered rocky track. And to top it all off I had a migraine and felt like vomiting the whole time, but had nothing to vomit into except my hat and a seal lock bag which had a hole in it. We finally arrived at Lake Eyasi at about 5pm.
Kisimangeda Tented Lodge is on the edge of the Lake and is surrounded by palm groves and native African thorn tree's. The breeze has kept the temperature down, and help dry the endless supply of dirty washing. I will never take the washing machine and dryer for granted again, I am sick of washing clothes in the bathroom sink and trying to get them dried overnight.

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