Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 9

It took a couple of days from Dar Es Salaam to get to Arusha which is pretty much the gateway to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Fortunately we changed trucks before entering the Serengeti. Unfortunately the one we moved into was only slightly smaller, completely open, dusty and noisy!! We were easily the biggest (and noisiest) in the Serengeti and scared more than a few animals. On the way we stopped in at Oldupai gorge the "cradle of humankind". We were both looking forward to this but were more than a little disappointed both with teh display and talk. From here it was a short trip to the gate into the Serengeti. We saw lots of Thomsons and Grants gazelles on the way as well as a few lazy lions Geoff thought were "log"abeests. Unfortunately it was ... read more

Safari After 4 weeks of studying we finished on friday and went for a safari for three days. We were 10 students in total and two jeeps. We visited 3 different parks which all gave us different experiences. I might write a bit more later, but I think the pictures will tell the most of the story from this trip. Enjoy... read more

The day was just dawning over the crater rim as I emerged crysalis-like from my tent. As I had now not showered in 2 days, I was not, however, a beautiful butterfly, more like a dirty brown moth! We left at 7am for our morning's game drive in the crater. But first we had to get into it on a long narrow and very twisty road, well track. The view was spectacular with the crater lit by the early morning rays and the mist from the forests rising up the sides. It was hard to beleive that the volcano was not erupting again!Suddenly we were at the bottom and it was flat but over on the other side of the crater were some lush green hills. One of the first animals we glimsped was a cheetah, ... read more

Tag #20 Von der Lodge ist es ein 2-stuendiger Weg zum Ngorongoro Krater. Auf dem Weg kommen wir an einem Aussichtspunkt vorbei, welches uns eine schoene Sicht auf den Lake Manyara erlaubt. Wir kommen auch an der Abbruchkante des Rift Valleys vorbei. Die Umgebung wirkt steinig, immer wieder hat es kahle Baobabs... Zuerst fahren wir die Krater Aussenwand hinauf zum Gate, welches sich auf ca. 2000m befindet. Die kuehlere Luft ist nun spuerbar. Aber die vergisst man schnell, den jetzt haben wir von einem Aussichtspunkt die Sicht auf den ganzen Krater bis runter auf zur ebenen Flaeche. Es ist schon klar, wieso diese Umgebung zum Welt-Kulturerbe erklaert wurde und auch "achtes Weltwunder" genannt wird. Diese vulkanische Szenerie ist atemberaubend. Eine 40 minuetige Fahrt fuehrt uns (diesmal bin ich mit vier Hollaender unterwegs) die Krater Innenseite hinunter, ... read more

After visiting the Masai yesterday we headed out for a few hours drive to another campsite as tomorrow we are going on our first safari into the Ngorongoro Crater. We are away for a few days in a land rover so we packed light, meaning no extra clothes other than a change of underwear,and 'wet wipe' showers as there would not be an actual shower seen for a few days. When we arrived at our new campsite after a fairly uneventful 2 1/2 hour drive over, our tents had already been set up for us by our guides and tea and coffee were ready to be poured. I could get used to this!! Whilst drinking our tea we heard rumbles of thunder approaching us, the sky turned incredibly dark and a double rainbow appeared. Before we ... read more