Saturday September 27, 2003
This morning after breakfast, Raphael picked us up from the hotel and we headed out to ‘the bush’. On the way out of Arusha, we stopped at a couple of souvenir shops, though we found them to be expensive and did not buy anything.
We continued on, passing many local Maasai people, and eventually the paved road turned into a dirt road, bumpy and dusty and slow going.
We stopped at a picnic shelter for our packed lunch: a piece of fried chicken, 2 samosas, a bag of chips, and a can of Coke. Soon after we got back on the road, we had a flat tire. Raphael was quick to fix it and in so doing, provided some good entertainment to the local kids who gathered to watch.
We got to Ngorongoro Crater with enough daylight left to do a 3 hour game drive.
The crater is absolutely gorgeous, and packed with wildlife. We saw warthogs, zebras, wildebeest, cape buffalo, water bucks, elephants, black rhinos, hartebeest, jackals, hyenas, hippos, ostriches and flamingoes.
It was amazing. Right before 6pm (crater closing time) we drove back up out of the crater and checked into our lodge, the Serena Ngorongoro Safari Lodge.
We received a welcome cocktail at reception, and were shown to our room. The rooms are all built into the cliff and are connected by outdoor pathways and stairs. Our room is huge and has a beautiful balcony overlooking the crater.
The lodge has a large bar and lounge area where we went before dinner to see some Maasai dancers perform. They did their traditional jumping dance – and the air they can get is incredible. Dinner was a fancy 4 course affair in another beautiful setting, a glass walled dining room with more views into the crater. We can’t wait until tomorrow to see this place during daylight.
Cook Family Travels 