Richard suggested an earlier start because it could be a long day. We agreed to 0800 instead of our preferred 0830; he explained that it should be 0700 to 0800 ideally.
We left the Ikoma village area and entered the flat grasslands of the Serengeti National Park. Richard showed us a carcass hung up a tree; it was a deer of some kind which had been stashed there by a leopard to stop other creatures from having a share of its kill.
Next up we had a good view of some hyenas. Shortly before leaving the park, we came across to maned male lions, our first adult males with manes! They were just lying in the sun within view from the road. Aren’t we lucky once again!
We left the park and climbed uphill then entered the Ngorongoro conservation area; the difference is that Masais can bring their animals in to graze in a conservation area whereas in a park they can’t. We descended into the flat of the crater where the grass was noticeably shorter. It was cool and overcast with clouds hanging above the height of the crater rim.
The common-as-muck zebras and wilderbeest were easily seen here. We only saw one elephant and some hippos in a pool. However, I thought the bird life was much richer and I liked the crown crane best (found on the crest of Uganda).
We had two very distant encounters with a black rhino (our last of the big five to spot) with binoculars. I couldn’t personally make out the beast in the first encounter but I could in the second (with a picnic lunch in between).
With the rhino “done”, we exited the crater around 1500. We drove up to the misty crater rim before heading to the Bougainvillea Safari Lodge. We got there around 1600. We were all dusty from the ride; a lot dustier than when we had used the same road two days ago in the opposite direction.
Our luggage was covered in dust as well and the porter (porteress, if you like) wiped them down for us. In many countries, we tend not to have help with our luggage but in countries like this, it is a way of “trickling down” our income to the locals. Likewise with shopping and buying souvenirs (which we don’t need) but we have to draw the line somewhere. In practice, it is the lack of small change prevent us from being more helpful to the locals in this way.
There was no power at the hotel and we had to wait for them to resolve their generator issues.
Dinner was an experience. It was a set menu but the waiters brought out all the elements by hand and you served yourself at the table (or they served it on to your plate). It was like a buffet served to you. After dinner, we sat by the fireplace briefly before retiring.
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- Morning on the Serengeti.
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- Leopard kill.
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- Hyenas.
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- Beauty of the flatland that is the Serengeti.
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- Beauty of the flatland that is the Serengeti.
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- Lions.
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- Masai outside their village.
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- Masais hearding their goats.
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- Masais hearding their goats.
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- Cows belonging to Masai.
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- Ngorongoro Crater.
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- Wilderbeest.
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- Wilderbeest.
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- Warthogs and crowned crane (as found on Uganda’s crest).
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- Crowned crane (as found on Uganda’s crest).
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- Warthog.
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- Hippos again.
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- Storks.
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- Kori bustard.
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- At the lake and lunch stop in Ngorongoro.
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- At the lake and lunch stop in Ngorongoro.
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- At the lake and lunch stop in Ngorongoro.
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- Ngorongoro Crater.
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- Black rhino in the distance.
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- Parts of Ngorongoro crater rim is often misted.
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- Our lodge near Lake Manyara.
