After the kill view, we spend the rest of the afternoon driving around the crater and seeing other wildlife.  As the sun starts to sink, we head back out of the crater.  The park closes at 6 pm, and everyone has to be out by that time.  Then, the park rangers make a sweep of the complete crater floor, checking for poachers.  They are very committed to ensuring the safety of the animals from man.
 
Once we arrive back at the lodge we have a little time before dinner.  We clean up and meet in the bar for Tusker's and wine, and share the highlights of the day.  A little later we move to the dining room where there is a table for all of us.  We enjoy another very wonderful, and very large, dinner.  Those of us who thought we might lose a few pounds on this trip are being proved woefully wrong!!
 
At the table I asked Abu who makes the table arrangements, that is, how do we always end up eating as a complete group?  He told me that he was the one that decided.  He said that normally he breaks the guests into two, three, or even four groups, depending on how they get along, their interests, their interactions, etc.  He said that from the very first night he saw that we all got along, were interested in each other, there were no loaners, no outsiders, and he wanted to keep us together.  He said that it is very rare that such a large and diverse group mesh so well together.  I had to agree, it seemed almost like a family reunion, not a group of strangers meeting for the first time.
 
Eventually we make our way back to our room, where I jot some notes in my daily journal, and Michelle reads some about the Ngorongoro Crater.  After a bit we hit the sack for the evening.  Tomorrow is a big day, all day on the crater floor.  We wonder how we could ever see more than we saw today.  All I'll say for now is that Thomson did not let us down....

As the time comes to leave, we find Michelle helping the guys load up the Land Rovers.  Our ride today is with Abu in the six passenger Rover.

Friday, July 22.  Today we get to sleep in a bit.  Our breakfast is not scheduled until 9 am, and we plan to leave for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Ngorongoro Crater National Park at about 10.  We lounge around, have coffee on the terrace, and enjoy the beginning of the day.  As usual it is overcast, with some fog, but we are sure it will clear up in the afternoon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We depart Gibbs for the two hour drive to the crater.  We run into light rain and fog as we begin our climb to the 7.500' crater rim where the lodge is located.  Pretty soon we arrive at the main gate to the conservation area.  Here our guides pay for our entrance, and we have an opportunity to visit the information center and the gift shop.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After paying our fees, we head up the crater wall road enroute to our next lodge.  As with most roads in Tanzania, this one is dirt, rutted, and very rough.  On top of that, the fog is so thick that visibility is almost nil.  I can't see more than 50' in front of the rover.  But Abu knows the road well, he takes his time, and eventually we arrive safely at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, our home for the next two nights.
 
We arrive at about noon, and are treated to a truly spectacular facility.  Built of native materials, fully integrated into the surrounding terrain, the lodge is unbelievably beautiful.  A plaque on the wall claims it is one of the top 500 hotels in the world in 2005.  Built in 1996, it is clean, modern, and the staff are wonderful.
 
We check in and are escorted to our room, which has a large balcony and overlooks the crater floor 2,000 feet below.  The crater is about 10 miles across, and we can just make out the far rim.  We can only imagine the wildlife below as we survey the incredible view.
 
Lunch is at 12:30 in the lodge restaurant, and at 2 we load up in the Rovers for the 45 minute drive to the crater floor.  The sun is out, it is warming up, and we are at last heading to serious animal viewing! 
 
We drive around the rim, passing Maasai villages, watching them herd their cattle to the local watering hole.  When we reach the conservation area gate, we step out for a minute to stretch and take in the glorious view below.  We are in awe of our surroundings, and excited about what we hope to see.  The Ngorongoro Crater is noted as one of the Wonders of the World, and home to over 150,000 animals that never leave the crater floor.
 
After checking in at the station, we begin the descent down the interior of the crater wall.  Down and down and down we go, on a narrow, rutted road, watching to see our first glimpses of crater floor wildlife.
 
Once again we are not disappointed.  We spend three hours or so driving around the floor, and we see cheetah, cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackal, impala, gazelle, zebra, and elephant.  We see tons of birds, including flamingos, eagles, secretary birds, and vultures. 
 
There were two special events we were lucky enough to witness.  One was seeing two of the only twelve black rhinoceros that live on the crater floor.  While they were too far away for photographs, we could see them with the naked eye, and very clearly with binoculars.  They are huge and beautiful animals, and it is tragic that they are so endangered because of man.
 
The second event was a hyena kill.  We got a call that the kill was by the side of the road, and we headed over.  We found a dozen other vehicles pulled off the side of the road, where hyenas had killed a wildebeest and were in the process of eating it.  Eventually lions chased the hyena away and had their fill of the carcass.  It was pretty gory, but in the end, it was simply nature running its course.