Oct 05: On the Road again to the Serengeti

First a game drive around the Lake Manyara Game Park, but this is one of those small ones again.  Saw a lot of flamingos, but they were too far away to see properly.  Loads of monkeys and extensive bird life in the water shallows.

Then on the road again: 45 mins on sealed roads, them 5 hours on dirt tracks.  The robust Land Cruiser, makes peanuts out of it.  Prosper floors it and we make it to our Lodge in the Sereneti in 4and a half.  

We pass through prosperous little agricultural towns who live of this sub tropical escarpment of the Rift Valley.  Gradually we climb through subtropical hills until we reach the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater (which we will return to in 2 days time).

We skirt the crater for a while before dropping down into the expansive plains of the Serengeti.  The passing landscape is spectacular.

Our Lodge here consists of separate cottages scattered down the hillside.  No fence separates us from the massive expanse of The Serengeti and all its wildlife, so, at night we have to call reception to send for a guard to escort us to the main building.  It is also a tsetse fly area so we have to "Deet" up for protection.

Our verandah is ground level opening straight onto open bushland: when we arrive several Impala and an Eland are grazing within a stones throw.