October 30th, 2006 Arusha – Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

October 30th, 2006
Arusha – Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

We got up at 6:45 and quickly packed our things. After a small breakfast we, the tourists, were ready to go. Unfortunately, we had to wait around for about ½ an hour (till 8:30) to leave. Our guides took longer than expected to pack up the vehicle.

We sat in the car for several hours. At 13:30 we stopped at Ngorongoro Crater for lunch. The crater is absolutely massive! It was formed when a large volcano collapsed on itself and is much bigger than I imagined. For those that do not know, the area is known as the cradle of human life. It is thought modern man evolved in and around the crater. The entire experience was very interesting and informative.

After a quick presentation and tour of the (very) small museum, we got back in the car for several more hours. Still, the it was not as bad as I expected because the roads in Tanzania are much better than those in Kenya (I have heard it is because lots of UN money is pumped into the country for the war crimes trials of Rwanda…).

We finally made it into Serengeti National Park at 16:30. We stopped for a quick picture at the entry gates and then continued on our way. As we entered the park we came across vultures, gazelle, zebra, and buffalo. The plain was just as I had always pictured it. It wa a wide open grassland with scattered trees and many animals.

We finally got to camp at 17:30. It was a long day and we arrived much later than anticipated. After setting up camp it was decided that we did not have time to complete a scheduled game drive. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed. Even so, everything seemed much better after watching a beautiful sunset.

After dinner and a quick conversation amongst the group, we all headed to bed.

NOTE: As always, the camp was also home to a troop of Baboons that eat everyone's leftovers...