Well we actually had a lazy day in which we did not have to go out on a game drive. We hung out at our lodge for the morning, had lunch then drove out toward Ngorongoro Crater. It was nice taking our time. We stopped at two contrasting stops along the way.
Our first stop was in Karatu, which is a town of about 500,000 people. Steve and my group were given a walk through a permanent market in the town. It's nothing like our stores in the US but the people in the stalls and shops sell every possible basic need whether you need to buy a chicken, vegetables or need your bicycle fixed. This is where the town comes to buy what they need. I think a lot of people would think the area is poor but it's not.
We also visited a luxury lodge that is managed by someone that has been asking for Steve to stop by. I think they are hoping EWT will consider using them. We got the standard entrance greeting of song and a fruit drink as well as a grand tour. It was a very beautiful place.
Of course what we were all waiting for was our first look at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unflooded, unbroken caldera. It was a volcano that imploded probably 2 to 3 million years ago. It was discovered by people not from Tanzania around the 1890s. What is interesting about the crater and surrounding conservation area is that the Masai graze their animals along side with animals that stay in the crater. Many of the animals stay here for safety reasons, especially black rhinos and great tuskers. But others do migrate in and out of the crater. It is a beautiful site. From the top it's hard to believe it holds about 25,000 animals below but we shall see tomorrow. We go down early at 7:30 so we can cover the whole crater. So wish me luck on me being able to see some amazing animals. This will be the only place I will ever see a wild black rhino since they are so rare these days.
Sorry but it is impossible to really show the scale of this crater but here is the best I can do.
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