Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, January 8, 2016

The Ngorongoro Crater is 310 square kilometers, contains over 400 species of birds and 20,000-25,000 large animals!  Along with its neighbor, the Serengeti, it's home to 2 million migratory animals!  It has the largest biodiversity and highest density of wildlife in the world.   What a day we had!

The crater was formed 5-7 million years ago by a volcano-

Its floor has perfect living conditions-

The first animal of the day was none other than......  A leopard!  There were 2 of them in a bush close to the road-

The Augar Buzzard-

The Thomson gazelle-

One of the big five- a water buffalo-

Animals that belong to the Big 5 include the water buffalo, lion, elephant, rhino and leopard.  They are so called because they are the 5 most difficult animals to kill while hunting on foot.

The Black backed jackal is not only a scavenger but also a hunter.  They are usually seen in pairs, but this one was alone-

The Kori Bustard is the heaviest bird that can fly-

Hippos, as usual, were just lazing around-

The beginning of many lions, so get used to it :)

Many warthogs ...  Ho.. Hum...

Look at those tusks!

Then, we came across 3 black rhino, covered in mud-

Wildebeest are everywhere and are followed by zebra because they can hear and zebra can see so they work well together-

Hyenas are mangie looking and skulk around like they've already done something wrong-

A male zebra has a smaller butt than a female.   I love the way their tail looks braided-

We would drive along and see all of these animals intermingling with each other.  They weren't afraid of the vehicles so they just carried on with their lives.  It was surreal driving around-

The animals are free to leave the crater but the outside wall is very high and there's dense vegetation so they stay.  Giraffes are not found inside because ??  A lack of trees for food?  The crater wall is too high? Not sure.

These elephants are huge and have great ivory tusks-

Male ostrich have pink legs only during the mating season to attract females who can lay up to 24 eggs that take 90 days to hatch-

We left the Ngorongoro Crater for the Serengeti.  Along the way....  Yes, still my favorite :)

Maasai are not found in the crater but live and run their herds of cattle, goats, donkeys and sheep in valleys outside.  This Maasai village has a center fence for the animals and the wives homes surround-

A Maasai looking after a very large herd in the lush valley-

Once inside the Serengeti -

who did we see but Simba-

Actually Simba and Nalla-

The Grey Crowned crane is Uganda's national bird and found on their flag.  European geese are beside him-

More elephants-

Another hyena-

And finally cheetah-

This poor lion needed a bath.  He might have been fighting a water buffalo or......

We are camping in the middle of the Serengeti and we've been warned about getting out of our tents during the night because of four legged visitors so I hope I make the night!

Lake Manyara, Tanzania, January 7, 2015

Lake Manyara National Park is 235 square kilometers and it costs $45 US to enter.  It's a mix of jungle where we saw baboons-

And lots of savannah where giraffe roam-

We also came upon some giraffes very close to the road where they were enjoying a lunch of leaves-

They are my favorite animal so it was a pleasure to watch the 7 of them nibble away!

Hippos usually spend the hot day in water and graze at night because the sun easily burns their hides.   The largest one weighs between 800-1000 kilograms and they eat 70 kg of food/day.  They have a baby every 2 years that weighs 45-60 kg.  They live 28-35 years-

There were a lot of Plains zebra, wildebeest and water buffalo grazing-

Over 400 species of birds live in the park.  Some of them include the Ovambo Hawk, the African Fish Eagle who was having a bath in the river and the Grey Herron who was perfectly still while watching his prey-

Other birds include the African Spoonbill and the Sacred Ibis-

The Blue Monkey really looks blue and can jump 8 meters-

The Vervet Monkey is also called the Black Faced Monkey.  They are very social and live in families.  They groom each other but are not agressive like baboons-

African elephants live 60-70 years and weigh up to 7 tonnes.  They have a great memory and their society is matriarchal.  They spend 16 hours/day eatng 125 kg and drinking 225 litres.

My first wildebeest!  They are called "zero brain" because they are super dumb.  They follow the rains and have an excellent sense of smell.  Zebra follow them to the grasslands.  Zebra can see really well so they work in a symbiotc relationship-                                                  

Maasi wear sandals made from used tires that last 5 years and are apparently comfortable-

 I like the sign at the toilets-

The migration (searching for food) of gazelles, wildebeest and zebra occurs between the Maasi Mara National Park in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania.  A river separates the 2 parks which the gazelles can't cross so they stay in Tanzania.  

Looking forward to visiting the Ngorongora Crater tomorrow!

Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania, January 6, 2016

After meeting Dougie and Helen, our new travel mates, we left Nairobi where traffic is nuts-

The Kibera slums of Nairobi are massive-

There is a huge divide between the rich and poor.  There doesn't seem to be a middle class.

We set off for Tanzania.  The border was pretty basic and easy, which is always a bonus.  $50 U.S.  later, I had my hand written visa in my passport and I was "in"!

We are in the land of the Maasi where the men wear skirts and capes while walking with a staff-

Maasi women have large holes in their ears and wear a lot of bead necklaces and earrings-

The landscape is lovely-

well worked and fertile.  I've also seen a couple of tractors even though a lot of work is still done by hand-

Lunch was a roasted cob of maize - nasty.  Tasted like partially popped popcorn.  People eat only to live.  So sad :)  They don't know what they are missing-

Looking forward to 3 days and 2 nights on a safari visiting Lake Manyara , the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.  

Nairobi, Kenya January 4-5, 2016

We returned to Nairobi after a couple of weeks travelling through Uganda and Rwanda.  We've driven through and along the Rift Valley the past while-

Tonight we had a great meal at Purdy Arms: butter chicken and cheese stuffed na'an-

Absolute best meal I've had for months.  It was a sad affair because we are saying farewell to Brad who is off to work in Australa-

and Fraser and Kathryn-

who have already completed the southern part of our expedition so they are heading off on their own.

We will miss them -a lot!  It's been great getting to know them and travel with them.

We leave Kenya tomorrow as we make our way to Arusha,Tanzania.  Internet may be sporadic or non existent until arriving in Cape Town February 29 but I will do my best to post when I can!