Day 5

Wednesday, Dec 5, 2018

We left the Tarangire this morning, spotting more animals along the way.  One of the most fantastic things we witnessed happened as we were driving down a dirt road at probably 20 miles per hour.  All of a sudden a Huge giraffe came crashing through the brush and ran directly in front of our Jeep.  If our driver had not applied his brakes we would have surely hit him!  Seeing that giraffe up so close gave us a whole new perspective on the size of that graceful animal.  He was larger by far than any giraffe I’ve ever seen in any zoo.  Unfortunately it all happened so quickly that there was no time for pictures.  There we were 6 people in our Jeep bemoaning that fact for a while.  The lead driver said we were very lucky to see that because it happens so rarely.

We drove through village after village that were both colorful and shocking.  I frequently heard one or another of our group talking about how much they recognized the huge blessing we enjoy in life.  We see so many small children along the edge of the roads herding goats or walking who knows where.  I can’t imagine a child in America walking along by themselves like that, with the responsibility of what is probably the entire family income.  

We drove through the Lake Manyara National Park this morning.  We stopped at a huge lake that is actually brackish.  But it was there we saw our first hippopotamuses.  Jim keeps adding to his bird list.  The birds are so colorful and unlike the ones we have at home.  We drove on to a small village and visited a large gift shop.  I’m coming home with a beautiful, sparkly anniversary gift from Jim.  I won’t tell you what it is, but we are in Tanzania, and they do mine a beautiful stone here which is named after the country (or maybe the country is named after the stone), and I never did have an engagement ring....  Now I just have to figure out customs.

Once we left the gift shop and headed for the caldera of Ngorongoro, the dirt roads became so bumpy.  I think we will never complain about Michigan roads again!  We were jostled all the way to the lodge where we were staying, and both Jim and I are sporting bruises on our arms and legs to prove it!  But what a beautiful, incredible sight we beheld as we gazed over the Caldera!  It is 12 miles across and tomorrow we will be driving down into it.  We still have to spot that male lion and find a leopard so we can say we have seen the Big Five, and tomorrow is our best chance of doing so.

We arrived at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge shortly before dinner.  The lodges are great and our room overlooks the caldera.  The restaurant is  lovely and while Jim doesn’t particularly like the African interpretation of our food, it is beautifully prepared and served.  We are served a starter course, a soup course, the entree and a dessert with choices for each..Once again we were treated to an African chorus for dinner entertainment. 

Tomorrow we go into the caldera!