Day 0 - Arrival
Day 1 - Arusha
Day 2 - Lake Manyara
Day 3 - Ngorongoro Crtr
Day 4 - Tarangire NP
Day 5 - Arusha
Day 6 - Kilimanjaro, d1
Day 7 - Kilimanjaro, d2
Day 8 - Kilimanjaro, d3
Day 9 - Kilimanjaro, d4
Day 10 - Kilimanjaro, d5
Day 11 - Kilimanjaro, d6
Day 12 - Arusha
Day 13 - Departure
Tanzania
Day two of safari at Ngorongoro Crater (inside Ngorongoro Conservation Area). Drive up a few thousand feet to the top of the crater wall, look at the magnificent layer of clouds, then descend into the crater itself.
On the way in, more monkeys, a quick glance at a Massai village, and holy cow, the first of a million zebras that seem to live in Tanzania. Wildebeests and warthogs aplenty, some water buffalo, plus the odd ostrich and eland, and then we saw a large migration of Toyota Land Cruisers to one area of the crater...
A large migration of Africa's most-popular yet least appreciated moving creature, the Toyota Land Cruiser migration can only signal one thing: the appearance of yet even more remarkable African wildlife!
In this case it was due to a pride of lions near the road, snacking on a fresh water buffalo kill. At least three males (was it four?) and at least a half-dozen females were gorging themselves, and after finding themselves satiated, two of the lionesses moved over to the trail and took a nap in the shade of one of the Land Cruisers (!). (sadly not ours!) Hyenas slowly began to gather as well, although as that happened we were herded away by park rangers-- and as a secondary surprise, we were able to catch a long-distance glimpse at one of the three black rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater. Not nearly as incredible as the close-up of the lions, but to spot the rare black rhino was an accomplishment in itself.
Lunch was by a hippo pool, where four of them watched all of these humans gather around (and where four black kites surprised the heck out of everyone except our guide by stealing part of Alicia's lunch!). Threats of rain kept the afternoon sightings a bit dull, as all the animals seemed to know it was time to lay low...