After an all too brief a stay at Plantation Lodge it is time to hit the road again - it's grey & chilly today but a roaring fire at breakfast starts the day off well...
We had heard that Monday was market day in Karatu but Captain Chedi, who had swiftly & accurately summed up his charges, realised that it was never going to be a quick visit & kept his foot firmly on the accelerator...
It stayed misty & cool all the way along the Ngorongoro Crater rim - we can't see anything until at last it starts clearing as we head toward the western side of the Crater..this dramatic mountain (I think this is called Lemagrut but I might be mistaken..) is viewed en route around the Crater.
Finally the clouds lift high enough for us to get this view of the Ngorongoro Crater....no sooner had we stopped the vehicle than several Maasai appear with various trinkets to sell including Maasai blankets (still in their plastic wrapping). Needless to say this was not quite the shopping experience we had been hoping for..
A bit further on we stopped at Olduvai Gorge...except that it is now known as Oldupai Gorge - after the local Maasai name for the sisal plant that grows in the gorge. Apparently Olduvai is a mispronounciation and the name changed in 2005.....there is a guide who gives a 15 minute introduction and then you can wander around the museum at your leisure.
Oldupai has the dubious honour of having the MOST disgusting toilet I have ever visited....seriously only for the desperate (which we were - eyeballs were floating at that stage). Most visitors have to use the facilties though as the surrounding countryside is riddled with little Maasai herd boys who have the unnerving ability to pop out of nowhere as soon as they hear a vehicle stopping & surprise the unsuspecting soul who is trying to inspect the local flora....
We passed a sign saying 'Shifting Sands' but I didn't pay it much attention until Chedi started showing us the markers for a dune that is moving across the southern Serengeti...they mark it's location every five years to see how far it has moved. In the middle of nowhere we come across the cresent shaped dune quietly going about it's business....very odd indeed..
We find a nice spot under some flat top acacias for our picnic lunch...Chedi having checked for bees & other things that bite first..
Picnic lunch on safari...everybody gets their own lunch box....so nicely presented..
We pass through & get signed in to the Seregeti National Park proper at the Naabi gate...we take it slowly, stopping when something interesting presents itself....like this group of elephants looking for water at the end of the day..
There is such a beautiful light & the smell of rain in the air....heaven...
Finally we reach home for the next two nights...Serengeti Safari Camp, situated in the Moru kopjes area when we visited...simple but perfect..in fact, I'm convinced I could quite happily live in one of the tents on a permanent basis..
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