TANZANIA, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara National Parks

 March 18th - March 21st  (2006)

A  3 night/4 day safari to (3) National Parks was the reward to myself for making it to the summit of Kilimanjaro (5895 meters or 19,340 ft.). I had a private guide and private Landover at a cost of about $1000. The luxury lodges were a welcome respite from the difficult tent camping conditions on Kili and no air con at hotel in Moshi. Plus each lodge had all u can eat buffets. Gained back all the weight and more I lost on the Kili trek.

(1) SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK 

The Serengeti in Tanzania is one of those places that you see on tv and dream of seeing one day. The wildlife is unbelievable with its great diversity. I really did not expect to see camels there. I only thought they were in the desert. 

We finally found the elusive leopard. When we arrived at the site, 3 other vehicles were also there. The leopard was lying on a branch in the tree and we found out that the other vehicles had been waiting for 2 hrs for him to move. As soon as we parked, the leopard started to come down the tree and posed for us for about 20 minutes. The lodge was built up on high rocks and had a beautiful view of the Serengeti , especially at sunset.

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LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK 

Lake Manyara is a soda ash Lake that attracts over 370 species of birds and almost 2,000,000 pink flamingos. My guide told me he had to learn to distinguish all the different species before getting his certification.

 Lake Manyara was not my favorite National Park but was my favorite lodge. The baboon seen was actually outside of my 2nd floor balcony. Which leads to my story. On checking in we were told to keep our balcony doors locked. The morning after check in I went out on my balcony to see the sights, closed my balcony door and went to breakfast. Someone in the hotel starting screaming and asking who was in room 223 because a baboon was in the room. My room of course. He was removed by hotel personnel. They come into the rooms looking for food I was told.

Flamingo pic was NOT my pic unfortunately.  

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NGORONGORO CRATER NATIONAL PARK 

The Ngorongoro Crater is the 10th most visited natural wonder in the world. It is the largest natural crater in the world with over 25,000 large animals living there year round. It is 15 kilometers in diameter with a 2000 foot crater rim all the way around. The lodges are perched on the crater rim and the Land Rovers drive down into the crater to view the wildlife.

GOING HOME

March 21, 2006

12 hr. flight from Kilimanjaro airport to Amsterdam and then a 3 hr. layover there. 10 more hours to Houston and all that was left was the 6 hr. drive back to Jonesville, Louisiana.

Climbing Kilimanjaro gave me a confidence to try things that I never considered trying. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater showed me the beauty of Africa that I had only seen on television. The 2 things together gave me a burning desire to see the rest of the world that I will always have.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed in the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."

                                                Mark Twain