Kensington Ngorongoro Ngorongoro Conservation Area

... and sometimes elephants. Our guides set to preparing dinner for us as we set up our tents. We had been warned it was going to be chilly and already a brisk wind had set in, making us all shiver and add extra layers of warmth. I decided to go for it all the way and layered in my hot chillies and tank top and tshirt and long sleeve shirt, my ski hat and my fleece. <br><br>I definitely started off a bit warm, but as night ...

... to be dissapointed - pretty soon they all started coming out the woodwork, lions coming within 4 or 5 feet of the car, elephants bathing, hippos chilling, water buffalo etc all in immense numbers everywhere you looked. Couldn't have imagined seeing that much - highly recommended.<br> While the week at the clinic was a bit lighter on hardcore medicine compared to the one before it was still definitely worthwhile. The team there are a pretty special lot ...

... wasteland. It&#8217;s in the Rift Valley, which was created millions of years ago when Asia and Africa became two different continents when the plates they rested on separated.<br><br>Our guide Emmanuel pointed out the animals, birds and plants along the way. The forest is full of baobab trees (the tree of life, as featured in Disney&#8217;s Animal Kingdom) as well as some VERY large mahogany trees.<br><br>1. First up was the blue monkey ...

... into the trees, which is not unusual if it were at Lake Manyara and not Ngorongoro, and we also see several other lions throughout the crater.<br><br> Our guide is not getting much respect and courtesy from the Tanzanian guides in the park. He is receiving false information and directions. It is becoming abundantly clear to us that the Tanzanians not welcoming him and / or perceive him as a threat to their jobs. We see prejudice and discrimination toward ...

... thick mist, cloud or fog. Sure hoped that Edwin could see where he was driving as we were on the rim and heading down 600 meters into the crater. Saw lots of hippos, wildbeast, zebras, buffaloes and other animals in the crater. Quite a extensive ecosystem here. The only animals that are not here are giraffes since it is too steep for them to get into the crater.

... movie and I must agree it was like that driving into some preserved animal environment but totally natural as the crater is a place where the animals climb down into and many never leave as all they need is there. Amazing. Was it worth the money? Yes for the crater alone but it was overpriced in terms of food and lack of drinks ( tea/water) and severely lacked in communication about the trip and the guide was not very forthcoming by way of ...

... and visiting in the street. Joseph and Ema jumped out of the car to purchase gifts for their mothers. The already surreal experience was intensified when the driver turned on the radio and blared Thriller. <br><br>Shortly thereafter we pulled up to a cluster of three mud huts surrounding a thorny brush cattle corral. A large group of Maasai men, women and children were waiting to greet us,. As soon as we exited the vehicle, the women formed a circle and began to sing and ...

... African cousins. We drove on through a herd of Wildebeest which is the same as Gnu (for those more familiar with that word) I think these guys were the ugliest creatures I have every seen. I couldn't believe that this was the regular diet of the predators of Africa. Who would want to eat something so ugly and unappetizing? Having said that I would retract my statement a few days later as I myself ate their meat at a restaurant in Kenya, Anyway ...

... so funny how he would come up to us and shake his head (he didn't speak English).  He would show us how to do it right, we would nod, thank him, and carry on. The first day we put in the windows, filled in the cracks and holes, and stated to paint. At the end of the day Phyllis and Bob had their good-bye ceremony. The next day Dad installed more windows, we finished the first four coats in the first room, and started the coats in the second room. The last day we finished up ...

... a truly scary sight. A bus carrying about 50 passengers had lost its traction and the rear half had slid over the edge of the road - there was a couple hundred foot drop. I don't even know if those folks knew how close they had been to being part of a gigantic tragedy. Almost forgot! When we were at the main gates, everyone got out of my defender to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. I stayed in the truck to continue reading. A few ...