The birds and the ungulates

The flowering plain
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The morning was completely socked in at the lodge.  We started the day driving to the bottom of the crater.  The thick fog would part revealing the shrouded figures of Masaai walking along the road  the reds of their clothing and the green sweaters of the schoolchildren popping out of the grey.  Round huts in threes or more set in the mist with herds of cattle and a very young boy watching over them braced on the slopes.

As we reached the floor the sky opened with sun shooting across the crater floor.  The big 5 of animal spotting are Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Cape Buffalo and Rhino.  We were now at the only place to see Rhino as all other National Parks have been poached empty.  We had a false sighting which turned out to be an Eland in the far distance.  Abbas listening to the short wave suddenly swerved us around and slogged through some bumpy waterlogged paths which got us within sight of two whiteish humps in the distance.  One of the humps raised up long enough for me to capture its precious horn in my lens.

Our hut at the Tangire Sopa lodge
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We stopped for lunch at a designated spot near a watering hole.  I took my boxed lunch and set out on a rock.  As I was unwrapping my piece of chicken suddenly it was snatched from my hand.  It was so fast that I didn't even have time to flinch, just the 'duh, what happened' look on my face.  A kite had swooped down and grabbed it.  This wicked fast bird about the size of an osprey made off with my main course.  What is amazing it didn't touch me at all neither claw nor wing.

Landscape of Ngorongoro with specks of Elephant in the far distance
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As we left Ngorongoro I felt like I was leaving a dream and the wake up was entering the world of humans.  There continued to be zebra, gazelle and giraffe sharing pastures with the herds of the Masaai.

We dropped Lucky off at an intersection so that he could head back into Arusha and we headed on to Tarangire National Park.  By the time we got to the luxurious Sopa Lodge 34 bumpy kilometers into the park I was vibrating from the jostling and was glad to think tomorrow was my last day in the jeep.

A hearty breakfast buffet with all the silverware you could want
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The lodge was hosting an Italian corporation called Bernese's family safari.  There were 75 people in the dining room that night.  By far this was the busiest and nicest place we stayed.  The room was a suite with turn-down service and even complimentary sunscreen which was an insufficient SPF for my nose the next day.