Day 10 - Ngorongoro Crater and Cultural Experience

 Today we travelled from Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater with a stop enroute at a Maasai village, which was quite an experience.

Upon stopping at the village we were greeted by Elijah, the son of the village Chief. Consistent with the Maasai people , the Chief has multiple wives, in his case 21 wives! The 21 wives live in 21 separate huts that the wives built from sticks, straw and cow dung. The wife and their children live in the hut. The older boys sleep with the cows, to keep them safe and maintain fire through the night to ward off any predators. This is definitely a life that's not for us!! Amazing there are people living like this in 2025.

We then witnessed and participated in a dance and song performance. Next, a demonstration how to start fire using a stick, piece of wood with straw and donkey dung. As you can tell, dung from several sources is important. Water is a very valued item, and used extremely sparingly. Their diet largely consists of milk (goat, sheep or cow), blood (yes that's right) and meat. Again. not our preferred diet. The final stop in the village was the school hut, where we heard 3 - 7 year olds sing the alphabet song, recite numbers and go through the alphabet. 

Then it was onto the 12 mile X 12 mile Ngorongoro crater. The wildlife is once again on display...a pride of five lions, six hyenas feasting on a water buffalo, flocks of African crown crane, more hippos, several elephants, and more.

Our lodging for the evening is at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Very interesting room, elevated tent structure. Yes, it has running water, king size bed, screened in porch and a separate bathroom. Quite impressive, especially considering where we're at.

The last day of our safari is tomorrow. There will be one more blog post. This is definitely a trip we will never forget.

Day 9 - Hot Air Balloon over the Serengeti

     Today started leaving our camp at 5:15 AM for a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. This is the first time we have been on a hot air balloon ride. 16 people + the captain for over an hour airborne. Our flight varied from approximately 500 - 1000 ft altitude. After going thru the safety protocol, and getting the balloon upright, it was another new experience being carried by the wind and viewing from above. We saw hippos, crocodile, giraffe, monkeys, zebra and more.  

Upon landing we were treated to a champagne toast for a successful voyage, then off to a fantastic breakfast in the bush. Another special notice with song and dance was the recognition for birthdays and anniversaries. Yes, we were recognized (again) for our 45 years together!

Following breakfast, our guide located an amazing group of hippos in the stream. Then we saw a couple families of baboons. The one week and two week old playing together was precious. Finally, as we approached our camp this afternoon, there were three elephant brothers along the path to welcome us home.

Tomorrow, off to the Ngorongoro crater.

Day 8 - The Circle of Life in Person

 We thought that we had sights that could not be topped, but we got to say that today was awesome! The circle of life displayed in action, over and over with three sightings...

The first sighting were the scavenger vultures cleaning the carcass of an elephant. The second sighting was a leopard in a tree resting after completing breakfast with the partially consumed wart hog by his side. Finally were the cheetahs (mother and two cubs) sharing a meal on the grant gazelle they had just taken down. It's amazing that we were able these actions in process, up close, considering the area of the Serengeti National Park is 12000 square miles. 

In addition to the events noted, we witnessed two separate groups of four lions (both male and female) about 8 feet away. There were hyena, battling for the final remains of an earlier kill, several elephants and giraffes, and more. 

Tomorrow morning starts with a hot air balloon flight over the Serengeti, a champagne toast and breakfast in the bush.

Day 7 - Onto Serengeti and afternoon game drive

 The day started leaving at 6AM from Kenya to Tanzania. We have driven on more dirt and stone roads than we have in our entire life. And the small motorcycles are everywhere. serving as transportation, taxis (capacity up to five) and pickup truck. These folks are crazy, as driving is like continuous "playing chicken!

The early morning drive provides the opportunity to see quite a bit of activity, before the temperature rises. The first sighting was a group of elephants very close to our path. The picture of these creatures is really special, as it was taken into the morning sun, with the elephants appearing as silhouettes. We were later delayed by an elephant, taking a lazy stroll down road blocking the way, Yes,the wildlife has the right of way. 

The balance of the day consisted of getting through the Tanzanian customs (which was interesting) and driving to Tanzania/Serengeti. An immense number of zebra, multiple giraffe sightings, topi antelope, and several others. We checked in and have quite a view...looking off or deck overlooking the Serengeti. We were advised, before leaving our room (after dark), to call the office for an escort, as there are water buffalo and potentially lions roaming the property. Did I saw we're on safari? Tomorrow is another game drive. We'll see what surprises the Serengeti has for us.