We spent 2 nights at the Moivaro Lodge. Reminded me very much of the Caribbean, between the flowers and the building styles. The lodge had a pool and we had the best food here. It was a good idea to spend the extra day getting used to the time changes and the climate, we started our Safari very relaxed. We had no hitches on the way out, but if we did the extra day could have prevented a catastrophe.
The Maramboi Tented Lodge was on the southeastern shore of Lake Manyara.
Breakfast and dinner was buffet, not our favorite type of meal. First night the Camp's water line had an issue and we were without water till we got back from our game drive the next afternoon. We had one night of heavy wind and rain and a second night of just heavy wind. On occasion you could smell the lake which was an alkaline lake. From our porch we watched warthogs, zebra, wildebeests, jackals and all sorts of birds.
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| Our tent was named "Mbuni"or Ostrich and was at the end of the line. |
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| The view from the porch towards Lake Manyara and the Rift Valley Escarpment. |
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| The buildings reminded me of Gilligan's Island |
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| Some of the 30 tents, they were building more while we were there. |
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| Guard tower |
Ngorongoro Crater (actually a caldera), 12 miles across.
Nights 5 and 6 we spent at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge on the rim of the Crater, closest to the descent road. While we were there the ascent road was being worked on and we had to exit via the Lemala Ascent and descent road on the North Eastern side of the crater, this made the return trip to the lodge quite a bit longer.
The food at the Ngorongoro Serena lodge was just OK, but they served the best boxed lunches we had on our trip, they contained Cadbury chocolate, one day we had a chicken leg, the next some good meat(though we disagreed about what kind of meat it was). All the boxed lunches and breakfasts on the whole trip were very generous and we rarely finished them. This lodge held the most guests of all the lodges we stayed at on our trip.
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| You could see the lodge from the crater bottom, but it blended in fairly well. |
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| This view towards the dining room and bar. |
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| Animal protection moat, really. |
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| View of the crater. |
Southern Serengti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Olakira mobile tented camp was by far the most rustic place we stayed at, but was our favorite. The staff everywhere were very good, but at Olakira they were excellent. We visited the bush kitchen which was larger than we expected. The porch was 9 feet long, the bedroom area was 15 feet long and the bathroom was 10 foot. We had some rain the second night and everyone was issued wellies. The mud was very slippery and it was quite enjoyable watching the different ways people got in and out of their wellies at the dining tent. Both nights we had a fire and Sundowners (drinks by the fire).
Serengeti, North of Seronara
The last 2 nights we stayed at Mbuzi Mawe another Serena lodge, located amongst the Pombofu Kopjes. Escorts were required after dark, mainly due to the presence of the very unpredictable African buffalo. Food was good here and we saw Klipspringers (small antelope who are nimble, surefooted and climb rocks real well), hyrax, buffalo, baboons and lots of lizards at the camp.
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| View from our porch |
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