We left the Serengeti behind headed for one of the most significant archaeological sites ever discovered, Oldupai Gorge. Not being much of an archaeologists myself, I wasn't sure what to expect. They had a very well put together museum overlooking the gorge, which we toured and learned all about the history of the site and its significance (this is where the first hominid remains dating back more than 3.5 million years were discoverd as well as the first place to uncover the use of stone tools by early humans). After the museum we sat through a very informative short lecture by one of the local guides. Our friend Phil, who we travelled with in Africa and also happens to be a wonderful naturalist full of knowledge, asked if we could drive down into the gorge and visit the actual site of the discovery, which we did next. We got to ask more questions and learn more from the local ranger - it was all in all a great way to start the morning.
The second destination of the day was Ngorongoro crater, which was actually a caldera, home to abundant wildlife and is a typical starting point for a lot of Tanzania safaris. The drive up to the rim was steep and the views down into the crater once we reached the top were nothing short of breathtaking (and of course we didn't get any pictures that come close to doing it justice, guess you will just have to visit to see for yourself). Due to the number of visitors who go to the crater each day, all the vehicles are required to stay on the roads. There were plenty of animals in the crater, and we saw a majority of the big five during our visit, but after being spoiled with up close and personal encounters in Lewa, the Maasai Mara, and the Serengeti, it was an almost anticlimactic end to our guided game drives. How lucky are we to think that far aways animals (lions, rhinos and flamingos) are just so-so! We left the crater and headed to our home for the next two nights, the Plantation Lodge. It was located a little over an hour outside the park and we were all grateful to get there after 10 hours of sitting in the car.
When we arrived at the lodge we were greated by the very helpful staff and shown to our rooms. The place was very nice and they had wifi so we could check our emails to see if the people we had emailed about helping arrange our Patagonia trip had gotten back to us. We met Phil and Heather for drinks at the bar before having dinner and heading off to bed.
We got up early the next morning and drove back towards Ngorongoro, around the rim of the crater, and on towards another crater where we planned on taking a hike. The trail started to climb slowly, and before we knew it we were ascending so steeply we were all out of breath and forced to take multiple breaks (it was also at an altitude over 8,000 ft). We made it to the top of the hill, which also happened to be the rim of the crater and the views were worth the effort. We rested while we took in the sights and our guide offered to take us down into the crater via an equally steep trail to look a little closer at a waterfall we could see. We politely declined because if we went down we would have to come back up! We made it back to Plantation early and spent the afternoon reading by the pool.
The next morning it was time to part ways, with Heather and Phil heading to Zanzibar, and Julie and I going back to Nairobi for one night before jumping across the Atlantic to South America. East Africa was absolutely amazing, thanks to Heather and Phil for planning it all out!!!
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