20260818 Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience Day 14 of 19 - Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro

Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience - Lake Manyara, Tanzania to Ngorongoro

We were up bright and early - too bright and early. After we left dinner last night, our new Tour Director, Elia, changed our departure schedule from 8:00 to 8:30 this morning. We didn't know.  Oh well, it was only sleep. Another couple did the same thing, so at least we weren't alone.

Speaking of a new Tour Director, I forgot to mention that when we transitioned from Kenya to Tanzania, the entire Globus team changed. For some reason, the Kenya team isn't allowed to enter Tanzania. Our Tour Director, Evans, and drivers, Jeff and Tom (who replaced Felix and Katana when we flew to Amboseli), left us at the border. Our new Tour Director, Elia, and drivers Petral and Victor took over. We're still working out the new communication style, so today meant that it needed some revision. Elia is working on that.

Looking out at Lake Manyana from our hotel

Our room was on the top right - there were four rooms in this building

Our morning activity was a game drive, right back where we were last night, in Lake Manyara National Park.

We didn't see the tree-climbing lions

Blue Monkey

These elephants were uprooting small trees and chewing the bark off the wood

Olive baboons

Bushbuck

 Southern Ground-Hornbill 

Juvenile Southern Ground-Hornbill

Augur Buzzard

Hadada Ibis

Hippo

Young Zebra

It's cool how the stripes go right up into the mane

Red-billed Firefinch

We were passed by a family of elephants - they were so close!

A gorgeous Baobab tree - sometimes called Upside Down trees as the branches look like roots

 Fork-tailed Drongo

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Striped Kingfisher

Northern white-crowned shrike

Grey-headed Kingfisher

So colorful

Looking over Lake Manyara in the distance

Another Baobab 

Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird

Fork-tailed Drongos

As we were exiting the park, we were treated to multiple Silvery-cheeked Hornbills in the trees

Two on the left and one on the right

Our next stop was at the Tanzanite Experience. Inside, we saw a film about the history of the Tanzanite gemstone and how it is mined. Of course, there is an opportunity to shop as well. We didn't buy anything, but the film and mining information were interesting.

Back at the hotel, we were treated to a private BBQ lunch overlooking Lake Manyara

A new local beer - it was very nice

We started our move to our next overnight location. Along the way, we made a stop at the Tloma Primary School to meet schoolchildren and learn about education in Tanzania.

Sixth graders met us and welcomed us

They sang welcome songs, and we all introduced ourselves

They loved selfies

They performed more songs and dances outside

It was an interesting visit, and the kids were very welcoming and curious. From there, we continued on to our final destination for the day, Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Arriving at the entry to the Conservation Area

Arlona spotted this Rustic Sphinx Moth near the women's restroom

We were once again off paved roads, so we bounced our way along for another 40 minutes or so, finally arriving at the hotel.

All the rooms have stone exterior walls and face into Ngorongoro Crater, some 2,000 feet below us

We had dinner and came back to the room. Tomorrow will be a long day. We start at 7:00 and will drive 2,000 feet down to the crater floor and spend the day exploring and looking for wildlife. I'll explain more tomorrow about where we are and what the Ngorongoro Crater is.