Arusha

arusha was an interesting week. at times incredibly good. at other times, incredibly bad. won't bore you w/the details about work, random men, or the bites on my leg. instead, i'll just share my visit to ngorongoro crater, which i saw on my 1 free day.

ngorongoro crater is 3 hrs from arusha in the crater highlands region. you have to cross the eastern rift of the great rift valley, which is approx 8,700 kms long and runs from syria to mozambique. that was quite the ride up (and down), but provided some of the best views of lake manyara national park.
ngorogoro crater is 1 of 9 craters in the region, 610m deep, and the world's largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera. WAY COOL! after a drive around the crater rim, we went down to the crater floor. unfortunately there aren't any giraffes inside and i didn't get to see any leopards, but i did get to see rhinos, elephants, flamingos, ostriches, crowned cranes, warthogs, dikdiks, hyenas, baboons, gazelles, zebras, wildebeest, and buffalo!
and not only did i get to see lions, i got to watch them gnaw on a zebra. it was like discovery channel, live!

but of all the animals, the hippos were my fav. apparently when they're crammed together like this, their backs get warm and they have to roll over. almost peed my pants laughing while a hippo in the middle of the group awkwardly rolled over, stretched its legs and opened its mouth as if to yawn. HILARIOUS!

i wanted to take one home...

after spending the day there, it was time to go (can you see our windy route out?). hopefully my next visit will be all play and no work so i can go further and see the serengeti...