Day 12 - Another early cooked breakfast. We really are getting good at 5:00 o'clock starts. Given there's no lighting or electricity, you also end up going to bed virtually when the sun goes down and the fires are burning out. We have set an unwritten rule of trying to stay up at least until 9pm!!

The crater is really bare but with some incredibly lush sections near some fresh water lakes.

Couldn't believe it but we again came across more lion. They seem to be everywhere around here. We also managed to tick our last box of wanting to see large males in the wild. We came across three male brothers with huge manes and 1 female mating partner for the winner. Strange that the two unsuccessful brothers were sitting and watching their brother couple with the female. Life really didn't seem fair! The manes of the males here are apparently much bushier as the temperatures are a lot colder within the crater.

We also saw elephant, hyenas running carrying a carcass, vultures and eagles challenging a jackal on its kill. Unexpectantly, the tiny jackal was holding his ground and having a real go at the birds. Good work.

Finally we came across a huge waterhole with an abundance of wildlife. The scene occurring in front of us was an absolute collection of scenes and situations. There were two lions trying to take down a baby buffalo. Half of the buffalo herd were chasing them off and away from the herd. This was an incredible display of team work as they took turns in coming to the front to maintain their guard. They're like the body guards of the Serengeti.

There was also a large bloat of hippos in the water. Given the number of buffalo here, we didn't notice the hippos out of the water. Awesome, we hadn't yet seen hippos out of the water and up close. A herd of wildebeest and zebra were approaching the waterhole to drink with a number of hyenas moving into position to attack. Dozens of them spread out all around hiding in the grass. The buck were running into the water, quickly drinking and then sprinting off. Then just when our eyes couldn't take in any more, or didn't know where to look, a few Maasai were bringing a massive herd of cattle to the waterhole for water.

What a spectacular day. Just another day in Africa I suppose ;-)