Today we got up early again in order to get down into the crater early. We were ready to start shortly after 6:30. Our campsite was actually very nice writhing relatively clean washrooms and warm water in the showers.

The drive down into the crater took a bit of time, about half an hour, but of course it was more than worth the time. There seemed to be more of an abundance of all types of animals in the crater. There is also a salt water lake that is drying up but there were lots of flamingoes there. Since it was early, it was great to see all the animals with beautiful light on them. Here we saw elephants, one with enormous tusks, hyenas (more than we'd seen before), jackals, different birds, buffaloes, antelope, wildebeest, zebras, impalas (2 types), hippos, ostriches, etc.

One of the highlights was seeing 2 rhinos which is significant since there are only a few in the park (maybe about 20). Seeing the rhinos rounded out the "big five" for us: elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and buffaloes.
We also saw some lions. One lioness actually walked behind our vehicle and just lay down there for some time. Amazing. And we saw an elephant graveyard where older elephants go to die essentially starving themselves to death.

The safari experience was great and having good guides certainly helped. The only animal we didn't see was a cheetah. Oh well, can't complain about that since everything else was so spectacular.

After we left the crater we headed slowly back to Arusha. On the way, we stopped by an orphanage in Mto Wa Mtu village and dropped of donations we had purchased. Even Deo made a financial donation. We also spent some time meeting and playing with the kids. That was fun. They have over a hundred kids they take care of at the orphanage.

Back at Arusha it was nice to be in a hotel room again with beds and good shower. By the end of day I was totally exhausted. Tomorrow begins the long journey back home!