Days 8-9:

After the scary night camping in the Serengeti we got up early and did a game drive through the Serengeti to go out a different gate on the other side. We saw lots of animals again, impalas, baboons, zebras, giraffes, buffalos and elephants. We were also very lucky as we got to see the wildebeast migration. On one side of the road was a massive herd of wildebeast then there was a long line of wildebeast running 2 or 3 wide across the plains and there was another massive herd gathering on the other side. It was quite amazing to see that many animals altogether and moving on mass. We stopped for a picnic lunch just before the gate and then carried on towards the Ngorongoro Crater. As we were on the outskirts of the Serengeti we still saw lots of animals on the way.

Just before we got to the crater we stopped at a museum where the first human fossils were found. It was a huge gorge and you could see the 5 different layers of rock where the fossils had been found. They show how man evolved from ape to human and has the first footsteps of modern man. They had various skulls and bones to look at and a cast of the first human footsteps.

We then carried on into the mountains as we were sleeping on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater, an extinct volcano. We were lucky as when we got there it wasnt cloudy and we could see all the way down into the crater. There was a huge lake and we could make out some wildebeast and zebra as black dots on the ground. We went to our camp and set up our tents. It was quite cold as we were high up. Once again there could be animals about as there are no fences around the top of the crater so animals could get out. So once again in the middle of the night came this huge howl from a hyena close by, however tonight this made Sarah jump up and cry out, "Ive got Pringles!!!" as we werent supposed to have food in the tent!! Ooops, so she spent the rest of the night worried a hyena was going to eat her.

The next morning we woke early to go down into the crater to do a game drive... However they were an hour late bringing the safari cars as the truck is too big to take down into the crater. We have learnt the phrase T.I.A. (this is Afica) so whenever anything happens like this people just say T.I.A. When they eventually came we made our way down into the crater. One of the first things we saw was a lion but it was a long way away in the distance. Next there was a heard of Bufalo and they were huge, bigger than any I had seen before we were told this is because inside the crater it is like paradise for the animals, perfect conditions. We saw lots of wildebeast and zebras again. We saw some hyenas sleeping near the road and a jackel going for a walk. Also we saw a pair of rhinos from a long distance. Close up we saw some ostriches and other colourful birds. Then as we were driving along we came across two lions, one male one female laying in the road, resting. We stayed near them for about 10 minutes they really didnt care we were next to them. At one point the male got up and walked to the other side of our car and layed down in the shade again. We went a bit further along the road and there was another male lion laying in the road. We watched him for about 5 minutes and then we went to the hippo pool for a picnic break. There were zebras walking around near the pool and birds flying overhead. The funniest part was when a hawk swooped down and snatched the sandwich from Sarahs hand scaring the life out of her!! After our picnic we drove back towards the top of the crater and on the way we saw some elephants and they had long tusks. It was a really good mornings game drive as we saw lots of different animals in a short space of time.

We then drove to Arusha in the afternoon where we camped for the night. It was the last night for some of the group as they werent coming to Zanzibar with us but also we got 4 new people who were coming with us.