2014 Aug 5 - Day 14-Tarangire Nat'l Park, Lake Manyara Nat'l Park Game Drive, Rim of Ngorongoro Crater

We left Tarangire Sopa Lodge at 7:30am and did a game drive as we left the park in route to Lake Manyara National Park. We stopped at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge for lunch. After lunch, we stopped at a shop to look at Tanzanite.

Tanzanite is found only in one place in the world. Only one mine in Tanzania produces it. It's a beautiful stone that is found in many colors. It's 1,000 times more rare than diamonds and almost as expensive. It is not as hard as a diamond so it has no uses other than jewelry.

We arrived at Ngorongoro National Park at about 4:00pm. and headed for our lodge on the rim of the crater. The crater averages eleven miles in width and was formed by a collapsed volcano. It took about an hour to get to the lodge. The altitude there is 7,500 ft.

We were entertained by a troupe of acrobats in the bar before dinner. Then it was straight to bed. Our game drive on the floor of the crater starts at 7:30 tomorrow morning and we have to get up for breakfast before that!