Colourful ....

.... Red & Yellow Barbet, waiting for breakfast on the termite mound.

I heard noises during the night, so it was difficult to sleep. We had breakfast, picked our own picnic item & set off at 7.30 am to head towards Ngorongoro, so we back tracked onto the main road, back towards Arusha. Then turned off towards Lake Manyara, which has increased significantly since 2001. We saw the lake from a distance. We drove through what used to be referred to as mosquito valley. Again, lots of improvements & the village/town even has more tourist facilities & looks more developed than 2001.
We stopped at the park entrance gate, as Jackson had to get our paperwork processed, we also availed of a comfort stop. Driving was hairy on the road up to the crater rim. The road looks very rutted in many parts, it is just soil & I feel it would be even more dangerous/impassible in the wet season. We headed into Ngorongoro Crater & drove around, seeing herds of wildebeest, zebra, Thompsons & Grants gazelle & lots of birds. At the lake, lots of zebra, Greater & Lesser Flamingos, White Pelican, Glossy Ibis, Sacred Ibis & lots more.
We had a late lunch at the picnic site, it has a major washroom block, some difference to the lack of facilities back in 2001. There were Kites overhead looking for a snack, I choose to remain in the jeep while I had lunch but had a short stroll amongst the safety of all the jeeps. There was a Marabou Stork wandering around, along with Helmeted Guineafowl.
More driving around after lunch, we tried to unsuccessfully see a rhino that had been seen earlier. We saw lioness, then not far from there I noticed something cat-like, so Jackson reversed back & it turned out to be a Serval Cat, although at a distance. As we were leaving there was a lovely herd of Eland.
Arrived at Ngorongoro Lion’s Paw Camp at 2300 m on the rim, to some snacks a reception. The snacks were pleasant, but the pre-dinner BBQ wasn’t necessary & too close to dinner, so I didn’t do justice to dinner. After dark, it got extremely cold, I was absolutely frozen. The accommodation is very luxurious, even an electric blanket on the bed, which was appreciated & hot water bottles.
See sparring Dik Dik, the fleeting glance of the Serval cat & flamingoes in my extras.