Sunday, February 17, 2013

Tanzania - Lake Maynara (day 3 cont’d)

We drove through a small town aptly nicknamed “Mosquito Creek” on our way to Lake Maynara, the 2nd smallest park in Tanzania.   




The park may be small but contains 7 different ecosystems, thus it's very diverse.  



This park seemed to be a monkey haven (baboons, blue monkeys, velvet monkeys) – there were tons just hanging out on the roads and in nearby trees!    




We drove to the hippo pool, came across a lone elephant crossing the road, saw our first zebras, some more stranded wildebeest and crown cranes.  We were only in the park a few hours, if that.   





There was also nice viewpoint on our way to the lodge.  



We overnighted at Exploreans Ngorongoro Lodge (http://ngorongorolodge.exploreans.com), set in 50 acres of the Tanzanian bush near the Crater.  The accommodations were wood cabins outfitted with a separate sitting area and not 1, but 2 fireplaces as well as a huge deck overlooking the forest.  There was even a hairdryer in the bathroom, woo hoo!  This was a proper Swiss-owned hotel with a pool, spa, normal electricity etc.  We had a filling 5-course dinner in the evening and upon returning to our rooms, found our turndown service included hot water bottles in our beds, how cozy and warm!  Unfortunately, we had to leave very early the following morning but we would’ve loved to stay here longer.  We awoke to tea and coffee service (we were really getting used this this!) and a small news bulletin with a weather forecast in English, which was a nice touch.  The staff at all of the places we stayed at (tented camps and proper lodges) were quick to grab our luggage, friendly, helpful and always smiling.


No comments:

Post a Comment