Lake Manyara National Park
We left the Ngorongoro campsite as soon as it was light to ensure we got out before our time was up. A bit of a sketchy drive at first due to fog and the million and one safari vehicles heading towards the crater. But, we cheated death once again and made it to our accommodations (Mwi Village) in Mto Wa Mbu very early (before lunch).
So, we turned around and headed back to a site we had seen advertised all over northern Tanzania – The Tanzanite Experience. This a place where they sell tanzanite jewelry. The jewelry is gorgeous but brutally expensive. Tanzanite is a gemstone only found within Tanzania (hence the name) and is quite rare. In addition to the really expensive jewelry, they also have some safari gear and souvenirs. What drew us back to the site however was the free coffee. As a bonus, the had a mockup of an underground tanzanite mine as well as clean bathrooms. Overall, very kitschy but fun.
After a pleasant stop, we headed back to Mwi Village in Mto Wa Mbu (which translates to the river of mosquitos). The place is a bit off of the main road and Garmin doesn’t know how to get there. Fortunately, Google Maps did. The accommodations are located within a gated compound and are composed of individual cottages and they were fantastic. The host and owner of the property is Mwi, a retired doctor working on his second career. He was a wonderful host and an interesting individual to speak with. He was even kind enough to tote us to a couple of grocery stores in town in his personal vehicle.
The price of the accommodations includes breakfast and we bought dinner there the night before. Both were excellent.
I would strongly recommend staying with Mwi if you are going to enter either Lake Manyara NP or the Ngorongoro crater.
The following morning we headed to the north entrance of the park (just outside of Mto Wa Mbu). Our intent was to explore the northern half of the park on the first day, spend the night at the public campground, and then explore the southern half of the park the second day and leave the park by the southern gate. Well, it turns out there are no longer public campsites within the park due to flooding a few years ago. This same flooding has actually significantly reduced the size of the park and taken away all of the lion habitat.
So, we opted just for the one day in the park and felt a bit rushed to make sure we got out the southern end by the end of the day.
While there were no lions (or leopards, or cheetahs) it was a good park for birds and elephants. We also saw a bushbuck and a Nile monitor lizard for the first time. The monitor lizard was, I think, hunting the giant kingfisher.
Just a handful of photos.
