The guides from the Lake Manyara Tree Lodge picked us up, and we did a game drive on our way to that lodge. We saw blue monkeys, baboons, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, hippos, lots of birds and butterflies. Lunch was at a picnic area with many new birds. In the afternoon, we saw our first giraffes and more elephants, dik-diks, miniature gazelles, and tortoises.
The Tree Lodge, has an open central lounge and dining space and widely scattered and separated ‘tree houses’, in the jungle, a mahogany forest. The cabins are open except for screening, with a big deck and an outdoor shower, all the houses are on stilts, one story off the ground. The lodge property is not fenced and large, wild animals may wander through requiring a Maasai escort back and forth from the cabin after dark.
The lake, like the lake in the Ngorongoro crater, is salty. Both lakes have no outlet. They fill during the rainy season from runoff that contains minerals that accumulate in the lake. During the dry season the water evaporates and the lakes partially dry up but the minerals remain. The lakes are alkaline from the minerals and the water is not potable, but does support blue-green algae growth that the flamingoes eat. Lake Manyara covers 90 sq. miles when full but is very shallow.
After an outdoor dinner in a torch lit clearing, there was a big Christmas Eve show with native dancers and musicians. Our tired campers gradually drifted off to bed during the show.
Baboons taking over the rim road at Ngorongoro.
Baobab tree with massive, soft wood trunk.
Silver-cheeked hornbill.
Blue Monkey.
Butterfly - citrus swallowtail?
Impala buck, the females have no horns.
Vervet Monkey. The male has a distinctive feature.
Black Winged Stilt the male is in back.
Hippos share the ponds with water birds.
We saw our first giraffes here, lots of them.
Giraffe and zebra.
Elephants with baby.
Waterfall down the escarpment. The water is headed for the lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment