Oldupai Gorge

We game drove our way out of the park, stopping for lunch at the park exit. We then continued down a really rutted and bumpy road to the Oldupai Gorge (we were told several times that it should be spelt with a "p" and not a "v"). We walked around the small museum, then listened to a dull lecture about the geology of the gorge - I thought they would talk a bit more about the footprints and bones they found in their digs, not the type of rocks they found.

After the lecture (and the use of the toilets that seemed to hang over the edge of the cliff), we loaded back into the truck for the rest of the bumpy road to the Ngorongoro Crater. We stopped at the edge of the rim to take some pictures, then made our way to the campsite a bit farther along the rim - the camp had a great view! After setting up our tents, placing them to try and avoid the large amounts of animal droppings, we set off to find some plugs to recharge camera batteries. With a crazy combination of extension cords and adapters, everyone managed to get their stuff partly charged.

While we were eating supper around the campfire, two dogs decided to come and visit with us. As we were eating, we heard some rustling in the bushes behind us and the dogs suddenly stood up and looked alert. When we saw the two large elephants making there way around the campground, our leader suddenly jumped up, yelled "Take care!" and started to chase the dogs away. His yell caused all of us to jump up, camp chairs flying everywhere, all wondering what was about to happen! It turns out that the elephants themselves aren't too dangerous (as long as you leave them alone), but the dogs sometimes start to bark and scare the elephants, which makes them charge. After the excitement of the elephants, we sat around listening to the leaders tell stories from other trips - some good, some bad, some downright scary!

As we made our way back to our tents for the night, we had a few more animal sightings - a herd of zebras near some of the tents, a hyena near the bathroom, and a bush pig running along the bushes. There were a lot of animal noises that night and I think the herd of zebras ran past our tent shortly after we got in there. Based on the amount of animal droppings outside our tent in the morning, there was a lot of activity going on! It was a cold night, but I slept great and again I was thankful that I took my nice warm sleeping bag along!