Tanzania - Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater

Feeling relieved to have sneakily packed long pants and a jacket against Roli's strictly controlled packing list, we set off again after breakfast at 08:00.

Barely recognizable in a Tanzania football shirt (Tanzania played against Tunisia in the Africa Cup that day), Raphi was already ready with his packed lunch.
Through a busy entrance gate, we headed up to the crater rim after checking in with the rangers. It's hard to believe we reached over 2,500m in Africa.

Luckily, we weren't here for the view, as dense fog barely allowed us to see the trees next to the bumpy road.
We descended a steep cobbled road into the crater - 'Floor of the crater.'
With good visibility, we were able to admire many wildebeests, Grant's gazelles, thousands of flamingos, elephants, and lions from afar, and observe hippos up close.
A small highlight was spotting a rhino, which unfortunately was about 200m away, but as it turned out, it was the only one we saw during our safari.

During lunch, the sun peeked through, and we were visited by a confident yet ugly marabou stork - a member of the so-called 'Ugly 5.'

Unfortunately, the power nap was missed today, as the continuation of our journey became a bumpy adventure. To call it an 'adventure drive' is an understatement, as there is probably a rally driver lost in Raphael. With the roads in Tanzania, he could truly live it out. Over better dirt roads, we traveled nearly 3 hours to our next accommodation in Ndudu (Southern Serengeti), constantly on the fast lane and flying past other vehicles.
In pouring rain, through deep holes in the road, surrounded by waving Maasai and crossing donkeys, zebras, goats, and birds, we sped along the road.

We recognized the Serengeti border from a distance. In the blink of an eye, thousands, even millions of wildebeests, antelopes, and Grant's gazelles surrounded us. For miles, we marveled at the countless animals feeding, playing, and fighting.
Such a sight had never been seen before.

By evening, the warm breeze was completely gone, and in our five-layer onion look, we headed for dinner, but not alone, as we were not allowed to leave the tent without company. A few Morse signals with the flashlight and a Seco was ready to escort us to the dining tent. No wonder, given that the sleeping tent was in the middle of the Serengeti National Park, and all the wildlife could come right to the doorstep.
We enjoyed the dinner buffet with pumpkin soup, beef stew, and vegetables on top.

In the adventure-filled soundproof tent, we built our mosquito cave again. We'll leave it ambiguous as to which of us was more scared of the roaring and nighttime animal sounds around our tent.

Good night, hoping for a warmer Day 5.