To get to the Serengeti you have to drive back to the Ngorogoro Crater. There was supposed to be some kind of sports rally at the gate so we left extra early to beat the crowds. Except we didn’t leave early enough. There is a huge difference between how we drive in the US and how they drive in Africa. Basically we line up in a single line and wait. Not here. There should be one gate to get in and one gate to leave the park. When we arrived there were 4 lines of Land Rovers blocking everything trying to get in. The people trying to exit the park couldn’t because of all the people trying to get in the park. It was a nightmare. We finally got through after some fancy driving by our guide, Mousa.

The drive to the Serengeti is almost 5 hours over very bumpy roads. Here is a picture looking down into the crater as we were leaving the park.

In all the times I have been on trips like this I have never seen Land Rovers with flat tires. During the trip we saw at least 10 jeeps pulled over with flat tires. One even had a broken axel. So as luck would have it we got a flat tire. At the traffic jam at the gate we got separated from our sister jeep so we were on our own. Luckily Josh was with us so there were two to change the tire in the middle of no where. That part was easy. The hard part was the fact that the jack was new and wouldn’t release after the tire was changed. They tried jumping on it, driving on the top of rocks and God knows what else. Finally something to do with water made the jack finally release.

On our way our guide stopped and chatted with this Maasai junior warrior who is going through this 3 month initiation phase. That is the reason for the paint on his forehead.

Finally to our tented camp in the Serengeti. Pretty much heaven on earth.

Our first dinner in heaven.

Tomorrow up at 3:15 AM for a balloon ride over the Serengeti.