After our Kilimanjaro climbing experience, we still had six days left to do some Safari and get back to Nairobbery. I did’nt opt-in for a three day rush-in-rush-out tour to Serengeti, so instead of taking our time to relax and skipping the mentioned park, we rushed into the back of a four-wheel drive to easily explore the great parks of Tanzania. A guide and a cook along with three American fellow-Safarians were to keep us company. Benjamin from Arunga organized our Safari trip really well.
On the first day, after taking in plenty of water, we drove into
We were lucky the rain had started, because now the great migration was starting as well. Or so the guide told us. Another good part of the rain was the wet camp site, with our guide & cook duo not feeling like setting up our (and their) tent. Therefore, they made arrangments for us to sleep in a luxurous tents, with built-in bathroom, musquito nets and lights! 
The big tents were a good thing for another reason; the big (African) elephants walking through our camp. They were uprooting all the trees, and they would not overlook our big tents. We’re no food for herbivorous elephants, but I don’t think I’d sleep comfortably with them running around a small tent. They were so close!
Safari
The next day we had a whole day of spotting wild, beatiful! Too much to mention, too much to take pictures of. The guide had a real sharp eye for spotting animals, and I was glad I brought my big telephoto lens. I had hesitated in bringing it because of the weight, and the risk of leaving it behind while I climbed the mountain. I would have felt stupid without though..
Ngorongoro
Ngorongoro Conservation Area is not National Park, so therefore the Masai are allowed to live there. We’re strongly discouraged to leave the car because of the big five walking around (what would you do if you met any of them, preferably hungry or angry), but the Masai have scared the lions so much that the kings of the jungle are afraid of them. Ah well, as long as everyone leaves the big white cars alone 
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Ngorongoro is one big crater, full of animals. It’s beautiful down there, and we spend a whole day watching and having a small picknick. Here are some pictures: (I’m still busy sorting and picking the nice ones out, and there are too many nice animals)
Lake Manyara
We camped close to Lake Manyara, and that’s where we’d spend our last day. The park was nice, but not as spectaculour as the previous parks. We spotted loads of nice monkeys and friendly giraffes, but no predators like in the former parks. After four days in the car we were done. Ready to pack our stuff and fly back home!
Prices
Safari Prices in Tanzania are an awkward thing, or high is a better word for it. Initially, we were a bit suprised that after checking the internet, talking to fellow travelers, reading books and shopping around, we hadn’t found any option for doing a trustworthy Safari we thought was reasonably priced. A few years ago we were a little bit more southern in South Africa, and there you could rent a car for around $30 a day, get into a National Park for maybe $20 per car for a month and camp anywhere for a similar amount per day. In Tanzania, renting your own car is at least $200 a day, a National Park charges $50 per person per 24 hours if you want to camp, and up to $200 per 24 hours for a car (e.g. for driving into Ngorongoro crater). All the prices are mentioned in US$, and that’s a good thing, because you’ll spend over a million Tanzanian rupees -or whatever- on it. You can never get enough money from the ATM to pay for a trip, nor fit it in your wallet, so you can’t help but feel ripped off. I think it’s a good idea that tourists fund the protection and conservation of Tanzanian wild life, but given the average annual income of $280, these prices seem outrageous. Or, like said, I’d gladly share some wealth to support the wildlife, I just hope they use the money to take care of the parks, and not to fill some government employee’s pockets. I’ve been told they’d quite recently doubled their National Park fees again (and are at least twice as expensive as their neighbouring countries), but I don’t think they’ll get away with doing that another time.
