Ngorongoro Camp

Day 45 2/28/99: Ngorongoro Crater Camp

Our two-nights of camping was at this luxury camp at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. We were in the shade of acacia trees, which sheltered us from the elements. However,  don't go around barefoot--you don't want acacia needle-like leaves in your feet.

Alex was giving us a grand tour of the canvas tent. It was large and tall enough to stand up. There were two cots. Why was Alex at the back of the tent?

  What's that funny thing in the back of the tent?

How luxurious. We had a mini shower tent that's attached to the back of the main tent where we slept. To get warm water you should have to ask the camp crew to heat up some water one hour before. Why take a shower when we were used to being dirty on Mt. Kilimanjaro? We did not bother with taking a shower.

However, we used the facility quite a bite and thankful that it was also attached to the main tent. This was a vast improvement from our 1991 Wilderness Travel safari experience in Kenya where the outhouse was located away from the main tent. With this setup we did not have a chance encounter with lions at night while going to the bathroom. I was glad that after two days of use, we had just enough dirt to cover up everything.

Theresa was checking into our tent. There were two wash basins that were filled with warm water. It's nice to clean up our face and hands with soup and water after a long, dusty game drive or first thing in the morning.

At the head of the cot was also a wooden night stand where we can put our stuff. We also lit the candles at night. Very romantic.

Theresa and I were enjoying a refreshing glass of wine and a cold bottle of Kilimanjaro Premium Lager before dinner! Some other people thought the cots were too soft and had problems sleeping. We had no problems. After 9 days of sleeping on the mountain in sleeping bags and on Thermorest pads, sleeping on cots with thick cushions was luxurious. I was never bothered by the snoring of a fellow camper (don't worry, I will not reveal his name), but it was cured the next night with a black label Johnny Walker nightcap. The only thing that was bothering me was that when I was brushing my teeth, I did not know where to spit! There was not a sink, so I had to find a poor shrub each morning.

We had our meals in this dining tent. I don't think I have ever been in a tent large enough where they had a table long enough to seat 20 people: 15 clients, Alex, and four drivers. The food was excellent. There were also soft drinks, beer,  hot tea, and boiled water. Thankfully, we never ran out of beer. It was important to some people. :-)

This is the view from our tent. It was romantic to fall asleep at night with the rain making music on the tent. It was too bad that Theresa and I never saw any elephants nearby...