Tanzania Honeymoon
Which is not to say we didn't see any wildlife. We did see a hippo pool, numerous crowned cranes, many jackal, several hyena, a few lion, lots of zebra, wildebeest, and Thomson's. And, we did see a rhino, although from so far away you could barely tell it was a rhino even with binoculars. I think you'd have to be pretty lucky to catch one of them close enough to get a good shot. The highlight of the day was a close encounter with a tusker elephant - so close that I could fill most of the frame even with my wide angle lens.
    We had a picnic lunch under a huge strangling fig tree. By that time, we were all bushed from the heat, covered in dust, and we weren't seeing much activity, so we slowly made our way back across the crater and up to the lodge, arriving there at 3 pm. We took the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely afternoon, drinking a beer while watching the sun sink towards the horizon.

October 17:
The crater this morning was socked in with fog, as is frequently the case. Had we gone back in, it might have been difficult to see much, although we were told it often burns off quickly. We had, however, decided to take it easy, and make our way slowly out of the park. It was cool driving through the lush forest around the rim of the crater, and thus a nice change from the unforgiving heat on the crater floor. By the time we left the rim to descend to the park entrance, we could see shafts of sunlight penetrating the mist and illuminating the crater floor, hot, dry, and brown compared to the cool moist green of the rim 2000 feet above.
   It was somewhat sad to leave the park, knowing we would see no more animals (which had become such a part of our daily life), and knowing we were in effect starting the long trip home. And yet two weeks was long enough for both of us. The trip was more tiring than we had anticipated - relentless sun, wind, dust, kidney-jarring roads, jet lag, different beds every two nights, and the occasional upset stomach all combined to drain more energy out of us than we thought. Still, it was another trip of a lifetime.
   Just before lunch we arrived at the Kifaru Lodge, another gorgeous B & B style place set on a coffee plantation, suggestive of colonial Africa. In the afternoon they gave us a little tour of the grounds, showing us fields of coffee and fields of everlasting flowers - backed by the blue-flowered jacaranda trees and gentle hills in the distance it was a wonderful vista. After we returned they served us tea and cake on the porch, and we all sat around talking away the afternoon. A very relaxing last day before tomorrow's journey to Nairobi and home.