cheapiano

AAC has us doing a masaai village visit on our last afternoon at the crater. (the morning will be a game drive in the crater). i'm wondering if this is going to a really cheesy "touristy" visit, not really having much to do w/"real" masaai life. anyone have any opinions?

what else might one do in the crater area for an afternoon? what about taking a drive through the NCA on the road to ndutu (as opposed to the other road ordinarily taken to get to the serengeti?). thanks so much!

TigerPhotog

If I had a chance/permission , I would roam/shoot all day in the crater. My trip is currently organized such that I would be spending 6 hrs each time(4 visits) to the crater. I might most likely cancel/postpone the masai village visit since it's definitely going to be commercial (Heck, if some human asks me $20 for a single photo, I would rather shoot free/wild animals).

sandi

If a stop at Oldupai Gorge isn't included in your itinerary, you can visit here. If staying at the Sopa Lodge or Lemala Camp, you can trek to Olmoti Crater... lovely waterfall. Or wherever you're staying, do a Crater Rim walk with a ranger.

cheapiano

thanks so much! we have 2 full 6-hr. drives planned for the crater, and we also have olduvai on the itinerary. we're not big on hiking, but maybe a quick "bush" walk might be fun along the crater rim. does anyone ever do game drives through the ng. cons. area, or just in the crater? i think i had actually read on here----maybe in CWN's itinerary?---that they did a drive on the road between the crater and ndutu. thinking we might see more "authentic" villages this way.

ShayTay

You have to drive through the NCA to get to the Serengeti NP. If you're going to Ndutu, most of the drive will actually be through the NCA. There are only two roads going that way that I know of, the "main" road and another road that branches off at Oldupai, goes through the gorge and basically parallels the main road. It usually doesn't have as much traffic, though. It also takes you by the "shifting sands" dune that is slowly blowing across the plains. It then meets back up with the main road, but I can't recall if that's before or after the Ndutu turnoff.

cheapiano

we're actually driving from lake manyara to serengeti sopa, and then serengeti sopa to crater. it was my understanding that this was a different road than the one that goes between the crater and ndutu. so that's why i thought it might be fun to drive along that route. any idea how game viewing would be in NCA between crater and ndutu? (this is in january, and i believe the migration should, in theory, be near ndutu). also, any idea how long the drive would be from crater to ndutu, and then back?

we were going to do olduvai on the way from serengeti sopa to the crater, and hopefully still get to the crater in time for a full afternoon game drive. maybe we should just skip olduvai in order to get to the crater sooner, and then do olduvai on this free afternoon? thanks again!

ShayTay

You have to drive around the rim of the Crater to get to the Serengeti... no other way there that I know of. You'll be backtracking to go back to the Crater from Ndutu. Olduvai is right on the main road between the Serengeti and the Crater. It wouldn't make sense to try and drive back to it from the Crater, as it's a rather quick stop. One of the museum staff can give you a briefing of the area at the viewing point by the gorge. The museum itself is quite small and doesn't take long to go through.

Are you staying at Ndutu Lodge as well as the Sopa? Ndutu is several kms off the main road (25 maybe?) The Sopa is considered to be in the central Serengeti, although it's a bit south of the other lodges in the Seronera area. According to Ndutu Lodge's website, they are 4 hours from Lake Manyara, 2 hours from the Crater, and 2 hours from the Seronera area. Do I assume you're driving all the way to the Serengeti and back? Some people drive in and fly back from the Seronera area. That gives you the equivalent of another day of game-viewing. You'd stop at the Crater and Olduvai on the way into the Serengeti if you did that. It might be worth it to compare the costs of driving vs. flying back.

What I've seen in the areas between the Crater and the Naabi Hill gate (north of the actual park boundary and the Ndutu Lodge turnoff:

A half-dozen ostriches that raced us for a couple of miles
About herd of about a half-dozen giraffes
Large herds of gazelles
Elephants
Prides of lions
Cheetahs on the hunt

Depending on where the Migration herds are at the time, you might also see those.

cheapiano

ok, we'll keep olduvai on the way from serengeti to the crater. i'm sure it will be a quick stop. we're not staying at ndutu lodge. here's the basic plan:

manyara (kirurumu) to serengeti sopa
serengeti sopa to ng. sopa w/stop at olduvai & afternoon drive through crater to get to sopa
morning game drive crater, then....trying to figure out what to do in the afternoon. wondering if driving from crater to ndutu area will give us a different scenic route than what we followed on the way to serengeti (from manyara) & from serengeti (to sopa).

so it seems there should be game in NCA. thanks for your help! as i said, just wondering if it might be interesting to drive along a different route than what we had taken to/from serengeti. but maybe it's really all the same? thanks again!

canadian_robin

<i>morning game drive crater, then....trying to figure out what to do in the afternoon.</i>

We spent 3 nights at Lemala Camp in August and, if it were me, I would spend all of my time in the crater. There is just so much to see. Lemala provided us with a picnic breakfast and lunch and we went into the crater at dawn (6:30am) each day and didn't leave until about 4:30pm. I wish we had even longer - our two days in the crater were a highlight of our 4-week trip.

There are picnic sites in the crater where you can get out and stretch your legs and take a break from the vehicle - the Ngoitokitok (the guides refer to it as Tok Tok) picnic site is especially lovely. We arrived back in camp in time to shower and enjoy a glass of wine around the campfire with some of the other guests before dinner.

I would highly recommend a visit to a Masai village, but I would be inclined to avoid those (villages) around the crater, which will likely be busy and more "touristy". We asked our guide to take us to an isolated village that didn't receive many visitors and he was only to happy to oblige. My DH and I were the only guests and we enjoyed a most memorable visit. Robin

cheapiano

it's so interesting that most companies only offer 1 crater drive. i thought i was going overboard doing 2, but it seems that this really ends up being a highlight of the trip! and yes, i would definitely be interested in visiting a masai village that's off the beaten path. i take it you were well-received? did you bring gifts? or offer money to the masai during your visit? yes, this is why i thought of taking a drive away from the crater through less touristy masai country. thanks so much!

cwn

Hi,

You should have no problem stopping at Olduvai on your way from S Sopa to your Crater floor game drive. We left S Sopa between 8 and 8:30am, did an off road drive (to the right) in the NCA down toward Ndutu to see the migration, as it had moved into that area while we were in the Serengeti. We then drove back to the main road and on to the Crater Lodge on the rim...the Lodge is past the Crater floor descent road as you come from the Serengeti. We got to the Lodge a little after 1PM, in time for lunch. The Olduvai site is past the righthand turn for Ndutu and to the left off the main road on the way to the descent road. You might ask to go to Olduvai by way of the Shifting Sands site, then on to Olduvai, then back to the main road, you will drive a little loop off the main road with out back tracking.

There is only one road through the NCA from the Lake Manyara area direct to the Serengeti. This road runs along the crater rim, through some highlands and down into the Serengeti plains. It is a scenic drive along the rim and down through the Highlands. We found it interesting both ways and did see lots of giraffe, zebbra and cape buffalo in the highlands and the migration herds plus some neat birds in the plains area before crossing into the Serengeti. As I said there is a cut off loop to Olduvai and then a little closer to the Serengeti border there is a road that goes to Ndutu (this is the area we explored on the way to the Crater Lodge).

The other area of the NCA that we explored and enjoyed was along the road that turns off the main road on the rim near Kimba. This road goes through a different part of the highlands to Endulen and on to Lake Masek and Ndutu Lodge in the NCA. It was a great scenic drive by many villages. It was interesting to see people.. adults and children.. going about their daily lives in their colorful dress. We did this Easter Sunday and there were many women and chldren dressed to the "9's" walking along the road going to church in their beautiful beadwork collars and head-dresses. There was a bit of wildlife..zebbras and cape buffalo plus any young herders and their animals. We also stopped to watch a church service as it was Easter Sunday. It was a wonderful experience to watch and listen as they sang and danced to the tune of Amazing Grace in this lush exoctic land! To see some of our pictures from this drive, go to the blog, click on April and go to April 12. The days before have pictures of the rest of the safari.

www.aroundtheworldin132days.blogspot.com

There are several "Cultural Bomas" that have been set up for visits...to us, they looked a little touristy...our drive along the road to Endulen was much more real. Our guide had told us if we wanted to spend the whole day, we could do a big loop over to Ndutu through Endulen and back to the Lodge by way of the main road. We didn't want to spend that much time on the roads so the visit to the village areas was just right for us. When we go back. we will again spend time on the rim and do the whole drive.

One thing you need to keep in mind is the location of the N Sopa. It is almost on the oposite side of the rim from the regular descent and ascent roads. It is on the opssite side of the rim from where you come up to the rim from the Serengeti. For your first day's drive to the crater floor it won't be a problem because the frist thing you get to on the rim is the descent road. The next day, when you come up from the crater floor, if it is the road near the Sopa, you will be on the opposite side of the rim from the road to Endulen, if it is the regular ascent road you will be much closer, but you will still have to back track some. It will be after 2pm before you get back to the Sopa from the Carter floor drive even if you don't go anywhere else. A rim walk with a ranger might be good/fun thing to do.

It might help to picture the road around the rim as the top part (arms) of the "y" shape...the base of the "y" is the road coming up from Manyara area, the right hand arm is the rim road to the Sopa (it dead ends a ways past the Sopa) and the left hand arm is the rim road going on to the Serengeti, the other lodges, the road to Endulen and the regular ascent and descent roads are on this part and this is the part that continues to the Serengeti. Of course, the crater floor is in the middle of the two arms.

You will have a great time, talk to you driver and see what he suggest or ask at the lodge. Remember, just siitng on the balcony with a good drink, looking out over the Crater floor and watching the sun set over this special place is a trip in its self!!

Enjoy!

cwn

Hmmm, it takes me forever to type a reply....I totally agree with canadian-robin. That is why we did what we did and really enjoyed our time in the Endulen area and seeing the church service!

canadian_robin

<i>it's so interesting that most companies only offer 1 crater drive.</i>

I suspect that it is because each visit to the crater costs them US$200.

<i>i would definitely be interested in visiting a masai village that's off the beaten path. i take it you were well-received? did you bring gifts? or offer money to the Masai during your visit?</i>

We were very well received. We didn't take money or gifts (it was a spur of the moment visit at the end of a day of game driving, so we didn't have anything with us), although we did pay US$20 pp to enter the village - most if not all Masai villages charge an entrance fee. I wished I had a couple of soccer balls for the children.

What the villagers loved were our photos - we took "typical" Canadian snow photos - shovelling the sidewalk after a big storm, tobogganing, cars buried by snow - they were so intrigued. I also had a small world map so that I could show them where we were from and how we had travelled to Kenya. The villagers had not had many international visitors, so they seemed quite happy just to chat. The women liked the photos of our children and we have since sent (via Serian Camp) photos of the Masai women and children back to the village.
Robin

cwn

c-r, your visit sounds great...sometimes the things done on the fly, like that, are the best!

Eben told us, more than once, to keep our plan flexible as we might find something we really wanted to do while out on the safari that we hadn't thought about. The whole time in the Crater was like that for us and we loved it. Also having a great and flexible driver/guide makes the safari even better!

ann_nyc

I loved my visit to Gibb's Farm -- I'm not sure whether they will cater to visitors who are not staying at the lodge, but if you are interested in gardening, they will give you a lovely tour of their organic garden, and serve a wonderful 'tea' in the afternoon, with the best baked goods I've eaten in Africa. They also have some interesting hikes -- (not for wildlife viewing).It's like suddenly being in a different world.

cheapiano

thanks everyone! cwn, you're saying that, doing a morning crater drive (even w/the earliest possible start), we wouldn't even get out of the crater 'til 2pm? so doing the endulen road probably won't work time-wise? even if we were to take the main ascent road and NOT the sopa road? perhaps we could just spend a couple hours on it? maybe at least get in a village visit? rather than try to do the whole loop to ndutu?

or...should we just spend the whole day in the crater? (we have the previous afternoon there as well). everything i keep reading says that the crater is so crowded and touristy, that the serengeti is the "main event", and that the crater is a must-see, but just for one drive, as it's so busy. but you guys definitely wouldn't agree w/that? thanks again!

cwn

What I mean is you will only have time to drive toward Endulen and that drive is possible only if you do come back to the rim on the regular ascent road near the Crater Lodge and the turn off to Endulen. I would hope that the Sopa road is a descent road, as it is a long way around the rim to the regular descent road. I would want to be in the Crater as early as possible on that second drive. The animal sightings are different every day and in different places. Even if you go in at 6:30AM, if you are having a great day, you will want to stay as long as possible. On a $200 game drive fee, you have 6 hours.

I am not suggesting thatyou drive go all the way to Ndutu and back that would be a very long day, just out toward Endulen to see the beautiful scenery and the real life "villages". A non touristy village (Boma) visit will depend on who/what your driver knows. I would bet a visit the Tour Company will pre-arrange for, will be at one of the three of four "special cultural Bomas" near the rim set up especially for the visitors. For what it is worht, the ones we saw looked staged.

OK, I agree that a lot of posters on this board don't think that much of the Carter... kind of "see it, yes... but it isn't as great as the Serengeti". I had the same concerns as you....but I read someone's great trip report on the Crater as we were finalizing our trip and went with the three nights at the Carter. It was wonderful. It is a very different experience than the Serengeti visually, also I think we saw more animals and in most cases, we saw then closer than in the Serengeti.... that is what we went to do, "animals close up and personal"!

We were on the Carter floor all day on Saturday before Easter. We had also planned for the two half days on the crater floor like you, but the weather is a little iffy in April. The weather forcast was for a sunny day the first full day and some rain for the next, Easter Sunday. Our guide suggested we combine our two tickets and spend all day one day...going in around 6:30AM and coming back out at 6PM. Then doing something else on Sunday. So that is what we did. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and Sunday was a mix of morning fog and a showery afternoon, so it was great plan. That is why I say be flexible. There were many other cars yes, but there had been many cars in the Serengeti too. Once we got on the floor, the only time we had other people around us in the Crater was at the picnic area and when we watched the elephant that had tusks to the ground block the road right in front of us on the way to the picnic area. I don't know what it is about the Crater, but we were much closer to most of the animals than we had been in the Serengeti. During the our afternoon in the Crater, we drove over near the Sopa road and kinda up on the slpoe. That is were we spent a wonderful 45 minutes or watching the lioness and her two wonderful cubs play....no one ever came by while we were there. In fact, in all the pictures we took of the scenery, the animals and on the roads in and out, the descent/ascent roads, the elephant on the road and the picnic grounds were the only places we even have other cars in the pictures. Our guide did an excellent job finding private close up animals sightings.

On our trip to Africa we sis a safari at a private camp in Sabi Sands, did a self drive sarfari on Kruger National Park, and did a private safari at Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. We loved the Crater experience and The self drive experience in Kruger National Park...will go back to the Crater and hopefully Kruger.

canadian_robin

<i>On a $200 game drive fee, you have 6 hours. </i>
<i>Our guide suggested we combine our two tickets and spend all day one day...going in around 6:30AM and coming back out at 6PM.</i>

So, CWN, were you in the crater in April <b>2009</b>? We were there in August (2009), and the US$200 crater fee entitled us to be in the crater for as long as we wished per day - not just for 6 hours. Having read about the six-hour time restriction when planning our trip, we too had expected to be allowed in the crater for only 6 hours each day. Upon arriving at the crater, however, we learned that there was no time restriction. We spent from 6:30am to 4:30pm in the crater on both days, which cost us US$200 each day. When we asked the rangers about the time restriction, we were told (incorrectly it would seem, from your experience!) that it had been considered but not implemented. Perhaps the time restriction that you endured had been dropped by the time we arrived in August?

We enjoyed incredible sightings during our two, all-day visits to the crater - certainly equal to, if not better than, what we saw in the Serengeti. We sat with a pride of 21 lions, watched three spotted hyena chase a wildebeest, watched a pack of 18 hyenas encircle and terrify a herd of wildbeests, we loved the crown cranes, we watched lions on a buffalo kill, we saw three cheetah....it was amazing!

Because we stayed at Lemala, (which is at the far/Sopa end of the crater), and we headed into the crater at dawn, we didn't see another vehicle for 1.5 hrs on the first morning and 1 hour on the second morning (another Lemala guest with a guide). It was as though we had the crater to ourselves. The rest of the day wasn't that busy either. For my DH and me, the crater was amazing! IMHO, you can't spend too long there! Robin

cwn

Now that you say that, in planning the trip we wanted the option of two days in the Crater, but we also wanted to have a little time to enjoy the Lodge and rest a little, so those days were left fairly open in the safari plan. We were told when we were booking in mid 2008 that the two drives would only be up to six hours each and $200 fee each drive. I know that we paid one $200 on the booking, but maybe we were to pay the extra $200 in cash on the second day...some of those details are fuzzy...we left home on Jan 9 and retuned home on June 2...after having traveled ~75,000miles going around the world and visiting on 5 continents. I do know we actual didn't pay any more for that full day. So maybe the 6 hour restiction wasn't in effect, after all.I also remember thinking about how they enforced the 6 hour limit.

What I do know is our all day in the Crater was a higlight of the whole trip, just awesome! We had a great mating display by a group of crown cranes (love those birds), watched a small group of elephants re-arranging a forrested area right around us, enjoyed the action going on in a small very relaxed herd of zebbra..a pair grooming each other and a baby scratching its nose on its mothers hind leg...the funniest thing...and also a warthog giving itself a good sandpaper rub on a rock right beside the LC. We saw a group of hyenna at a kill also, my husband got a picture of one with a bloody face as it walked right by us. Didn't see any cheetah..what great luck you had. We did see three different lion groups, the best being the mother and her cubs. We never had another car at any of the places we stopped. Like you, the early hours and also the last hours of the day we didn't see any one on the roads. There were loads of locals in the picnic areas...our guide said it was a holiday weekend for the locals.

I really didn't think the Crater was busy. I didn't see it was any more so than the Serengeti and we were in the Serengeti in the low season. Where were almost always someone else at our sightings in the central Serengeti, though not at the ones closer to the Sopa Lodge.

My DH and I totally agree with you on the Crater.

cheapiano

yes, i will most definitely be confirming that the sopa road is both descent AND ascent. otherwise, no point in staying all the way over there. you guys are so enthusiastic about the crater, i'm leaning toward spending the entire day there. i have to say that, logically, i've been thinking it must be pretty amazing game-viewing, as it's something like the highest concentration of predators on earth, right? and in a far smaller area than the serengeti. so i've been wondering why everyone (including the tour companies) just suggests one drive. again, the reasoning is that it's just way too busy and touristy. but if you guys claim that it's really not that crazy, and the game is incredible, well, maybe we should do the full day in addition to the previous afternoon. we'll be there in january. not sure how that compares to april and august in terms of the crowds.

and yes! i keep reading about the 6 hour limit! c-r, interesting that you didn't encounter this. heaven only knows what the rules will be a year from now when we're there. i assume both of you took a packed lunch for the full day? is this really the best thing to do, rather than head back to the lodge for lunch, then back down? and, if you started very early, you must have had packed breakfasts as well? thanks so much!