We got up and said our goodbyes. The farewell party was as impressive as the party that had greeted us just two days previously.

On the journey back to Lake Manyara airstrip, John shared another tale with us - this time it was how the elephant gots its trunk. In a nutshell, the elephant couldn't reach pockets of water like all the other animals could, but the crocodile offered to help, but did warn it would hurt a little. In the end, the crocodile ended up clasping his jaws around the elephant's face and then pulling... and that's supposedly how the elephant got its trunk!

On the journey we saw more birdlife, a hippo close up, elephants, baboons and a large male lion that had been rejected by its pride. We stopped at a shop and bought a wooden bowl before finally reaching the airstrip. Here we met Timothy, our ranger for our stay at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, and said goodbye to John.

Our journey then took us along a long, dusty road, and through a small town which was bustling with activity. On the other side of the town, a very small boy struggled with his cattle and cart in the middle of the road. Finally, we entered the Ngorongoro National Park and reached Ngorongoro Crater Lodge where we met Irene, manager of Tree Camp, and Simon, our butler. (Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is split into three camps and we were lucky enough to have been upgraded to the most exclusive of the three!)

We settled into our room and had a light lunch. Ngorongoro was much, much colder than where we had been previously and all the rooms have fireplaces. Simon lit a fire for us and we spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing, before later having dinner. At dinner we met two other couples, one of which was getting married at the Crater Lodge the next day. After dinner, it was time for bed, ready for our trip into the crater the following morning.