Rhotia Valley & Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge (October 7-8)

After visiting the Masai village we continued on to Rhotia Valley, just outside the gates of Ngorongoro Crater National Park. The valley is a lush agricultural area, with coffee the principal cash crop. The Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge is owned by a Dutch couple who founded it to help support an adjacent children's home for orphans. Martha and I spent the following day hiking down from the crater's rim, accompanied by a rifle-toting ranger. It was a long (8 hours) and quite boring walk; of most note was spending the first hour trying to find the trail which had overgrown since its last use. We saw lots of evidence of elephant and other wildlife, but unfortunately encountered nothing but a few dik dik. When we finally exited at the park's Endoro Gate, the guards there were extremely surprised at our appearance since the full route is apparently rarely taken. After our return, we were given a hour tour of the children's home.

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Looking down on Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara in distance:

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