We switched gears today... waking up -not to hiking/climbing- but to a day of being entertained and educated in the back of a Safari vehicle. We piled into two modified Toyota Land Cruisers just after 8 AM and left Usa River heading west. First there was the hustle and bustle of traffic on the outskirts of Arusha. The city has nearly 2 million inhabitants, so our guide/drivers: Juma and Edson had their work cut out for them getting us out to the wide open countryside beyond the city. We cruised dusty roads between herds of Maasai tended cattle as we made our way out to Lake Manyara. This National Park purports to be the home of the tree climbing lions... who weren't actually home today. We didn't see lions, but we saw baboons, blue monkeys, hippos, Cape buffalo, zebras and wildebeest. The elephants we got to see munching on trees were a highlight, as were about a thousand new species of bird, each accurately identified and described by our amazing guides. At the end of a fine day out in the bush, we headed for the Plantation Lodge and an evening of relaxation and dinner conversation in an extremely comfortable setting. Tomorrow we'll get up early to see what we can see in Ngorongoro Crater. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn