Lake Manyara National Park

The day after Nogorongoro we pile into a borrowed car and head to another national park, Lake Manyara.  This safari will be unique in that we're driving ourselves, without the benefit (or trouble, or expense) of any guides.

This park is as beautiful as Ngorongoro, with a banded color palette up and down the landscape.  Much of it looks like proper jungle, and the lake at a distance is home to some 3 million flamingos.  The flamingos left a long pink stripe across the lake's horizon. 

Manyara has a lot of elephants, and these elephants are very skittish around humans.  We stopped about 25 meters in front of one, until it began to flap its ears.  When an elephant flaps its ears at you, time to go.  We got the hell out of there.  Picture the scene in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex chases the jeep; it was basically like that.  And remember, in Jurassic Park the lawyer died first.  Need to be careful out here.

There had been some rains lately, leaving mud and a few puddles on the park's unpaved roads.  Seepan, the driver, hit one puddle in a misplaced wave of confidence.  The car became stuck, very stuck.  We were in serious trouble.  The water came up so high on my side that I couldn't open the door without flooding the interior.  The back tires had no traction, and 4-wheel drive wouldn't engage.  The engine was- at best- only a few inches from the water.  Walking back to the ranger station was impossible- elephants, baboons, and leopards prevented trying- and no one got cell reception.  We got out of the car, wondering how we might try to push the car. A safari 4x4 comes along, and agrees to try and help us out.  We attach a tow cable to both cars, and the 4x4 guns it.  Nothing.  He tries again, nothing.  Finally, he resolves to get closer to our car, meaning he'll be in the muddy and potentially tractionless mess just aside the large puddle in which we were stuck.  We all climb into the 4x4, to make it heavy as possible.  The driver guns it.  Nothing.  We're thinking we'll total the car, destroying either the frame or the engine.   The rangers would charge an enormous fee to get us out. 

The driver of the 4x4 guns it again. Nothing. 

He tries again, and our car moves.  It slides a bit and then pops right out, dragged by the safari 4x4 into safety.  We went down a few notches from "disaster" back to "adventure."