Once again we have breakfast at 5:30 a.m. in the darkness of the Serengeti, so that we can go looking for animals again long before sunset. This is the third day in the Serengeti. On the first day we saw a particularly large number of animals due to the Great Migration of the Wildebeest.

On the second day we were lucky enough to see a cheetah hunting. We are excited to see what this day brings.

I’m a little tired because I didn’t sleep well. First I had to remove the rainwater from my tent. And then a hyena actually came into the camp and got into the barracks, where it knocked over a garbage can and scattered the contents around the camp until Gabriel her Saidi drove it away.

I found the organization Ensemble Explores Adventures on Facebook, which organized the safaris and drivers for us.

With the help of our guide Leo, we were able to plan the tour the way we wanted and also keep it relatively inexpensive since we slept in our tents.

The scenery is different today. We drive through the mud and it is murky from the low-hanging clouds. We see impalas and thomsons, birds of prey and hippos. But no predators.

At lunchtime I dry my tent in the wind while we eat lunch looking out over a small lake full of flamingos.

Today is no comparison to the two days before. We see very few animals. Sometimes we drive for half an hour through the vastness before we see even a single gazelle. The number of trees is significantly reduced. Only here and there is an acacia tree.

And then we’re lucky again. We see a giraffe, another one and another one. And little giraffe children. It looks like a kindergarten for giraffes, because there are far more children than adults. What a beautiful and touching sight. The children are very curious!

In the afternoon we reach the vast steppe. There is no tree to be seen as far as the horizon. We occasionally see impalas, Thomsons, elephants, giraffes, zebras and ostriches in the distance like ghosts in the void. The Maasai gave the Serengeti its name – “the endless land” – in their language.

A rock rises up not far from the road. A whole tribe of lions is gathered on it and suddenly there are twenty cars underneath. So far we have only seen a few other tourists. The ladies are lying on top, the men are lying below. They are also making themselves comfortable.

On the horizon we see a dark front in front of us again, with lightning flashing from it. Shortly before the gate to the Ngorongo National Park it starts to rain heavily. We just swim along the track. It is difficult to see anything through the mud-splattered windshield. Another surprise follows at the entrance to the national park.

Our tour organization did not pay for our registration. In the cold and rain and with very poor reception, we all try to contact the organizer. When that still doesn’t work, we have no choice but to pay ourselves, otherwise we will have to spend the night here in a parking lot and can forget about visiting the famous crater.

With some delay, we speed through the wet outskirts of the Serengeti to reach our new campsite before nightfall. In the endless expanse, we see people walking in the open again.

There are Maasai here, and for reasons I cannot explain, a child or a woman can be seen walking through the void, completely alone but apparently with a clear goal in mind. There are no animals to be seen anymore.

We fight our way up the crater from the outside and the temperature continues to drop. In return, the vegetation continues to grow. A lush jungle grows on top of the crater rim of the huge extinct volcano, but it is so cold that I put all my jackets on one on top of the other. We are on 2,300 meters altitude. The campsite is full of identical tents, lined up symmetrically like a field camp.

Uwe and I set up our tents with the last light of day. The change from day to night is a matter of minutes so close to the equator.

The hut here is full of tourists who are also waiting with their guides for their excursion into the crater tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be our turn with an expedition down into the legendary Ngorongoro Crater.