The Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley runs 6500km, from Turkey in the north to Mozambique. In fact the rift splits around Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya. The eastern rift follows the classic line through Kenya and Tanzania, whilst the western branch runs down the Uganda-Congo side of Lake Victoria and Tanganyika to the Zambeizi. Both are impressive. Travelling from Tarangire towards the Serengeti, one must cross the eastern escarpment at Mto-Wa-Mbu (translated to mean 'Mosquito Creek') and climb the ridge, near the entrance to Lake Manyara NP. The excellent tar road deteriorates drastically 30 km from Mto-Wa-Mbu, although they are currently regrading and updating the road. Mto-Wa-Mbu has an excellent market, selling locally grown fruit and vegetables. The valley floor is very fertile and villages spread out across the plain in the dry season to capture the irrigated valley floor, despite the constant risk of flooding and high incidence of malaria.
We did not visit Lake Manyara NP on this trip, but instead pressed onto Karatu, the last village before entering the Ngorongoro-Serengeti Game Conservancy. The village is a small ribbon development, and we camped at Safari Junction, a pleasant campsite in the foothills of the crater that had clearly seen better days. Stil, it was considerably cheaper than the inflated prices one has to pay in the Game Reserves. The Serengeti Ecosystem
It makes sense to consider the Ngorongoro Conservation area, the Serengeti National Park and the Masia Mara (in Kenya) as one ecosystem, which spreads over 25,000 sq km, making this one of the largest natural game areas in Africa. After all, the artificial boundaries that separate the individual areas are man-made and irrelevant to the flora and fauna that inhabit the area. Besides the wonderful natural feature of this area, the annual migration of the wildebeest occurs here, making linkage logical.
