RANSVESTIA

The following day we took off for the Serengeti plains with a very unexpected surprise midway there. I had no idea that the Olduvai Gorge made famous by the Leakeys was any- where near this part of Africa - so went went and saw it. I com- mented to one of the girls that it was about the most god-forsaken place I could think of in which to become famous. It was hot and dry, with no shade, no greenery, no water and no shelter.

The hotel, located in the middle of the Serengeti, was very unique. It was built in, on and around a lot of giant stone out- croppings - and I do mean around. The big rounded rocks stick into the dinning room and the lounge. Large picture windows have the glass cut so that it follows the surface of the boulder so that part of the rock is outside and part inside. All supplies have to be trucked in about 150 miles over those unbelieve- able roads. Yet we were served fine meals.

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After a day scouting the area we saw animal herds with the exception of cheetahs and leopards. Later we returned the way we came and eventually arrived at the Lake Manyara hotel perched on the edge of the great rift overlooking the great rift valley.

The next day we went down into the Rift valley. Fantastic aggregations of Flamingoes and White Pelicans were observed with an assortment of other animals, too. We returned to the hotel for lunch and I was greeted with the news that the plane that I was to take from Arusha to Dares Salaam the following day had been rescheduled to an earlier time. There was no way that I could make that plane. They told me that it would cost $225.00 to send a car out especially for me.

I was somewhat panic stricken but suddenly got the idea that maybe someone else was going back to Arusha that afternoon and thus I went to the desk to inquire. There was an Indian couple standing there waiting for their landrover to arrive. 1 approached them with my problem and they invited me to come with them. They agreed to wait a few minutes while I got my stuff together. I ran back to the dining room and told everybody the situation and said a few quick "goodbyes". Then up to my room for a quick pack and hauling of my things down to the

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