After leaving Amboselli, we find that we are not only off of surfaced roadways but that there will be no more for the remainder of our drive through Tanzania's northern areas. As we started the climb from the Lake Manyara area to where our Hotel was located, "Rough Road" was defined anew! Soon after reaching the top we turned right and within minutes we arrived at the beautiful Lake Manyara Serena Hotel. This Hotel is perched on the escarpment with a beautiful garden as well as a magnificent view of the park 1,000 feet below. There are 100 comfortable rooms, two suites, a swimming pool, and a gift shop. This hotel overlooks the lake, which is in a part of the Great Rift Valley, and gave a new meaning to the phrase "A Room With A View".

The wide variety of habitat within Lake Manyara National Park accounts for the diversity of wildlife found there. There are five distinct vegetation zones within the Park, from groundwater forest to thornbush. Monkey, baboon, and guinea fowl dwell in the forested areas, while impala and elephant live in the acacia woodland. Uncharacteristically, the lion of Lake Manyara sometimes climb up into the acacia trees to recline on the branches, perhaps to escape the heat or the numerous tsetse flies. Zebra, giraffe, and huge buffalo herds (often containing over 400 animals) occupy the open grassland areas; and there is also a large hippo pool. In the marshlands, there are huge, tree-climbing monitor lizards.