The Masai                       and the National Parks

	We hired a jeep in Arusha and headed for the heart of Masai territory.
	We took a dirt road along which we could see an increasing number of Masai tending their herds.
	After about 200 Kms we reached a small village called Mto Wa Mbu (in Swahili: Mosquito River!). We had something to eat in the village and then unloaded the jeep and struck the tents.
	We set out for the Lake Manyara National Park and we decided to take only the bare necessities and the photographic equipment.
	The Park is a long strip of land about 6 to 8 Kms wide and 50 Kms long. On the one side there is Lake Manyara and on the other the western slope of the southernmost tip of the Rift Valley. We explored the park for two days, seeing monkeys, elephants, gnus, zebras, giraffs, hippopotami, lyons ...
	We left Mto Wa Mbu the following day and headed for the Ngorongoro crater.It is probably the most frequently visited site in Africa.
	It is an immense crater (30 Kms in diameter with a surface area of 250 Kms2). It houses an abundant ecosystem with its lakes, pools, streams, forests, savannas and thousands of wild animal: lyons, gnus, gazelles, zebras, buffalo, hyenas, jackals, and not to mention the famous black rhino. The Masai fearlessly tend their herds along the side of the crater.
	It is said that when a lyon and a Masai meet face to face it is the lyon who backs off ...

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