(You can read Part 1 of this safari over here and Part 3 over here). The lodge which we stayed at on our recent safari to the Ngorongoro Crater was the 'Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge' (you can see the official website here). It was built in 1996 on the rim of the Crater and has magnificent views of the Crater itself from the bedrooms and main areas (bar, lounge, dining room etc). This was my 3rd stay at the lodge - my last stay there was at least 8 (or 9 ?!) years ago and although the lodge is a little old in places, it is still lovely and you just can't beat the views ! The photo above shows the view of the Crater from our bedroom (did anyone say "English Lake District" ?!)
The photo above shows part of one of the wooden decks which are found throughout the lodge. This is the veranda deck which leads off the main lodge lounge/bar area - I love the stone and wood 'wall' barricade at the edge of the deck - don't you ?Below is a photo of one of the decks leading from the bedroom area of the lodge to the dining room/bar/ lounge - note the unusual ceiling with the dark 'criss cross' wooden beams. (Also note - yes, you guessed it - hubby pushing baby son in his pram to the dining room for lunch. We took the pram with us, knowing that it would come in handy at this particular lodge with all these wooden decks ! In the photo, hubby is looking slightly annoyed & had just said something like 'Come on, haven't you got enough photo's for the blog already ? I'm hungry !' to which my daughter - walking beside me - replied 'Mamma, I think I also want my own blog !')
The photo below shows another passage - this one leading down to one of the areas housing the guest bedrooms - the floors of this are coloured cement ....
The dining room is pictured below. This is where all meals were served during our stay - many of the dining tables are situated alongside huge floor to ceiling windows (to left of photo) with views out over the Crater. Fireplaces are dotted all around the dining room (it get's COLD at the Crater during the Winter months) & there is also a raised platform dining area at the back of the central area where we ate at night by candlelight - really nice.
This photo below shows the view from the dining room. I think you'd be hard pressed to find such a unique and magnificent view to gaze upon as you tucked in to a tasty meal, don't you agree ?! 
More to follow on Wednesday, with photos of the room we stayed in, and the view from there, too ..... 
