Karatu

Enjoyed a beautiful drive on relatively good roads passing by Masai villages, lakes and more stunning mountains. It was surprising how quickly things changed after crossing a couple of mountain passes, with not only the landscape changing dramatically, but how the local people looked and dressed. Karatu is the gateway to Ngorogoro crater, Serengeti park and other nearby parks so is a bit of a boomtown. We found a safe, central campsite to stop for a few days as we had to pay some park fees (nearly $600 for 24 hours in the famous crater), do laundry and catch up on a few other things before going off the grid for another week or so.
The people here have been very friendly, and very proud. We’ve traveled to a lot of places and this is one of the few countries where the locals really want you to, and often insist, that you try to speak the local language (Swahili). It’s not in an obnoxious way, but if you try to speak English, they’ll politely tell you how to say it in Swahili and make you practice. We are doing our best to quickly learn a few key words and phrases!Read more