this morning we set off for Mto wa Mbu to visit the lake Manyara national park and a tour of the village. the area is very fertile with water coming down from the mountains and many tribes have established themselves whilst keeping their traditions. the village is surrounded by coffee,sugar cane,bananas and other tropical fruits. we visited some wood carvers who were refugees from mozambique ,an artist studio in among the bananas and sampled banana beer and wine from a tribe that had come down from the kilimanjaro area. then lunch was served which was a selection of different tribes' cuisine. then it was time for our game drive in the manyara park. almost immediately we found ourselves surrounded by elephants,so close we could have touched them. further along we came to the lake where pelicans from egypt migrate to and also flamingoes but sadly the lake is silting up so we couldn't get very close. then it was back to our tents that had been pitched for us and a welcome cup of tea.