our last morning game drive started at 6.30 as although we were camped on the rim it was going to take an hour to descend to the floor of the crater. this meant a torchlight walk to the facilities from the tent passing within sight(just) of a herd of zebras snuffling about. a bit unnerving. we heard on the radio that some black rhinos had been spotted but our attempt to drive quickly through the forest on the craters edge was thwarted by a herd of elephants intent on destroying the forest. however it didn't matter as the two rhinos were next to each other in the shade of a grey rock. to see them we had to use binoculars and hope they moved their heads so we could see their horns. we stopped further on as a lioness crossed our path intent on hunting either some gazelles or zebras. she was spotted and the intended prey kept a safe distance. she sat down to await her next chance. the male and another lioness looked on inscrutably from across the road. hyenas are a real threat to most of the wildlife here and we spotted many of them jogging away. we drove to the hippo pool where we were entertained by their antics,jostling,yawning and snorting. there was a cute little one with its snout on its mum's. the salt lake behind is rapidly receding so only 9 pink flamingoes could be seen,far to far from the road to be photographed. the male ostriches were getting all worked up displaying with their pink necks.the highlight of the drive was our final sighting of lions. 4 young males in a bachelor group,not strong enough to head up a pride,have to do the killings themselves were lounging in the shade by the swampy margins of the freshwater lake when one got up and started prowling towards a variety of animals. they needn't have worried as he had his sights on a sleeping hippo. the four lions need a big animal to feed them,a small gazelle would be just a snack. he advanced slowly and before he had time to pounce the hippo charged him. he backed off and the hippo turned to re-enter the water but the lion charged once more and gouged his back just as he got in the water. clearly hurt he submerged himself and tried to find deeper water. by now the other 3 lions were up and prowling the waters edge in case he re-emerged. he didn't so he probably made his way through the swamp into the main part of the lake. we saw another hippo with scars suggesting that that was the way he got them. we saw 3 attempts by lions to catch a prey and each time they failed. then it was a 4 hour drive back to arusha for our last night on the mainland before our flight to zanzibar for a holiday!