NGORONGORO CRATER - Day 2

DAY 2 – NGORONGORO CRATER Conservation Area

“Ngorongoro is quite unique as its physical protection from man natural beauty ranks it among the most pristine wildernesses on earth. It is regarded as a natural wonder of the world and has been declared a World Heritage Site. It is the largest intact crater in the world, being 610 meters deep, 16 kilometers across and covering an area of 540 square kilometers. On the crater floor, grassland blends into swamps, lakes, rivers, woodland and mountains - all a haven for wildlife, including the greatest predator population in Africa. The volcanic crater is packed with wildlife, including all the big game. Its pride and joy, however, is that it remains the last great wild refuge for the endangered black rhino.”

The drive today was awesome as we departed from our hotel which was located in the “RIFT VALLEY”. The drive was a up winding road that climbed just shy of 2,000 meters! It was breathtaking! Once at the top of the Rift Valley we were able to look back over the massive landscape. Pictures never do this view justice. After about an hour of driving we arrived in the Ngorongoro (pronounced Gore-on-gore-oh) conservation area. When we arrived at the lookout point on the rim of the crater we were amazed. What an absolutely incredible sight! We looked into the crater and were a little shocked that we couldn’t see any animals at all. The crater looked empty! As we learned later on this is the amazing optical illusion of the crater. It is so big and yet looks so small to the human eye. I grabbed the binoculars to see if anything was visible and I was able to see a few small herds. But still, nothing spectacular. Again an optical illusion!

After taking some pics we headed down the steep road that lead to the crater floor. Once on the floor we found ourselves right in the middle of a very very large herd of wildebeest. There was probably 200-300 of them cutting across our path! Welcome to Africa. The rest of the day was amazing! There was so much wild life. The view from the crater floor was still creating an optical illusion. This place was so massive and yet so small at the same time. We went hunting for the African BIG FIVE: Lion, Buffalo, Leopard, Rhino and Elephant.

We were able to find everything except the Leopard which is the most elusive animal to find.
The elephants here were different than the ones we had seen at other game parks. The tusks were very long and almost dragged on the ground. This shows how old they are and how they are closer relatives to the Wooly Mammoth. Even their skin was different.

I can’t say enough about this park. I think the pics speak for themselves. We found a pack of lions. There were 3 female, one male and one teenaged male. They were in short grass (2-3 feet high) near a natural stream. The incredible thing is that when they lay down you couldn’t see them at all. If you happened to be walking through that area the grass didn’t look high at all and you would have walked into 5 hungry lions.

Can you see 5 lions?

We stopped for lunch by a pond. In the distance we could see some humps in the water. This was a herd of Hippos resting. They only come out at night to eat.

We finally found the Black Rhino, an almost extinct animal. There were three however they were quite far away from us. We could not get close to the lake which had about 1,000 pink flamingos on it. What a shame as we missed a good picture opportunity.

The whole day was an awesome experience! What a great location and a great safari!