Ngorongoro

We left the next morning at 5:30 to maximize our time in the crater. We had to stop at the entrance booth to validate our entrance permit. Within just a few hundred yards of the entrance we saw a small herd of elephants in the woods, a young leopard come out of the forest and cross the road behind us and a few buffalo crossed the road in front of us. To get into the crater we had to drive down a series of switchbacks. The sides of the crater are steep enough to stop the giraffes from entering, but all the other animals are able to negotiate the terrain. Many of them will spend their entire lives within the crater. At 21 kilometers in diameter there is plenty of room for seven large herds of zebras, gazelles, buffalo, and wildebeests. Others will come and go depending on the weather.

Our good viewing began as we completed our descent into the crater we passed a pair of Secretarybirds in a nest atop a tree. Over the course of the day we would see a number of Golden Jackals, an animal we had not seen before. We also saw at least a dozen Kori Bustards, including one male displaying for no apparent reason as there were no females within view.

Displaying Kori Bustard

Counting the leopard we saw at the entrance gate, we saw all of the Big Five. The views of the rhinoceros were quite distant, but we did get to see several. Lions, cape buffalo, and elephants were all within a few feet of our Land Rover. We also saw a nice flock of flamingos from a distance along with one of the jackals who seemed to be trying to bluff his way close enough to grab one for lunch. During the 15 minutes we watched he was not successful.

Sacred Ibis

We had an interesting encounter with a pride of female lions. Seeing cars heading in one direction, we followed and arrived where the lionesses we resting along the side of the road. Within minutes we were joined by so many other vehicles there was no room to pass. The felines were pretty oblivious to the chaos around them. When they decided to move, they walked across the road and in between the vehicles disappearing from our view as they did so. We heard a girlish scream which led us to think that one of the other tourists had reached out to try to pet one as she walked by. When we left we had to drive off the road to pass, something we aren’t supposed to do. It was frustrating though to see that several of the vehicles had even parked off the road. That diminishes the experience for all of us including the animals.

At the hippo pond we saw ten hippos along with several birds including five we had not seen yet on this trip. While we watched we saw a couple of fights as the hippos bothered each other under the water. A couple of them showed us a new behavior as the rolled over in the water.

Red Bishop

Spoonbill

The authority in charge of the park tries to control the number of visitors by raising prices, an interesting choice. They have decided to leave the roads unpaved to maintain the naturalness of the park. They have bricked the exit road for safety reasons as the clay base gets very slick in the rain. Meals are well-regulated. They must be eaten in designated areas, each of which has a washroom with an attendant. We visited three of them, one for breakfast, one for a potty stop, and the last for lunch before heading up the hill and back to the Lodge. We arrived about 3:00 giving us plenty of time for a shower and a nap before happy hour.

Tawny Eagle at Breakfast

Grey Crested-Crane Family

Eland

Abdim's Stork

Ngorongoro should be on everyone’s bucket list who travels to East Africa. While it is huge for an intact crater, it is small enough to easily see in one day. By keeping all the vehicles on the roads, viewing is generally good and seldom will there be a crowd of vehicles. The only time we were with more than three others was at that lion viewing.

Singing Lark

Fighting Gazelles

Interesting tree at our lunch spot