Ngorongoro Crater

 27 June 2023

This morning, we started off with a breakfast at the lodge, then drove into the Ngorongoro Crater.  The Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is actually a caldera, where, at some point, a volcano collapsed into a gigantic bowl.  Due to the steepness of the walls (2,000 feet high), many animals are either unable or unlikely to leave the center of the crater.  The floor is approximately 100 square miles, and hosts lots of wildlife, including all of the big 5.  

Our drive in was very interesting.  As a guide myself, I am sometimes privy to insider knowledge, so I could appreciate the smirk our guide gave as we drove through thick (pea soup) fog all morning.  We were discussing whether or not we'd be able to see anything... As it turns out, the crater rim is usually like this, and the floor of the caldera was nice and sunny.  

Within minutes of arriving into the crater, we encountered a pair of lions napping by the roadside.  We also had a distant sighting of one of the rarest animals - a black rhino.  We saw the hippopotamuses wrestling in the water, as well as the flamingos, and a variety of gazelles.  Probably our most exciting moment was watching a pair of male lions stalking the gazelles, but... unfortunately no national geographic hunt happened while we were there.  As for the "hunt" of wildlife, because it was all very contained, we could spot animals over a mile in the distance, so it made for a very exciting day.  I have another post about this day coming up, so I wanted to get some safari pics online, and I'll post the second half soon!

The fog on the way in was incredible.  

These guys appeared out of nowhere...

And all of a sudden, the clouds cleared as we got into the caldera.

I thought this was especially cool watching the clouds come over the edge of the caldera. 

This was one of the pair of lions just napping near the road.

This was the closest I have ever seen the Cape Buffalo.  They were pretty common here!

This coffee stop (yes, cappuccinos made in the crater) was the only time we were allowed out of the vehicle.  Something about lions...

We really thought we'd see some action here when these guys approached some gazelles, but... all they did was stalk for a while.

The clouds around the rim cleared on our way out, so we got an amazing overview of the crater!