Ngorongoro Crater
Saturday, 12 July 2008
We left Serengeti National Park, and drove a good distance to Ngorongoro Crater, which is a wildlife conservation area. On the way, in a very dry area, we passed Oldupai Gorge, once home to Lucy, and a long time later, Mary and Louis Leaky. Ngorongoro is a collapsed volcano and a home to rhinos.Ngorongoro Crater is quite a place—for details about it, click the link to the right. We could see the volcano from a distance on the Serengeti plain, and then we climbed up to the rim, about 7,500 feet in elevation. The view 2,000 feet down into the collapsed caldera is fantastic. Ngorongoro is a World Heritage Site.
However, before we got to this viewpoint of the Lake Madadi, we drove to the southern exit of Serengeti National Park. That meant, yes, more sightings of giraffes. There are no giraffes in Ngorongoro Crater, so a picture is in order.
Some elephants in the tall grass.
We have seen a tremendous number of wildebeests, zebras and Thomson’s Gazelles. Here is a herd of these small gazelles.
Lions conserve their energy, and blend in well with grass. Here is a lion resting in a bit of shade. She is difficult to spot, and dinner might walk by at any time.
Later on, we found a group of adult and baby lions resting in the muddy remains of a pool. Here is one of the cubs.
We made it down to the floor of the crater in mid–afternoon. Our guide spotted what he thought was a lion sleeping in tall grass. We maneuvered around and, sure enough, there was a male lion. Resting, of course.
No one is permitted to remain on the crater floor at night, so not long after we took the lion’s picture, we started to climb up the other side to our hotel. Mornings and late afternoons have special light—here is a photograph of the Lerai Forest inside the volcano in late afternoon.
Next—more time in the Crater.
