Day #4 (1/21/2014) - Ngorogoro Crater

Click here to jump to a web gallery with more photos from today.

After we departed Endoro Lodge, we drove about 2 hours into the Ngorogoro Crater Conservation Area. Ngorogoro crater is one of the most amazing spots on Earth: A 6 mile wide cauldera (a depression left after the collapse of an ancient volcano) surrounded by a 1000' high rim that forms a natural bowl, a sort of land animal fish bowl. The flat plain at the bottom teems with wildlife. This overview gives a sense of the scale of it:

Before proceeding into the Crater, we spent the night at the Sopa Lodge, perched on the rim of the crater. This nice hotel had a swimming pool and spectacular views overlooking the crater:

Just before dinner, as they served us drinks on the patio, we watched the light break through the clouds as a rainstorm swept across the plain:

The next morning we awoke at 6AM (that was our guide Nickson's idea!) and drove down into the crater. We spent the morning on a game drive seeing incredible quantities of wildlife. It is quite bizarre to see, for example, ostriches just walking around, or dozens of zebras gamboling. Here is a small sample of what we saw that day. I will upload a complete photo set from the day when I have a better connection. For now, you'll have to settle for a cape buffalo, a baby hyena, an ostrich, and a pair of zebras:

The game drives are fairly tightly regulated. We have to stay on designated paths and we must stay in the vehicle. The tour operators communicate via radio so that everyone can see the interesting stuff. Like at Yellowstone, a cluster of vehicles pulled over is a sign that some large charismatic animal is afoot! 

We stopped for lunch at one of the only places you are allowed out, a nice picnic area with a large acacia tree providing some of the only shade in the crater:

We were warned to eat in the truck so that divebombing birds wouldn't steal our food!

After lunch, there was more game driving:

In the afternoon, we headed out of the conservation area and into Serengeti National Park (about a four hour drive all together). Along the way, we drove through areas that reminded us of Vermont, then Wisconsin, then Ireland: green hills and verdant valleys, teeming with wildlife, and dotted with Maasai villages. This was the first time that I was struck by the beauty of Tanzania's landscape itself, rather than the wildlife that occupies it. We drove a few hours into the park to the Lake Masek Tent Camp, where we are to spend the next 2 days and 3 night. More about that later!

Thanks for reading!