Ngorongoro Crater

We were still floating on dust clouds of excitement as we continued over the dirt packed African roads toward the rim of the Ngorongoro crater, where our camp for the night awaited. Perched on top of this ancient caldera at near 2400m we experienced the coldest of our African evenings in a beautiful setting. Fortunately we had chef Bruno’s finest to help warm our bellies.

We woke the next morning for our early morning start to catch the animals at their most active and to ensure we got the best out of our government-restricted time in the park – about 6 hours from the time each vehicle enters. Descending the crater rim at first light was a spectacular experience.

A lot of people refer to Ngorongoro as a fishbowl of wildlife, a description that is quite apt given the natural features of the area and the fact that the animal populations typically remain within the confines of the park with no need to migrate due to the abundance of food and water year round. Perhaps its most famous of residents is the Black Rhino, a highly endangered species that has been poached into near extinction due to the medicinal qualities that some cultures believe are contained in its horns. Patricia was on the lookout for this rare beast as soon as we began our descent.

The history of the Ngorongoro region also includes evidence of humanity’s ancient ancestors. Some of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, finds of human-like remains come from this area. It seems that all life thrived in the cradle of Africa and earlier in the trip we took the time to learn more about the sequence of events from the Ngorongoro Information Centre.

There was a group of baboons patrolling the Information Center for unattended food, and it was easy to see our common ancestry with these cheeky fellows.

There are many different landscapes in the caldera, each favoured by different kinds of animals. We happened upon a large cow buffalo with its typical accessory birds riding on top, free-loaders that the herbivore is glad to have aboard for their assistance in eating pests that may cause annoyance. The park also had many other birds such as the large white crane, dainty pink flamingos and another curiously named fellow, the Kori Bustard. Initially, we did not pick up the subtlety of the “u” in Bustard and had a good laugh each time our guide mentioned the name. Yeah, we never grow up!

After passing through the plains, we made our way into a marshy area with many different pools. This looked to be a favourite for hippos and we were giddy when we saw a group of them at a distance lazing and meandering around. Although we did not catch it on film (probably a good thing) we had our best laugh of the entire trip when we saw two enormous male hippos pass each other and perform their usual show of masculinity. This involved what can only be described as a full powered backyard sprinkler action of flying poo in opposing directions with their tails working furiously side to side for maximum spread and atomization of the flying turds. We kid you not…please look this up, but maybe don’t look at the images!

Likely to help cleanse our thoughts, we paused for a long time to simply enjoy a group of zebras huddled together to discuss the days events.

But it was no moment to rest as George spotted something in the distance that had his heightened senses on alert and our jeep lurching forward. The drama of Africa was once again on full display, perhaps more acutely then ever before on our trip, as we arrived alongside a pride of lions eleven strong. They moved with a grace and a purpose and seemed to take no heed of the vehicles and people around them. The large pride took time to observe some of the nearby herbivores, each time seeming to size up the opportunity while gauging the hunger in their bellies, before deciding to quench their thirst at the riverside. Thanks to George’s incredible instincts and driving we had front row seats for the entire memorable episode - even he was excited, as apparently this is a rare opportunity in the wild.

And guess what, we did find that Black Rhino in the end after all. As we drove down the final section of dirt road before climbing back up to the top of the rim a dark shape was spotted laying in the tall grass ahead. Although it was quite far away, we were able to see the distinctive sharp protrusions of the rare animal’s horns. What more could we ask for after such an incredible 6 days? We felt very privileged to say the least.

Our time on safari was a dream - incredible fun, fantastic people and a once in a lifetime opportunity to get close to some of nature’s most spectacular creations. Our smiles lasted a long time and the memories will last even longer.