On Safaris in the Ngorongoro Crater

From Arusha, we took a short flight on a bush plane, then Jeeped it for 2 hours to the Ngorongoro Crater. For the last hour, the distance was relatively short but the driving time seemed long as we bounced along on single lane dirt track to our accommodation.

The Ngorongoro Crater is about 25 km across, and has been declared a conservation area. It's a natural habit for many animals, large and small. Within the crater much of the land is arid grassland, though there are a couple of springs, swamps and a small lake. Each feature in the crater supports a certain types of animal. In any particular area there are the grazers, and those that prey on the grazers. Around it all is the crater wall which is in the order of 500 meters high, enclosing the ecosystem.

The Sopa Lodge, our accommodation, was perched on the east side of the crater wall with a great view and a wonderful sunset.

The following day, we headed out on Safaris. We descended into the crater, stopping at every grouping of animals. Some were shy, but most ignored our presence. There were gazelles, buffalo, warthogs, hippopotamus,  elephants, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, a rhino and more. Some were right at the vehicle, while others were only viewable through binoculars or with your camera zoomed.

The Crater conservation area was shared with the Maasai tribe. They live there and because they can't hunt the protected animals, graze herds of cattle for their survival. We visited them to learn more.

The Ngorongoro Crater and its inhabitants were impressive, but next we are heading to the Serengeti Plains to see what else we can find in the wilds of Africa.

Click here for the next story in this series: http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2016/10/hard-driving-ngorongoro-to-serengeti.html