Ngorogoro Crater

A few months ago, for Women’s History month, National Geographic released a series called Queens about matriarchal families in the animal kingdom. I watched the first episode about lions and hyenas and was truly blown away. It wasn’t until several weeks later that I put it together that I was going to that exact place on my safari in Tanzania.

Ngorogoro is a massive crater, probably formed from a volcano imploding millions of years ago. The bottom of the crater is above a mile high in altitude while the crest of the crater rises about fifteen hundred feet above that.

Today, the crater is a massive retreat full of lush greenery and animals galore. It has an abundance of water, with open prairies as well as a thick jungle. It’s perfect for just about all the African animals, aside from giraffes because apparently their favorite food does not grow there!

On our descent down into the crater we passed hundreds of Masai men dressed in their finest red with sparkling jewelry. Lou only really knew that it was a celebration of sorts, but no matter what, these men and boys were climbing the fifteen hundred feet by foot. While the Masai live all around the crater in the conservation area, no one is allowed to live inside the crater. It is a haven for the animals.

I will admit that my first few minutes in the crater were a bit of a let down. I believe I had hyped this place up so much that perhaps I had set expectations too high. Upon entering, the park was much more crowded than others we had been in, which was a disappointment. Then, the clouds hung heavy and a cold wind blew around us so that I didn’t even want to be in my happy place, standing up in the back of the truck. At our first stop, to see the pink flamingos, none of them would cooperate, then a massive swarm of bugs flew into our open truck. The day was not going as I had hoped.

Then, we saw dozens of crested cranes, adorable Thomson gazelles, and hippos carrying birds on their backs as they bobbed up and down under the surface. The day was picking up. Then, we spotted a stunning elephant with beautiful long tusks in a truly remarkable setting. But wait, there’s more! There were four lions near the elephant, and he chased them away! It was so fun to watch and thankfully no one was hurt!

The day was certainly looking up! There were zebras, buffalo and wildebeests all living harmoniously together while a few warthogs scurried about (with their tails stuck straight up in the air just like Pumba!). There were ostriches and Kori bustards (we had to look up the name because we thought Lou was calling these large birds something else!).

Then, the clouds parts, blue sky appeared and magic happened. A rhino was spotted. The fifth on our Big Five African BINGO card. Sure, he was a long way off, but we saw him (and another one, later!)! The day only continued to get better!

(This is no where near focused, but I love this video for two reasons: you get to see a rhino AND you get to see a warthog run.)

We saw a jackal which was very similarly sized to a fox. A sleepy lion just feet from the road would not be bothered so we could see his glorious mane. Guineas gathered on the road in front of us and elephants marched. 

Just before exiting this spectacular park full of stunning scenery and abundant wildlife, we spotted the largest family of elephants we had seen on our trip and in their fold was the smallest elephant we have see. She was hard to capture with everyone keeping her hidden, but at one point she backed up under her mother’s belly where she, in fact, could fit.

Ngorogoro was an absolute dream; it completely lived up to the hype! I’m so glad my first impression was so utterly wrong. It was a perfect way to end our safaris in Tanzania!