| Page Views: 198 Last Visit to Ngorongoro: October, 1999 | A Garden of Eden? by toonsarah - last update: Apr 19, 2009 |
| Maasai herders in the Ngorongoro Crater |
This was my favourite of the three safari locations we visited in Tanzania. It had everything going for it – a fantastic luxury lodge in a spectacular setting, plenty of wildlife to photograph and the opportunity to see something of local culture by visiting a Maasai village.
~~~o~~~ |
|  |
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera – 610 metres deep, 20 kilometres across and 260 square kilometres in area. It was formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago. The crater plays host to almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa, with an estimated 25,000 animals within the crater, and the protected environment and plentiful water and food available on the Crater floor throughout the year means that many of them never leave (resulting in serious in-breeding among the lions, for instance). This “captive” wildlife means that great sightings are guaranteed year round.
~~~o~~~ |
We spent one whole day driving in the crater and during that time saw:
~ hippos
~ rhinos (a mother and baby)
~ lions (a pride of five asleep under a tree)
~ cheetah family (parents and three cubs)
~ gazelles (both Grants and Thompsons)
~ zebra
~ wildebeest
~ buffalo
~ hyena
~ warthogs
Birds seen included:
~ flamingos
~ crested cranes
~ bustard
~ black kites
~ sacred ibis
~ marabou stork
~ ostrich
You can read about the other destinations we visited on this trip on my Tanzania (under construction), Tarangire and Zanzibar pages. | | |
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| In A Nutshell: | "A paradise for humans and wildlife (except perhaps for the inbred lions)" |
toonsarah's Ngorongoro Travel Tips
 Comments for toonsarah about Ngorongoro | | | | |
Nemorino Sun Jul 19, 2009 16:53 UTC
Very interesting tips about animal and bird-spotting, and your visit to the Maasai. Thanks for explaining about craters and calderas. | richiecdisc Mon May 4, 2009 22:38 UTC
Sounds like a fascinating place, Sarah. Love the Jungle Pub but fear I'd not be able to afford all the beer I'd like. Ah, the price of being a jungle king. ;) | robertgaz Wed Apr 22, 2009 00:45 UTC
I'm reading Assegai at the moment which is filled with these landscapes and people :) | kyoub Sun Apr 12, 2009 20:26 UTC
What an amazing area to visit. I see what you mean about the lodge and it's location. Beautiful! |
|
|
email me
add as friend
