Friday, November 23, 2018

Ngorongoro Crater

We had an early start. At 7:00am we were loading up the Land Cruisers and heading to the Crater, a good hour's drive from our camp.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a special place. There's an abundance of wildlife in a concentrated area. Plenty of resources exist there, so the animals have no need to migrate in search of food and water. Plus, there is no hunting in the Crater, so the animals are relaxed around human traffic. All together, this results in great viewing opportunities. BTW - no Giraffe in the Crater. They can't negotiate the slope to get down from the rim.

Our group required two Land Cruisers. As usual, our drivers had to negotiate very bumpy roads... and some water due to recent rains. We had our eyes peeled...





We saw large herds of Wildebeest 

Many Ostriches

Flamingos 

Gray Crowned Cranes

Napping Lions

Multiple Golden Jackals... and hyenas

Herds of Antelopes and Zebras, plus a lone Elephant 




Lots of birds


But the prize-find today was the Black Rhino. Secretive and shy, they can be difficult to spot. Only 27 live at Ngorongoro. The first one we saw was so far away we could barely identify it by its shape! But later we came across a pair, still way across the plain, but easily identified by their horns.



Looking back at the Crater as we head up the Ascending Road


Back at Pembeni Rhotia camp, we followed the example of the lions and took a nap after a late lunch!

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