Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 15

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area November 19th 2006

After the wide open spaces of the Serengeti, we journeyed to the world famous Ngorongoro crater. In case you didn't already know, the crater is an ancient volcano that eventually collapsed in on itself, leaving the approximately 20km diameter crater that is there now. The crater rim is at approximately 2300m above sea level and completely encloses the floor, that is several hundred meters lower, with steep sided walls. The floor is mostly flat, with a few gentle undulations, a natural spring and a salt pan that only has water in it during the wet season. The floor of the crater has grassy plains, similar to those of the Serengeti, while the top of the rim has dense rain forest clinging to the steep slopes. Ngorongoro is unique in that the animal population is largely 'trapped' ... read more

Twenty seconds after complaining that the animals always face away from the road, we got this!

Meeting the Masai

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area November 18th 2006

Masai Woman

James and Karen

From when we were in the Karioko Markets in Dar es Salaam the Masai people have been catching our eye in their distinctive bright red, purple and/or blue robes and ornate jewellery. The security guards at our Hotel on Zanzibar were also Masai, and there were some in Stone Town as well. They are a very striking people, generally tall, brightly dressed and obviously proud of their background. We were now in the area they call home and we had the chance to actually visit a Masai village and get a closer glimpse of what life is like for them. All over the Ngorongoro Conservation area there are Masai villages and they still live largely the same as they have done for hundreds of years. They are cattle herders and live in permanent villages that are ... read more

Hakuna matata, salama safari 1

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area September 28th 2006

Masai homeboys

snozlington

And wow did Ngorongor turn it onOur excitement at going on the first safari of our African adventure easily outweighed our disappointment (and hangovers) resulting from the previous nights Kombe la Dunia action which saw Brazil defeat Australia 2 - 0. In Swahili, safari means journey, so our holiday so far had been safari moja kubwa and although to date we hadn't seen many animals of the four legged variety, we'd certainly encountered many of the two legged variety, both local and mzungu! Before we could get started however we had to make several stops to buy food supplies and fuel. Why this was being done on our $115 a day time was a mystery, but we'd long since learnt not to get worked up about the way things are done in Africa. They just ... read more

Day Nine - A bloody big hole!!!

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area September 12th 2006

3856

Salparadise

Ngorongoro Crater...because of cow bells innit ... read more

The AMAZING NGORONGORO CRATER: Tick

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area August 12th 2006

Morning at the top of Ngorongoro

Moo

12th August Saturday DAY 22 NGORONGORO CRATER to ARUSHA Another chilly 6am wake up, but driving to the crater with the thick fog and moss hanging off the trees gave it a very eerie feeling, and worth it. As we turned and headed to the rim of the crater I was so excited to be finally about to descent into this amazing ecosystem and there was a beam of sunlight piercing the crater ground. We opened the rooftops and headed in. We drove around for a while before seeing anything but Laurence gave us some great Crater info (some animals are actually able to leave the crater). The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken caldera (a large crater in a volcano) in the world. It’s surrounded by very steep walls rising 610 meters from the crater ... read more

karibu

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area July 23rd 2006

Frans

hallo familie en vrienden Tot nu toe hebben we een prachtige reis. Het is een vol programma met om half zes opstaan. Veel wild gezien en ook tarangire national (boa bab bomen) bezocht en lake eyazi. ook hebben we drie stammen bezocht. de masai, datok en de hatsabe. Met deze prehistorische stam, de hatsabe, zijn we op jacht geweest. Mathijs heeft een echt killer instinct. We hebben tot nu toe olifanten, giraffen, struisvogels, apen, bavianen en ga zo maar door. Maar nog geen leeuwen. We zijn ook nog naar een slangen park geweest waar we black mamba's hebben gezien, baby schildpadjes, krokodilletjes hebben vastgehouden en slangen in de nek hebben gekregen. We hebben al drie nachten gekampeerd en verder slapen we in leuke lodges. Morgen gaan we naar het beroemde Serengeti. Groetjes van allemaal P.S. Helaas ... read more

The Garden of Eden

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area July 19th 2006

The King

Driving into Ngorongoro crater is unlike anything else in the world. I often joke that Ngorongoro is really more like a zoo than a nature reserve but when we crested the crater wall and looked down into the crater I felt chastised -- it is one of the most glorious and stunning pieces of land in the world, without question. The crater is something like 20 miles across and when you are in the middle you can see the crater wall towering above you on all sides - it is quite an experience. Ngornogoro is exactly how I have always imagined the Garden of Eden - towering walls, lakes, forest and savannah and, of course, animals abound. And after all, isn’t Ngorongoro just a few miles away from the oldest fossil footprints in the world.. perhaps ... read more

Days 29 - 30 (June 19 - 20)

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 19th 2006

crater

jotoms

Safari! It was awesome. More later... read more

Ngorongoro Crater

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area June 10th 2006

Olduvai George

Chris Mies

Vanmorgen vroeg op pad naar onze volgende bestemming, de wereldberoemde Ngorongoro Krater (in het Swahili betekent dit koeienbel….). Het doet een klein beetje pijn om het schitterende Serengeti NP achter ons te laten, wat hebben we hier veel moois gezien zeg! Onderweg stoppen we om te lunchen bij the Olduvai George. Op deze plaats zijn de oudste overblijfselen van de mensheid gevonden. Een mooi uitzicht over een enorme kloof. Na de lunch gaan we verder naar de Krater. We moeten langs een erg steile en hobbelige weg naar beneden om de krater in te komen. Eenmaal op de bodem van de (oude) krater kijk je je ogen uit. Deze krater is 18 km in doorsnede en je voelt je toch helemaal ingesloten door de wanden van de krater. Al snel komen we heel veel dieren ... read more

Ngorongoro Crater

Africa » Tanzania » North » Ngorongoro Conservation Area February 28th 2006

Karl Julie

Ngorongoro Crater The crater is one of the most famous reserves for black rhinos because it is so easy to protect them in the crater. There is one road in and one road out. We did not see any, but the trip was really amazing. The views and vistas as well as birds and other wildlife were great. We saw more hippos, more lions, plus all the usual suspects (zebras, ostrich, toppees, gazelles, giraffes, and elephants). We also saw a great deal of Maasais. The Crater itself was created by volcanic activity and left a plateau 22kms in diameter. Perhaps the best part of the crater was our accommodations. We stayed at a coffee plantation (The Plantation Lodge) in the most amazing little cottages. The owners were German and the food was unforgettable as were the ... read more

Brief history of Tanzania

Shortly after independence, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and po...more history

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