Blogs from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 2

Seeing the Big 5 all in one trip is a challenge and that is the reason why they are the Big 5. Rhino was the last to tick off the list and Bori had said not to get our hopes up as they're very shy. So even Bori can't believe that we saw a couple of rhino making a new addition to the family as baby looked on, not so shy are they? And in front of the children! Later on, passing rangers thought Bori was winding them up about this sighting - it's so unusual no one believes it! We photographed the sun rising over the Ngorongoro Crater because we'd gone very early again. Two reason for this: the predators are up and active, and the Hungarians are flying home tonight so we needed to ... read more

Today we packed up and headed towards Ngorongoro Crater. We head there tomorrow but will stay at Karatu in the foothills of the crater. We drive out of the Tarengire National Park and I give Masha (our driver) the task of finding Lions. We see the usual suspects, giraffe, Impala then we spot lots of vultures sitting on dead trees about 6ft off the ground. Taking pics when Masha says lion. Sure enough, over the river he has spotted a female lion. I pick it up in the lens of the camera and then another one appears. Paydirt, almost. Being such a long way away, we give him 7 out of ten. We drive on and there are more. Appears they are hunting in the area. These ones are closer and easier to see. OK, mission ... read more

After a leisurely breakfast headed for our next stop Ngorongoro Crater. Enroute stopped at karratu township for a wander through the market...just loved it...seeing what the locals get up to on a daily basis! Then drove to our new home Neptune Luxury Lodge for two nights...all inclusive...that could be messy! Beers, wines and cocktails all included. Lovely lunch overlooking the pool and valley down below where coffee is being harvested! Then swim and cocktails by the pool...what a lovely way to spend some free time! Then as dusk came there were about 20 elephants came into view from our balcony...what a sight! Thurs spent the whole day game driving down in the base of the Ngorongoro crater, shocking bumpy dusty roads but all worth it. Saw a variety of animals today including the crown bird, hyena ... read more

Ngorogoro Crater was our destination today. Early on Babenga said he had no words to describe the crater. That it was something we would have to experience for ourselves... Ngorogoro was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and is the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world measuring 2,000 feet deep. Its floor covers 100 square miles and it is home to some to some 30,000 animals. Due to the enclosed nature of the Crater it has virtually formed its own ecosystem. Babenga wanted us to leave as early as possible for the crater, so we arrived for breakfast promptly at 6am which was the earliest we could eat and left by 6:30a. We arrived at ... read more

The Serengeti was our next stop, so it was into land cruisers for the 4 hour journey there. We passed through the Ngorongoro crater, which is a collapsed volcano, the climb is pretty high but you get some great views down into the crater and then down area where the Masai tribe live. They were moved here from the Serengeti when the government made it into a national park. The Serengeti itself is huge and extends for 15000km2. There were 1000’s of wildebeest here getting ready for the great migration, which goes from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, which in comparison is only 1500km2. We camped in the middle of the Serengeti and were woken to noises of lions roaring in the night. The first game drive earlier that day we had seen lions and ... read more