January 2011
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Safari Time: Day 4 and 5 in Ngorongoro
Ngorongoro, Tanzania Safari Day 4-5
Thursday 27, Friday 28 Jan 2011
What a way to finish our safari! We managed to collect
all the animals on our list. Ray saw his male lion, Black Rhinos ambled by and a
cheetah conveniently appeared. The Ngorongoro lived up to its reputation.
Our campsite was on the northern rim of the Ngorongoro
crater. We joined several other groups already at the public campsite, Simba A,
and picked out a spot with a good view over the crater. Abdul started our meal
preparations while we set up our tents and had a shower to wash off the
accumulated dust of the day. We enjoyed trading experiences with the other
travellers, including a family with their 12 year old and 9 year old boys from
Newfoundland on a one year excursion around the world. They had started in
Europe last November and from all accounts, the whole family were still enjoying
the adventure. As expected at 2400 M, it was cold at night. We had our fleece to
keep us warm and we were snug inside our sleeping bags in the tent.
We were up the next morning just before sunrise.
Breakfast was at 6:30 AM; we packed up and were ready to leave shortly after for
one last game drive. It was a good one. We stopped briefly on the rim of the
crater for the view. At 20 km across, it is one of the largest calderas, or
collapsed volcanoes in the world.
We descended 600 M to the floor of the crater on a steep,
narrow dirt road. There waiting for us were two male warthogs challenging each
other while a female warthog watched patiently. Donald had his two-way radio on
and heard that Black Rhinos had been sighted. We raced across the crater floor,
stopping only to spot an ostrich and to let part of a racing wildebeest herd
cross the road in front of us. We were in luck; a pair of Black Rhinos was posed
a distance from the jeep, watching a hyena pass by.
Wildebeests and Zebras are the most numerous animals in
the crater. Vast herds roam the plains, eating the grasses and drinking from the
small fresh water lakes. Donald told us that another name for the Wildebeest is
a Gnu, which sounds like the nasal call it makes to communicate. We tried it out
and got answering grunts from several beasts. Some people call the wildebeest a
“spare parts” animal because it has the head of a buffalo, the eyes of a
grasshopper, the body of an antelope and the tale of a horse.
Flamingos flock in profusion to the alkaline Lake Magadi.
Eagles, storks, Ibis and various cranes all visit the crater and quite a few
lions make their home there. We saw a pair peacefully sleeping under a tree next
to a small river. Alerted to a gathering of jeeps, we raced over to see two
large, male lions sleeping in the grasses by the side of the road. Finally Ray
had his male lion sighting! Close by another group of jeeps was a beautifully
spotted Serval. Twice as big as a house cat, it usually appears only at night,
so we were lucky to get such a close view of it.
Further along the road sat a large female lion panting
after having killed a wildebeest, which lay a short distance from her. We were
told she would not eat until the male lions were alerted by the animal grapevine
and came to feed. She was still waiting after we left the area.
More jeeps were parked beside the road. We joined them to
use our binoculars to spot a cheetah hiding in long grasses. We were finally
rewarded for our patience when the elegant cat strolled out of the grasses to
find another spot to rest.
The end of our visit to the crater was nearing. We drove
to a designated picnic spot, passing a large Black Rhino moving through the
trees to a small river. We parked at the picnic spot and found a place in the
shade under a large tree. Donald warned us to watch out for cheeky vervet
monkeys waiting in a tree to steal food from unwary picnickers. We didn’t count
on the eagle perched in the tree above us. Suddenly it swooped down and grabbed
the chicken piece Gianni had just unwrapped from his lunch box. The eagle made a
short circle back to its perch in the tree and sat there, happily munching on
its prize.
Our lunch finished, we drove back to the campsite, where
Abdul had taken down the tents, and loaded up the jeep for our three hour return
trip to Arusha.
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