Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive
2020 January 31. I had just finished a cycle trip that went around Kilimanjaro before heading west through Arusha and ending at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. My legs were sore from peddling 529 kilometres and my butt was sore from being in a bike saddle for 9 days. I had 48 hours before my flight departed for Canada. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do a game drive inside the crater. After all, one can't travel all the way to Africa and not do a safari. It turned out to be the perfect way to conclude my Tanzania trip.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Statistics say 25,000 large animals live in the crater. I was skeptical of this number initially, but now I can understand why the land is now a World Heritage Site. As we descended into the massive hollow that was once formed when the volcano erupted, it almost didn't seem real seeing ungulates everywhere. First we saw water buffalo, then zebra, wildebeest, lions, hyena, black rhinoceros (rare), gazelle, ostrich, elephant, and hippopotamus. Leopard was the only animal out of the 'big 5' that we missed. It was incredible how many different species were able to coexist in a relatively small environment. That was my biggest takeaway from the experience - more on this later. Favourite animal was definitely the gazelle - more on this later also.
From the upper lookout we could see elephants as tiny dark spots moving around. You definitely want to bring binoculars. The lake is much smaller during the June - August dry season. Apparently Ngorongoro is packed with lines of vehicles that time of year. If you want to be mobile and see large areas, then the short dry season (January - February) would be better.
The steep topography keeps the animals together within the crater walls. Food and water are abundant and without competition. No hunting is allowed within the conservation area. Why would anyone want to leave? Only reason I can think of is because there is no where to go when it starts raining. The highlands get 1000 mm annual precipitation; almost as much as Raincouver!
Descending 610 metres to the crater floor
Water Buffalo
Zebras
Wildebeests
A small pride of lions. They were the most lazy animals in the crater. We watched them for 30 minutes and in that time, the lion closest to us raised his head for 5 seconds and the other male lion lying on his back urinated all over himself while snoring, that's about all we saw. Apparently they sleep for 16 hours each day and are most active early in the morning. Several herbivores nearby were aware of the lions presence and yet were completely undisturbed. Every animal looked well fed.
Ostrich
Hippopotamus
Hyena
Gazelle
Cycle Tanzania Part 1 (Kilimanjaro 360):
https://www.ascendandwander.ca/2020/01/cycle-tanzania-part-1-kilimanjaro.html
Cycle Tanzania Part 2 (Arusha to Ngorongoro):
https://www.ascendandwander.ca/2020/01/cycle-tanzania-part-2-arusha-to.html
Climbing Kilimanjaro (6 days):
https://www.ascendandwander.ca/2020/01/climbing-kilimanjaro.html