It was a bittersweet good-bye to Ndutu. We couldn't believe that it was almost time for our safari adventure to end, but we knew that what we'd experienced would stay with us always. At least we still had something to look forward to: Ngorongoro Crater - a unique ecosystem with well protected animals and the possibility of seeing an elusive black rhinoceros. It was the very last of the traditional the "Big 5" animals that we had yet to see. I don't recommend living and dying by lists like the big 5, it can really kill your joy if that's the be all and end all of your trip. We knew we might not get to see rhino for many reasons and we weren't about to let that ruin our amazing experiences.
We spent half the day saying good-bye to Ndutu, having one last game drive and lunching with a herd of elephants. They were pretty chill until one caught me out of the jeep and let me know that I should consider loading back up.
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| Our lunch spot |
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| Just before he noticed me |
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| "Hey, should you be out here?" |
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| Part of the herd we lunched with |
We came across another hippo wallow and got to enjoy their particular version of hide and seek. They are quite perverse at popping up and then diving back under before you get a picture.
We also met a herd of Impalas, with a very judgmental baby and a pair of baby giraffes. I'm not sure if they were twins, but that would be incredibly rare, so I'm assuming that they were just friends, getting away from their anxious parents.
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| I can't help but feel a little bit judged by that look. |
Don't worry, their parents wouldn't be very far away. The weather had been incredibly cooperative, up to this point, but as we hit the road towards the crater, the clouds started to gather and we were forced to drop the roof of the jeep down.
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| The impending rain |
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| Looking back, after the storm had passed |
While it was a pretty heavy downfall, it passed over quickly and we were on our way to Embalakai, our next "camping" spot close to the crater. The camp was more of a "Glamp", the tents having raised wood floors, spa like amenities and amazing views of the Serengeti plains.
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| View from their back deck |
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| Our posh digs - too bad we couldn't to stay a bit longer |
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| Yup, this is a tent...camping is hard |
As we cleaned up and waited for the dinner bell, we heard an uncommon racket outside. I thought it was from some sort of monkeys up in the trees, but Ron discovered that it was hooting birds, sheltering between the tent roofs and the protective overhead fly. We were surprised to come back from dinner and find hot water bottles warming our bed. It was "cooler", but, speaking as someone who lives on the east coast of Canada, possibly not hot water bottle worthy. Still, it was cosy to slip into warmed sheets on a misty night.
We rose early, as we wanted to get to the crater for sunrise and it was not a disappointment.
It was a steep decline down into the crater and it felt like we were travelling through time as we wound our way down the lacets to the volcano floor. We passed through a verdant forest, the likes of which you'd imagine in a Jurassic Park movie, that gave way to sweeping plains with rivers and lakes dotting the landscape. The crater is over a couple of million years old, formed from a volcanic explosion. It's around 600 metres deep and about 260+ square kilometres. It's home to approximately 30,000 large animals and innumerate small critters. That the entire crater remains intact makes it pretty unique.
There are strict rules in the crater: no getting out of the vehicle and not leaving the prescribed roads. This creates an environment where the animals feel safe and confident. Gazelles, so skittish usually, stood their ground, right beside the road as we rumbled past and zebras didn't even lift their heads from grazing if we stopped to take photos.
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| Mama warthog and her hoglets |
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| She's quite handsome by warthog standards |
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| Abdims Stork (?) |
There was quite a bit of lion activity. A pride of lionesses had taken down a water buffalo and there was a traffic jam around the site, as people jockeyed for position. A male lion had obviously taken his share and we witnessed his full bellied jaunt across the plains. He was quite majestic, even with his full stomach. He walked right up to our jeep and rubbed against it as he passed.
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| Big ole round belly |
The flamingo population is quite incredible in Ngorongoro. When we first saw the lakes, the birds were just a tantalizing bit too far off for really good photos. Our intrepid guide told us not to worry and drove us down a road that disappeared into the lake and we found ourselves surrounded by Greater and Lesser flamingos.
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| Flamingos at a distance |
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| Still a bit far out, but getting better |
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| That's more like it |
We got caught up in a traffic jam, around the lions feeding, but Jacob took matters into his own hands and managed to direct us out of the grid lock. Happily it wasn't before we witnessed the hierarchy of lions in real life. A story in four short photos:
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| "I see you have some dinner..." |
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| "Yup, smells pretty good" |
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| "This is now mine." |
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| "Yes, I'm the mighty hunter...what?" |
So, you might be wondering, did we ever get to see rhinos? Yes! We did. We were lucky enough to see a pair of brothers! The thing to know about rhinos is that they are shy. They don't like the traffic, or humans in general, so they were very far off. Fortunately for us, we had a pair of binoculars in the jeep and we got to see these amazing creatures quite well. Unfortunately for you, our photos don't do them justice, but I'll show them to you, none-the-less.
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| Taken in an intermediate zoom |
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| The two brothers, happily grazing |
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| As good as we could get, even with my zoom |
Again, we'd been lucky, both with wildlife sightings and weather, but the clouds were starting to build over the edge of the crater and it was time to leave this magical land. As we crested the ridge of Ngoronogoro, the clouds spilled over the ledge and released their load on the bottom of the crater.
Before we knew it, we were heading back to the highway and on our way back to Arusha. Our safari was over. But before we leave you, I'll dump a few more photos on you. (You're welcome!)
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| Water buffalo, not worried about the current events |
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| Hopeful hyena near the lionesses' kill |
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| Jeep trying to get around the traffic jam |
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| Flamingos in flight |
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| Zebra, just chilling, enjoying a graze |
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| Sand pipers (?) |
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| An eland - the largest grazer in the Serengeti |
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| Peek-a-boo hippo |
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| Helmeted guinea fowl |
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| Guinea fowl congress - important things are discussed |
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| Well fed hyena |
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| Sweeping plains in the crater |
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| Flamingos in a mating ritual (video below) |
Going over the photos for this blog has really brought back all of the wonderful memories and experiences that we had. It was absolutely unparalleled, we were so truly blessed and terribly grateful. If you ever have the opportunity, we highly recommend this trip. It's a primal, paradigm shifting encounter with the natural world. It changes your perspective on what's important, where humans fit into the grand design and how we are all interconnected.
If you've stuck with us this far, you might be interested in our final instalment about our final days in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
