8/31 Ngorongoro Crater is a caldera. On our game drive we may see elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo, and rhinos. The crater is thought to be the original “Garden of Eden”. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world and contains a variety of ecosystems and many birds and animals. We could see large herds of zebras, wildebeests and gazelles. Elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo and rhinoceros (the Big Five)may be spotted. A picnic lunch will be served in the crater today.
9/1 Ave low 55/high 75Staying at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge. Ngorrongoro Crater is the largest unflooded intact caldera in the world. It is about twelve miles wide and the rim rises 1200-1600 feet off its floor. It seems like a “lost world” inside the crater. There are short grasslands, swamps, forests, and a freshwater lake. Animals continuously migrate within the crater. On our game drive we may see the “Big Five”, elephants, leopards, black-maned lions, buffalo, and the endangered, rare black rhinos. The crater is thought to be the original “Garden of Eden”. The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world and contains a variety of ecosystems and many birds and animals. We could see large herds of zebras, wildebeests and gazelles. A picnic lunch will be served in the crater today.
This day was better than expected. It was very foggy in the morning when we left the hotel. The roads are quite rough with potholes and washboard surfaces. Part of the way to the bottom of the caldera, we drove on a stoned former elephant path which was much smoother than the “regular” road. We saw elephants, lions, buffalo,gazelles, zebras, hippos, wart hogs, bird species, wildebeests, monkeys, and baboons. Two things I learned today is that wart hogs live in holes in the ground. They back into their hole. A bird called a hammer cop makes a huge shaggy looking nest with what looks like multiple entrances. These entrances are to confuse their enemies.
We are so busy I think it will be hard to do this blog. Today breakfast was served at 5:45 and we left the hotel at 6:30. We returned about 3:30 and had a meeting at 6:00. A ranger explained to us about the nearly extinct rhinos. We won’t see any now as the caldera is very dry. Rhinos prefer a moister environment. The world has 27,000 rhinos, Kenya has 6195 and Tanzania has 190. There are five species. Tanzania has 2 species. One is the black rhino and another is the white rhino. They are all colored gray. The white rhino is a grazer and has a square mouth. Rhinos are chipped so they can be tracked. On the crater floor there are 25 adults and 2 babies. The white rhino baby follows its mother for about two weeks and then walks in front of the mother. A black rhino baby always walks behind the mother. Black rhino babies do not survive as well as white rhinos because the mother doesn’t know what is happening behind her.
We also watched a video put together by Tauck and BBC. It was about the big five - leopard, African elephant, lions, buffalo and rhinos.
Baboon
Water Buffalo
Gazelle
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