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The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken volcanic caldera in the world. It is surrounded by very steep walls and serves as a giant natural amphitheatre to enjoy a day in the life of a zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, lion, warthog, cheetah, lion or other wild African animal. We felt that a trip to Tanzania would not be complete without a visit to the crater, and so the morning after returning from the mountain to Moshi, we jumped into a Land Cruiser and began our safari to the Ngorongoro Crater.
The drive to the crater was half of the fun. The scenery was breathtaking and the people were very friendly. One of our stops was at a small market town. We were welcomed by the friendly and curious townfolk as we walked through the market in search of fruits and veggies for our safari. Rich waits in the street as I head back into the market.
A woman walks down the road carrying even more than the porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Our safari crew was made up of Martin (left), our cook, and Beda (middle), our guide and driver. We had a great time together.
The Ngorongoro Crater covers an area of 260 square kilometers (100 square miles) and contains 30,000 animals. The view from above is amazing.
We enjoyed our day in the crater with Beda and Flora. Flora works at the camp, and she has never been to the crater. This was a great opportunity for Flora to come and see the famous World Heritage site.
Once inside the crater, we are greeted by countless zebras, wildebeests, buffalos, etc. It really was like a big, open-air, zoo.
Inside the crater is a large lake which is an important source of drinking water for the crater's inhabitants.
Including thousands of pink flamingos. Kelly has been waiting years to see this many flamingos in one place.
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One
of our favorite East African fruits is the passion fruit. We encountered
our first passion fruit on Kili. When we opened it, we thought that it was
a rotten orange. However, we have since learned that it was not rotten, it
is just different from any other fruit we have seen. To eat the fruit, you
cut it open and suck the juice and seeds. Passion fruit juice is also
great. We understand why the people are very "passion"-ate about
this fruit.
The
area surrounding the Ngorongoro Crater is quite scenic with the red clay roads,
farms and local culture. Our camping sight was on the edges
of a farm. We made friends with these boys who had been put in charge of
watching the family cows. The oldest one on the right spoke a little
English--enough to tell us about his family and to request a pen or candy. We
gave them some cookies and they were extremely grateful. Kids will be
kids, even if they are forced to grow up quickly like these guys.
