Best Kenya & Tanzania Day 13

Day 13 - Sunday, September 27, 2009 - Ngorongoro Crater/Game Viewing

The light was just peeking over the rim of the caldera when we woke up at 6:00. The valley below our room was unbelievably clear and up on the rim it was not foggy as it usually is. We were looking forward to a beautiful day on the Ngorongoro caldera floor.

Bariki and Leonard had cleaned the trucks again and they were putting new bottles of water out for us as they do each day. Today the water was cold for the first time because it was so chilly out this morning.

The temperature was 52º and the humidity was 48% and we had a gusty breeze of 16 mph. After breakfast at 7:30 we made our way down over 2000 feet to the floor of this ancient collapsed volcano.

We made several stops to take photos and Barikiel told us about the new rules for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In the past the Maasai were allowed to graze their cattle in the caldera.

Poachers would dress up like Maasai and kill the Black Rhinoceros. In order to preserve the rhinos, the Maasai are restricted to only bringing the cattle and goats to the floor for water and salt three times a week.

The one way path descending into the crater is very steep. Many trucks bring food and provisions to some of the tent camps, but most supplies are flown in with light aircraft.

Only 4-wheeled drive vehicles are allowed on this road – no regular car or truck would be able to survive the trip! Bariki put the truck into low gear to save on the brakes.

When we reached the bottom of the valley, (5772 feet), we opened the tops for better viewing. The weather was still cool; 67º and 49% humidity and the winds were at 14 mph.

The hotel information describes the park as one of the most unique eco systems on earth. It is home to 20,000 large grazing animals and the largest concentration of predators found on the planet!

We saw a variety of wildlife: elephant, lion, hyena, jackals, zebra, wildebeest, Thomson's gazelle, and Cape buffalo. We even saw a black rhino but it was so far away, we could recognize the distinct profile, but I could not get a photo.

New birds to our list today were: Secretary Bird, blacksmith plover, butcher bird, and the national bird of Uganda, the gray crowned crane.

Today was our day to see lions! We saw a single female basking in the sun, then three lioness hunting in the long grasses, and then a pride of five who brought down a hyena, not to eat, but because it was competition for their own hunting as it was bothering a herd of zebra.

Just before lunch we saw a mating pair of lion, this was the first glimpse we had of a full grown male lion. We watched them for a few minutes, but they were a little shy; there were too many pairs of prying eyes for them!

We stopped to eat our box lunches at 1:00 at a large lake. The lake was the home to a raft of hippos cooling themselves in the deep water and tall reeds. It was still windy, 15mph, and much warmer under the midday sun, 83º and 37% humidity.

After lunch it was time to make our climb back out of the crater and up to the rim to our lodge. On our way out we saw at least 21 other safari trucks and we knew there was a lion jam ahead!

Sure enough, there was a large pride of 14 lions feasting on a recent kill. We spent at least 30 minutes watching them and maneuvering to get closer to see them as other trucks left.

When the lions had finished eating, they began walking away, several of them came very close to (under) our truck. They are fearless of humans and our vehicles.

I took 8 short videos and hundreds of photos of these magnificent cats. It is easy to see why they are called the Kings of the Jungle!

Our return to the lodge took about 30 minutes and we arrived at 4:15. I tried to shake the dust out of my shirt and Gennie got the key and picked up the laundry from the front desk.

The first order of business each day after our game drive is to take a shower and get rid of the dust. Gennie did some hand washing because we are tying to take advantage of the availability of soap and water.

I looked at our photos, recharged our batteries, and Gennie typed the journal for the day in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

We had a meeting at 7:00 and Bariki told us about the next four days when we will be in mobile tent camps in the Serengeti.

After dinner we finished packing and tried to get a good night’s sleep for our long drive tomorrow.

Accommodations: Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge - - - Meal: B, L, D

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