Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater is a microcosm of African Wildlife in all its beauty and wonder.

I have visited Ngorongoro Crater twice in my life - thirty years ago in 1985 and then again in 2014. It was beyond my expectations both times, although this past year I took a big long lens and had the time of my life photographing all the magnificent wildlife. It was beyond spectacular with lions stalking zebra, cheetah at the rim, a rhino in the distance, Elephants blocking our path. Our guides - Cheeseman Ecological Safari could not have been more accommodating. I came home with thousands of photographs and self published a book entitled "Tanzania". I would go back to Ngorongoro Crater in a minute.

One of the World's Special places

Ngorongoro is unique. As the world's largest unbroken caldera it is a spectacular geological formation but it is a great haven for wildlife and gives the opportunity to see game at close quarters, with lots of lions and a good chance of seeing the elusive black rhino. The scenery is superb and the crater rim offers a great background for your photographs. You can only enter the crater after sunrise and have to leave by a different route to that you entered. It's steep going down so you have to be in a 4x4 . Lodges are nearby some at the crater rim have a great view.

Ngorongoro Crater today makes you contemplate what all of Africa was like 100 years ago.

The wildlife viewing opportunities in the Crater were simply amazing. It was the only park where we viewed Black Rhino's as well as old, bull elephants with 100-lb tusks. We also saw many lions, groups of Cape Buffalo, Spotted Hyenas, and a multitude of antelopes and wildebeest, both in terms of numbers and species. We saw hippos up close in the ponds, many wart hogs, Grant's and Thompson's gazelles, and Masai calmly tending cattle and goats within a stone's throw of lions and other wildlife. The Crater is beautiful in and of itself - the rim surrounding the crater is fabulous! Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets of the Crater is the wonderful birding there. We viewed species of birds in the Crater that we did not see elsewhere, and many were so close that a big, wallet-killing, shoulder-crunching telephoto lens was unnecessary. Raptors were common, and close! What a wonderful place!

Absolutely a MUST SEE. Very unique landscape and so many wild animals. Unforgettable!

Excellent destination for spotting wildlife. It has one of the highest concentrations of lions around and I certainly saw quite a few. It tends to feel a bit like a zoo in my opinion, as it is all enclosed within the 'crater', and the land cruisers feel like they're on a set track weaving through it like a Jurassic Park ride in Hollywood studios. It's not my favourite, but if you have a long focal length Canon L lens, this is your place to shine. Prop it on a beanie and start shooting keepers.

We have visited this park among several others during a honeymoon trip back in 1999. This was our first safari but we have been enjoying this so much that we still remember this as the best trip of our life and keep dreaming of getting back there.
In this park, we had the chance to see white rhinos and hyenas.

The abundance of wildlife amazing. Numerous antelope species are easily observed. Four of the Big Five can be observed including Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo. It should be a must destination when within Tanzania and most species can be seen easily in 2 days. I rate this park Excellent for wildlife photography.

Our second day took us to the Ngorongoro Crater - breathless stunning view from the rim and then - breathless stunning view while descending to the crater floor. We then drove around on red bumpy roads for four hours, animals everywhere. And wildflowers everywhere - patches of purple, yellow and white. Sand patches where zebra like to hang out. More vehicles than you can shake a stick at. The animals intermingle - zebras in with gazelles, wildebeest in with everybody.

We saw: elephants, zebras, Thompson's gazelles, wildebeest, Grant's gazelles, warthogs, flamingos, lions, cheetahs, Black Rhinos, hippos, buffalo (and birds on buffalo), Guinea fowl, Bustards, Crested cranes, hyenas, eagles, blue starlings (they will steal your food), Eland, ostrich, baboons, and a great little black bird with a long fluttering tail and a dipping flying pattern.

This was our first experience with using other vehicles to find animals. We saw several vehicles stopped on a road in the distance, and went to see what they were looking at. To our utter astonishment, it was a large male lion, sitting in a very awkward position on the side of the road. I thought something must be wrong with him – why was he alone in such a strange place? Some vehicles departed, and we edged up a few feet, and we suddenly noticed two other lions, a male and a female, sleeping right next to the other side of the road. I felt better then. The sitting lion got up and began wandering in amongst the vehicles, heading our way. Finally he came right over and settled down in the shade of our jeep. You can imagine the photo taking! I was so excited I texted his photo to my parents, at a cost of approximately half the children’s inheritance (as Nick helpfully pointed out)

We had lunch by a pond full of hippos, and enjoyed their loud bull-frog like sounds, the splash when they roll over and the sudden glimpse of their huge toothy mouths.

Other great events that day: a cheetah just sitting in a field, occasionally pacing and lying down. Another female lion, just lying sleeping a few feet from the track, (Gerry uploaded a picture of this one to Facebook, thereby disposing of the other half of the inheritance). And finally, something that amazed Thadei more than us, because it is apparently very rare, we saw ten black rhinos over the course of the day. The first was alone, the second sighting in a group of four, and the third in a group of five. They were pretty much seen in the distance, but it's very thrilling to see the classic silhouette.

On our way to the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, up the steep winding road, Gerry and I discovered that we preferred to stand in the vehicle, bracing ourselves against the bumps, with the wind in our face, and the spectacular view of the forest surrounding the crater. Bliss.

The Wildlife Lodge was exceptional. Every room has a crater view, and there is a long verandah where you can sit, perhaps have a cold beer or two, and watch the sun going down over the magic place (that would be the crater). The décor is wonderful, mid-century modern, beading on all the chair arms, and amazing huge stone and glass mosaics built into the walls of the lounge and the dining room. The rooms were very comfortable, the water was more or less hot, and we were delighted to be there.

Smaller area to cover - especially after being in parks like the Serengeti, but there is no need to search for wildlife! At the time of our visit, it was a bit more crowded with tourists than what we had encountered in other parks. The drive into and out of the crater is worth the visit alone! Amazing!

Best safari location with most sightings I have ever been to.