Tanzania 2011 - part 3 Ngorongoro Crater

Leaving Plantation Lodge, it was only 30 minutes drive to the Lodoare Gate to the Ngorongoro National Park. Once registered at the Ranger Station it was on up into the dense forest for the climb up the crater wall. The site that greeted us from the viewpoint is indescribeable !

Ngorongoro Crater

The crater or correctly a caldera is 14.5km across and was formed after a major eruption 2-3 million years ago emptied the magma chamber of a volcano larger than Mt Kilmanjaro. The descent down into the crater through the forest into the wide open grasslands on the floor is full of interest as one realises that the black dots are thousands of animals. The crater is the best place for seeing the endangered black rhino as their range is restricted. There are only around 20 living here in about 5 or so crashes. (Elephants get round in herds, baboons in troops and a crash of rhino is a small group of them!). You will have to read on to see what we saw.

The road from the entrance gate passes along the rim of the crater before descending down the only one-way road in.



Masai village outside the crater

Although not allowed to live in the crater anymore, the Masai are allowed to take their herds of cattle down for grazing 3 days per week.


Masai cattle and herdsmen.

Wildebeest and cattle live in harmony as they are both herbivores.

The Masai carry spears which are for use when deterring lions which want an easy meal. Outside the Parks in the Masai Mara which extends into Kenya as well, the cattle are kept in stockades at night but in the dry season there is often conflict between humans and their cattle and hungry lions during the day.

 


The first groups of animals seen on the way down into the crater.

Birds abound and the following show a few that we found in the crater.

Abdim's Stork

This large bird is found on the open grasslands throughout East Africa. It feeds mainly on insects and grubs. Its beak suggests nothing is safe up to 10 cm below ground level. Dung Beetles beware, there are thousands of these waiting for you!


Crowned Plover



Helmeted Guineafowl



Helmeted Guineafowl



Lilac Breasted Roller



Malachite Kingfisher

The Malachite is the smallest of the kingfisher species at 10-14 cm in length fully grown.


Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris) in the rushes

Thanks to Janet, Norfolk in the UK, this bird has been identified through clues given by some of her bird-loving friends. I wasn't sure what it was but with researching on the internet this identification seems to fit perfectly as others have photographed it in similar reeds in the swampy areas of the Ngorongoro Crater. This identification in Wildlife of East Africa by Withers and Hosking also leads me to believe that it could be a male in breeding plumage. It is very similar to the purple indigo bird but the orange shoulder and not being able to see the tail properly still leaves some doubt about this one.


Pink flamingoes in Lake Magadi

As the crater has no outlet, Lake Magadi is a soda lake; an ideal habitat for the thousands of flamingos here. Unfortunately we were unable to get too close for a better photo but at 300mm, my good lens shows these birds in reasonable detail.



Yellow-billed Stork

The Yellow-billed Stork has an interesting technique when fishing. We watched this bird move slowly along the margins of the pool using its right foot to carefully rake the bottom of the pond then quickly grab anything disturbed. The next photo shows a successful catch!


Yellow-billed Stork with lunch

The pond where we found this bird feeding is a freshwater one fed by the Ngoitokitok Springs a few metres above the level of the soda lake in the middle of the crater. There were a few resident hippos there keeping an eye on us too.

Large herds of wildebeest and zebra grazed contentedly on the floor of the crater as well as several species of antelope. There are around 3 of prides of lion as well as other predators and several herds of elephant. Giraffe are not found in the crater.



Coke's Hartebeest



Jackal, Common or Golden?



Spur-winged Goose



Sacred Ibis

And now the highlights of our Tanzanian safari.



OK it's an elephant covered in black mud

There are elephants everywhere and one doesn't get too excited with seeing yet another herd of them, but to use a piece of American English "You ain't seen nothing yet!!!"

There are a few times in life when one is completely overawed and left for words, this magnificent sight was one of them for me.

The biggest tusks you are ever likely to see!

Mighty beasts!

The resident herds of elephant leave the crater at night and go down the road towards the Lodoare Gate and use their tusks to scrape away at some soft red deposit rich in minerals including calcium. (It is not limestone because this is the site of an old volcano) They eat this material, the calcium promoting strong bones and the growth of huge tusks. The Tanzanian Government is very active in conservation and has protection in place for the animals in the crater.

And yes we did see a rhino! Only one, but not at close quarters.



The endangered black rhino

A whole day in the Ngorongoro Crater is enough but another full day there would have been great too. There is such a variety of birds and animals that you would never get bored on Day 2. As we had only a limited time, we headed off to our hotel, Serena Lodge for the night before continuing on the next day to the magnificent Serengeti National Park.


Safari organised expertly by Michael Sweeny of Zanzibar Travel
(Email: info@zanzibartravel.co.uk )


Previous blogs: Zanzibar, Lake Manyara.