Our next day on safari dawned bright and early, slightly too early for us in fact as we were a bit late to our scheduled departure time. The nice thing about being on a private safari though is that the car does not leave without you. We packed up and during the drive Obedi pointed out for us the kids going to school (it was now Monday) in their different uniform sweaters, including one group on a tractor-slash-school bus.

Eventually we arrived at the gate of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which was guarded by baboons. We slowly skirted past a troop which included a baby climbing the “Don’t feed the baboons” sign until its mother got worried and plucked it off. Ngorongoro is a Conservation Area (as opposed to a national park), as Obedi explained, because Maasai live in the Area. They live there because the British kicked them out of the Serengeti in the colonial era and relocated them to Ngoronogoro.

From the gate it was another 45 minutes or so of driving before we started descending into the crater itself. This was along somewhat freaky roads with steep drop-offs. Our (my) fears were ameliorated however by the dense fog we had ascended into (so we couldn’t see the slopes), though that meant we also skipped the viewpoint looking into the crater along the way (later on our return trip the fog had lifted and we got to point all the views). Eventually the steep drop-offs opened up into these highlands with rolling plains and cows herded by Maasai.

We finally came to the entry road and began our descent. The crater is one-way, with a road leading down and then a road leading back up. Obedi told us the crater is 610 meters deep and the roads are again kind of scary but before long we were down there. The big change from Lake Manyara is that this day we saw lions, and loads of ‘em. They were near the “entrance” and if Obedi couldn’t tell their location by the Swahili chatter coming over the radio set he could definitely tell by the line of safari vehicles. So we drove on over and checked ‘em out.

Here, the pride was mostly resting. Not too far away we also spotted gazelles, both Thompson’s (smaller, with a black stripe) and Grant’s (larger, no stripe) and a warthog. This had us thinking we might see some stalking action from the lions, but no. Instead, while we were admiring them we spotted some other movement a little way off. This we quickly identified as a hyena. Not too far off I also spotted a jackal, which I had initially mistaken as the hyena’s cub. The jackal also got a few bites into the carcass of a gazelle that the lions had evidently left, but the most exciting part was watching the hyena come up and make off with the head. We watched the hyena cross the road to find somewhere to enjoy its snack in peace.

From here we drove up to a hill that was also in the process of being carved out as a quarry; the conservation area uses the stone on the roads. A couple lions had taken advantage of the rocky hill as a good place to spot game, including at least one mother cub. We didn’t see the babies but from the look of the mom it was obvious she had hidden them somewhere nearby. We admired her surveying the terrain. She then popped down behind the rock and within the bushes. There she would have been entirely invisible even though she was still very close to us; the only thing that gave her away was the rustling of the branches. Also on this hill we got to catch just a glimpse of a serval as it leapt above the grass in the middle of a pounce.

Big and small felines and canines under our safari belt, we drove off into the middle of the crater proper. It is such a beautiful place. The whole time I kept wavering between it seeming more like a Lost World or Garden of Eden. Given how close Olduvai gorge is, maybe Garden of Eden should win. But just within the crater you get the hills and forest and plans and marshy rivers and a lake. Though we started with the predators the crater is full of gazelles and buffalo and even a few rhino. Although they were distant the rhinos here ensured that we could claim the full Big 5 on this trip.

Besides the mammals I enjoyed seeing all the birds; only after selecting the photos for this post did I realize I had included mostly birds. I was happy we got to see a kori bustard (largest flying bird native to Africa) and several sandgrouse skirting through the grass. The lake even had flamingoes, and I was surprised to see ostriches on the road (the first I had seen in the wild). Though the most stunning part of our picnic lunch spot was the whole herd of zebras surrounding it (and maybe the hippos snorting in the pond nearby), it was also fun to have the little birds flitting about. Some went into the various safari vehicles parked around to see if they could pick up some food. It definitely felt like paradise.

After our lunch stop it was time to head out. We had to drive back up around to the exit road. Along the way we passed a motor grader under which I spotted three lions taking advantage of the shade for a nap, so some cats under a Cat. We made sure to soak in the final views of this amazing mass of wildlife, crowded into a natural geologic wonder. We could have spent forever perched on the rim but we had other locales to look forward to, so off we went.