Up at dawn, two absolutely beautiful cups of Tanzanian coffee later and we were ready to face the day. George said he would pick us up at 6:30 and by George, h
e was there on time. He had made arrangements the previous night for us to have our breakfast at 6:00. It was going to be a long day and a good breakfast was an absolute necessity. It was about an hours drive to the Ngorongoro Crater's entrance where we would spend the day on the crater floor. The caldera is over 250 square miles in area.
e was there on time. He had made arrangements the previous night for us to have our breakfast at 6:00. It was going to be a long day and a good breakfast was an absolute necessity. It was about an hours drive to the Ngorongoro Crater's entrance where we would spend the day on the crater floor. The caldera is over 250 square miles in area. From the entrance we drove down into the crater on one of the spookiest roads I hav
e ever drove. It was dry but I can only imagine what it would be like if it had rained. There was over 250,000 K on the odometer but despite it's age, the Land Cruiser had great brakes and well used seat belts. Both which were put to good use on the drive down into the crater.
e ever drove. It was dry but I can only imagine what it would be like if it had rained. There was over 250,000 K on the odometer but despite it's age, the Land Cruiser had great brakes and well used seat belts. Both which were put to good use on the drive down into the crater. As previously mentioned, the crater is home to a group of black rhinoceruses that have been transplanted from South Africa. Because the crater is difficult to access and self contained, it was deemed a desireable place to start repopulating Tanzania with Rhinos. Sadly they are still hunted for their horns. The crater rim is well guarded by park rangers who maintain a watch 24 hours a day to prevent poachers from sneaking into the park. The Rhinos are quite sh
y, but we lucked out when a mother and child came out from the forest to have a mud bath. This allowed us to get within 500 meters of them. Cruisers are not allowed to leave the many roads that crisscross the crater floor so it was pure luck to get as close as we did. One of the many times I wished I had sprung for a camera with a monster zoom lens. The South African had a well hung camera that took beautiful closeups. Serious lens envy today.
y, but we lucked out when a mother and child came out from the forest to have a mud bath. This allowed us to get within 500 meters of them. Cruisers are not allowed to leave the many roads that crisscross the crater floor so it was pure luck to get as close as we did. One of the many times I wished I had sprung for a camera with a monster zoom lens. The South African had a well hung camera that took beautiful closeups. Serious lens envy today. The crater floor was mostly treeless accept for some small forested areas near a small, almost dry lake bed. During the rainy seasons, the lake is quite large. As we were moving through one of these few forested ar
eas we came a across a lonely juvenile hippopotomus. Hippos generally stay in their pools all day and only leave at night when the sun has gone down. They have no sweat glands so keeping cool is a full time job. They must travel many miles away from the pool to forage for food but always head back to the pool before daylight. This young hippo did not make it back so he grabbed the shadiest and coolest place he could find to spend the day, chill out and wait for darkness. He got up, moved about for ten minutes to so when we arrived, but once he got comfortable with us, he settled back into the mud with a huge sigh, grunted and went immediately to sleep.
eas we came a across a lonely juvenile hippopotomus. Hippos generally stay in their pools all day and only leave at night when the sun has gone down. They have no sweat glands so keeping cool is a full time job. They must travel many miles away from the pool to forage for food but always head back to the pool before daylight. This young hippo did not make it back so he grabbed the shadiest and coolest place he could find to spend the day, chill out and wait for darkness. He got up, moved about for ten minutes to so when we arrived, but once he got comfortable with us, he settled back into the mud with a huge sigh, grunted and went immediately to sleep. 
Ever wonder how a giraffe drinks?Well, wonder no more. Ouch! We came across a family as they were about to take on some water. As one drank, the other two kept a guard out for any predators.
Ten hours later found us back at the hotel. Drinks around the pool, a late dinner then to bed for another long day is in store for us. Serengeti, here we come.
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