Tanzania II.

12-22-15 NGORONGORO CRATER, TANZANIA: We were up before the COD for breakfast and a short van trip to Arusha Airport for a Tanganyika Flying Company hop to the Lake Manyara area where we were picked up by the &Beyond guides for the drive to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. On the way we stopped at a craft shop where a surprising amount of stuff was bought, then it was back on the road to the crater. The Shilling is the currency of Tanzania, but we used dollars or plastic with no problems.

The road to the entrance of the Ngorongoro preserve is paved until we got to the park. We went through a town, Karatu, the biggest settlement near the park. There were small shops on wheels with tributes to Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. I know Barack was born in neighboring Kenya, but not so for Hilary.

The roads in the park are dirt, red, crushed volcanic basalt, narrow, pot-holed with big puddles. The traffic includes big trucks because this road is the main route from Lake Victoria to Dar-es-Salaam, the local interstate. Since the driving is on the left side of the road, a sure sign of an ex-British colony, it’s scary when a truck comes flying over a hilltop or around a curve on the wrong side of the road.

We stopped at an overlook when we got to the top of the crater rim, about 7000 feet elevation and a long uphill drive from Karatu. It was a foggy morning, but we saw, with binoculars, an elephant and three rhinos and wildebeests in the misty distance. The rim road follows the top of the crater wall.

The Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is beautiful and unique. The collection of individual cabins looks like a Hobbit village in the Shire. The rooms have spectacular views of the crater and are quite luxurious. The staff of a dozen of so greeted us with a Swahili song. Lunch was at a long table in the dining hall. Everything, including booze, is included in the pre-paid tariff. It is the number one rated lodge in Tanzania.

After lunch we set off in 4x4’s for a trip to the crater floor. That road drops a few thousand feet from the crater rim to the floor and is steep, switch-backed, washed out and made the rim road seem like the Garden State Parkway.

Once we got to the bottom of the crater, the guides, all of whom were local, knowledgeable, engaging and enthusiastic, popped the top of the truck so we could stand and use cameras and binocs. We drove around the park on more dirt roads at slow speeds to see the animals. Within a few hours we saw wildebeests, zebras, cape buffaloes, elephants, ostriches, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, jackals, wart hogs, lions and many birds. It was stunning to see all of them with hardly any effort and readily available with no need to search them out.

The floor of the crater is mostly flat with some hilly areas and a few forested regions and a few marshy spots dotting a large grassy plain. The grass is close cropped by the grazers. There are several water holes in the rainy season and a large, salt lake. The salt comes from the volcanic minerals. The lake has a large flock of flamingoes. The crater is a World Heritage site.

Back at the lodge, the staff had drawn hot bubble baths for all of us, before we had a delicious dinner and then sleep after a very long day.


Arusha Coffee Lodge for over-night. Some of us wanted to stay here for the week.

Manyara Airstrip.

Tanzania flag.

Karatu - Obama shop.

Cinnamon chested bee eater.

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge - hobbitville.

Our room, that's a fireplace in the corner.

Crater dining.

In the crater...Spotted Hyena has been lying in a puddle.

Cape Buffalo and friends.

Wart Hog.

Wildebeests occupy the road.

Lion, maturing cub still has spots.

Grey Crowned Crane.

Sharing lunch.