Ngorong Ngoro crater

Let me take a break from my Malaysia narrative and shift to Africa again.

Some three million years ago, there was a big active volcano near the equator in Africa, in what is now Tanzania. The place is also close to Olduvai Gorge, called the birthplace of the human race, since the fossils of the earliest humans were found there.
This volcano collapsed upon itself and created a caldera, somewhat different from a crater, but still called a crater. The main crater is about 60 km in diameter at the bottom, [2600 sq km. area of the table, and the depth is about 700 metres. Although close to the equator, it is at a high altitude,[The altitude at the rim of the crater is 6500 feet!], along the rift valley, and not far from Mount Kilimanjaro. The area adjoins the famous Serengeti Reserve.
This is the famous Ngorongoro crater.

I visited this spot in August 1998.

We took a flight from Nairobi to Manyara with a brief stop in Kilimanjaro, in a small aircraft.
[Lake Manyara Reserve is another story, which might appear somewhere else later.]

From Manyara, we took a Land Rover along the steep road to Ngorongoro.
Rural Africa is not very different from rural India. Same poverty, same simplicity of people, but the nature here was spectacular, as we climbed the road. A scattered group of Masai were seen herding their cattle. A large number of Maasai tribesmen, who are basically cattle herders, live in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
When we finally arrived at the lodge, we were stunned. It was located right at the edge of the rim. A walk of 100 feet or so brought you to the very edge of the precipice.
This was the famous Crater Lodge.
Beautifully designed cottages and an imposing dining and entertainment area greeted us.
The dining room was all wood and leather, and a huge fireplace to go with it.
The temperatures were already dropping, and we were warned that it would get very cold at night. And this was the equator!!
The cottages were huge with a large glass door facing the rim.
We were also warned not to get out of the rooms at night since the wild animals came grazing right up to the room doors sometimes. On top of this, the generator was shut down at 10 PM. Now I had only a torch to rely on. There was a big fireplace in the room with the fire going nicely. Electric blankets too. To begin with I kept the curtains on the glass door open to be in a position to see any straying animals. As the night progressed, any sound outside increased the nervousness, and in order to get some sleep. I closed the curtains.
It was a very cold morning, about 5 C. So cold in the room, that the hot water from the shower became cold before it reached you! We did see some hoof marks in the grass outside the rooms.
After a big breakfast [tradition of most hotels in East Africa], we boarded the Land Rover and took the road to the crater. There is only one road to the bottom of the crater. The volcanic soil has made the entire area very fertile, and with the heavy rainfall, it is lush green. This was also the reason for the abundant wildlife found here. Most animals spend all their life in the crater. Only elephants, some Wildebeest, and Zebras migrate seasonally. For others, it is only the crater.
As we climbed down, the temperature started going up. As usual, the first animals we saw were the gazelle, followed by zebras and wildebeest. The size of the herds of these was smaller than those on the plains. All together, some 30000 animals live in the crater. Out of these, the density of lion population is one of the highest.
Not too many elephants, though, we were lucky to spot a small herd on our way down.
Just about 6-7 elephants.
Next, we saw a couple of wild buffalo, really big and fierce. If you are close enough to stare into the buffalo’s eyes, they are motionless yet fierce. A very fearsome animal when it charges. A group of 7-8 buffalos easily drives away a pride of lions. The lions, on the other hand, wait for an opportunity to isolate a buffalo, and then it takes the combined efforts of 3 or 4 lionesses and a big lion to bring the buffalo down.
Finally, we saw the lions too. A mating pair!
They appeared oblivious to the stares from the surrounding Land Rovers and carried on regardless. Someone joked that they were waiting for the audience before they commenced the next performance.
A mating pair stays together for days together, away from the main pride.
The mating can be violent at times, leaving the lioness out of hunting for quite a while.
We wound our way to the bottom, where there is a huge sodium lake. Here we saw a great number of birds, including the beautiful Flamingos, with their pink feet. It is a great sight when they take wing together. We had a picnic lunch, with the walls of the crater, the lake and blue skies as the backdrop.
In the afternoon, we saw more lions, this time a whole pride with cubs. Somehow the lions appeared better fed here. Perhaps they spend fewer efforts in finding the prey, the area being smaller.
The best sight was that of three big male lions walking together with their big black manes shaking with each weighty step they took. These were probably a group of bachelors looking for a pride of their own. A magnificent sight indeed.
We also saw a Secretary bird, a silver-backed jackal, and some hyenas. No wild dogs in the crater, apparently.
In another area, we saw two Rhinos, and one of them was a rare white Rhino.
These animals are not present in big numbers, and it is always an exhilarating feeling when you do spot them.
Looking at Rhinos in the wild always reminds me of a cartoon in Punch.
We see a charging Rhino, two people who are trembling, and one is asking the other, '' I know she is a vegetarian, you know she is a vegetarian, but the question is, does she know she is a vegetarian?''

It was getting late, and we started our way up a narrow road, through thick forest, with the late afternoon rays of sun lighting the path. Our final sight as the sun was setting was three elephants pulling down the branches of a tree, with their trunks held high, set against the walls of the crater.

As I trooped back to my room, I had a feeling that I had observed something very unique. This wide variety of wild life but enclosed throughout their life cycle in that crater. Amazing.

The next morning, with more pictures from the rim edge, we set off to Manyara, with vivid memories of the amazing Ngorongoro Crater.