The Ngorongoro Crater safari is nothing like your traditional safari. Named one of only three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Tanzania, sometimes they call the Crater the 8th Wonder of the World. The wildlife mainly stays in the crater all year-round, so any time is a good time to visit the Crater although the Crater floor can get busy.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area maintains a strict opening and closing hours (6:00 am to 6:00 pm), therefore all of the game drives need to start early in the morning right around sunrise time, as it also takes a little bit of time to drive down to the crater floor from the rim where the lodges are. And to avoid two-way safari vehicle traffic, there is one road heading down to the crater and another one going up the crater.
The crater floor does get super crowded with tourists:
Ngorongoro Crater was the only place we visited that had closed safari vehicles. The reason being the crater rim, at 7,500 feet, is often cool and drizzly – hidden in clouds/fog making arrival by plane almost impossible. As the vehicles that are used to transfer guests are the same that are used for wildlife viewing they are closed for guest comfort. However, Darren and I did fly into the conservation area from Lake Manyara.
Hyenas have to be my least favorite animals. Even though they are scavengers and will finish off the leftovers that the predators left behind (no waste there), they just look mean and their “laugh” is actually very chilling to hear. The ones at the Ngorongoro Crater were not even afraid of people and the safari vehicles. Just like in the photo below, they wouldn’t move when a safari vehicle drove by.
The majestic view of the wildebeests crossing in front of our safari vehicle. Just minutes after this photo was taken, we learned that a group of hyenas just took down a zebra alive. Our vehicle was pretty far from where it happened, but with the help of binoculars, we were able to see the zebra still fighting for its life. Nature can be very brutal, but that’s how our ecosystem works – survival of the fittest.
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