- The sky is getting lighter in the distance when we grab some food, put them in paper bags, and drive off towards the entrance gate of Ngorongoro Conservation Area. On our drive towards the rim, the sun is starting to shine on the tree tops above. When we stop, we are at the rim of a caldera that was formed in a huge explosion two to three million years ago. As we walk towards the edge, the enormous crater opens up before our eyes. Below us, we see a vast area, some 600 metres below us, with several shallow lakes inside. When we look closer, we spot herds of zebra, and flocks of flamingoes, cracks in the valley floor, spots of trees - all framed by the jagged edge of the Ngorongoro crater wall. We are at around 2300 metres here: it is time to dive into this stunning setting to explore.
- We see a few giraffes on the outside of the caldera, come across a few villages and people - making us wonder if they are aware that they live in one of the most jaw-dropping places of the world. A little later, we enter through another gate, and drive down a steep, cobble-stone road which once was an animal trail. We are all excited, and our noses are glued to the windows of our jeep. It doesn't take long before we see a big herd of wildebeest, and a little later, another big one with zebras. Our excitement only grows, and by the time we reach the crater floor, we feel that we will see an enormous amount of wildlife. Indeed: we see Grant's gazelles with their beautiful, innocent eyes, we see buffaloes, and an array of colourful birds. We drive towards the shore of Lake Magadi, where we get close to the enormous amount of flamingoes that we have seen from above. We watch the gracious creatures stand in the still water, often on one of their seemingly fragile legs. A little further on, we see a jackal feeding on a carcass: as far as we can tell it must have been a big animal, probably wildebeest judging from the hoofs.
- We then spend hours driving slowly, stopping frequently, and observing the incredibly rich variety of animals roaming the floor of this ancient crater. We spot a small pond with a family of hippos, and find another pond where buffaloes and zebras come to drink - their strips perfectly reflected in the water. We see a spoonbill with its unique appearance, going through the water in search of food. We come across more hippos, some solitary, on our way around the caldera. We drive up hillocks, and down to another area with water and vegetation. And then, one of us screams Stop!, and we soon see why: a lion is walking on our left. We follow the king of the jungle, with his mighty manes, until he finds a place to rest next to a shrubbery. He continuously scans his surroundings, some birds fly close to him as if to tease him, but he seems to just laugh at them. Then, it is time to leave: we follow the road out of Ngorongoro again, with great views over the mighty caldera, and wonder how it is possible that we haven't seen any elephants at all - not even from a distance. We did see many trees with broken branches, we've seen a lot of poop unmistakably from the gentle giants. We make another stop at the viewpoint, where we give it a last try to spot the lovely mastodonts, but eventually leave without any sighting. One more reason to come back for more.
