Ngorongoro Crater National Park is a must if you’re in Tanzania – you know, if you just happen to be in the neighborhood – and here are a few reasons why:
- It’s the largest intact crater in the world.
- It’s 100 square miles at the base, and 2,000 feet deep.
- It’s home to the Big 5 – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino. They’re called the Big 5 because they’re the most difficult animals to hunt on foot. Which makes this animal lover want to cry, but we’ll let that go for now and assume that Big 5 Murder isn’t on your bucket list. If it is, we need to have a serious talk which may or may not involve waterboarding. Ha ha!
I’ve already shared photos of the leopard and elephant, and lions and buffalo are on the way. The rhino is a shy creature, plus there are only about 20 living in that huge space, so spotting one is rare.
Every day, we’d head out on safari and say, “Gosh, we’ve seen so much already, even if nothing happens today it will be a good one! Woohoo!” And then we’d see something amazing, which must mean I have excellent safari karma.
We saw every single animal we’d hoped to including, yep, the elusive rhino. This photo may not seem amazing, but it really was a thrill to see this guy/gal in the wild, even from far away.
See that round white rear over on the left? Rhino! The other animals are wildebeests, proving once again that lots of animals exist in perfect harmony in the wild. (I was singing “Ebony and Ivory” pretty much the whole time we were there.)
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What a wonderful trip you had! I would love to get over there one day.
Emilie Vardaman recently posted…Corolla Wild Horses!
Emilie, it really was astonishing all the way through. I do hope you get to visit!
This is so thrilling and I am genuinely happy you made that trip. When I first started flying, way back, my company TWA flew into Nairobi from Cairo. Although I have spent a lot of Time in Cairo, I regret not having made the effort to go on safari back then. It is wonderful to hear and see it is still worth the effort! There are not words or pictures which can capture the impact and lessons of life one gathers on such a trip….but still we endeavor with grace and success. Bravo for you!
What a lovely comment, Elida, thank you. It’s still very much worth the effort! I encourage you to go on safari. 🙂