Final Finds and Farewells

We awake to a lovely breakfast, once again finding ourselves surrounded by fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the grounds around us. There is something almost spiritual about eating food grown and farmed from the soil you are surrounded by. It’s almost enough to convert me into a hippie tree hugger, not quite enough, but it is one of the few times I can empathise with those people. After breakfast we head to the lunch area and make up our boxes for lunch, I have an entirely embarrassing time as my dad takes it on himself to flirt with some of the staff on my behalf but, I will give it to him, he does elicit a marriage proposal from one of them so, who knows, maybe the old man knows something I don’t, as I can’t say I’ve got a proposal before, especially within a few minutes of meeting someone! Anyway with the proposal declined and lunch secured, it is time for our drive into the Ngorongoro Crater.

We, of course, see more zebra and wildebeest as we make our way to a watering hole full of hippos, pelicans, flamingos, bustards, ibis, ruffs, red billed teals, ostrich, grey backed crown cranes. As the day progresses we see a trio of lionesses who Jabshir believes are on the hunt slowly making their way through the crater following their noses, looking for prey.

Fresh fruit and veg

Young Caracal Cat, late home from a night out

The Kori Bustard is Africa’s heaviest flying bird

The next day, our final day, starts pretty similar to the last with a big breakfast and lunch box packing but no proposal! As we enter the crater we see buzzards flying across the sky and then a group of lions lounging around, one of which, the older one, has some gnarly looking scars on his face. A little later we see a trio of lionesses enjoying a good sleep, it’s likely we’ve seen two halves of a family. The rest of the morning is filled with elephants, Egyptian geese, hammer headed storks, black storks, greater egrets, kettle egret, sacred ibis. Then it is lunch at the same spot as the day before and then we are back at it. Jabshir is told over his radio phone that there is another rhino in the distance, sleeping – once again it is a just blob on the horizon to us. Then after seeing some jackals, harrier birds we see two more rhinos this time one a blob in the distance but the other is a little closer this time with the help of the binoculars we are able to actually make out its shape, with its massive body and distinct horn. It is pretty awesome and we spend a lot of time just watching the rhino on the edge of the horizon. Finally as we pull away we come across the lions we saw earlier but now the whole family is together and we can even see the cubs with their mothers. It is a good way to end out final game drive but, as we are heading to the exit road, Jabshir asks if we want one final look for rhinos and after a little badgering from me we agree and head for a final look. I am glad we did ,as we got our best view of a rhino yet. Still in the distance but now we can even get a photo that allows you to tell that it is a rhino. All feeling a little more content with ourselves, we leave the crater for the last time via a watering hole full of birds, and head on our way.

One of a trio on the prowl

An elephant family

African Sacred Ibis with his hippo pool pal

Now if you, like me, hear the word crater, you’ll think how big can this place be. Well, it is massive! A UNESCO world heritage site, the 2.5 million year old left overs of a collapsed extinct volcano, is home to tens of thousands of animals including a few hundred elusive rhinos, the last of the big five we are yet to see. As we work our way down to the crater floor we first see the big boys: elephants and buffalo. Then Thomson's and Grant’s gazelles. At the bottom of the crater for the first time we spot, or I should say Jabshir spots, a Caracal Cat. Jabshir say this is must be a young male and he is in trouble. See Caracal are nocturnal and this young buck is at the age were his mum is letting him start to go out on his own to hunt, and he is late home as the sun is well and truly in the sky. So he is facing a lecture when he gets home that all young adults know all too well.

Flamingos eating and drinking

As we make our way to lunch finally Jabshir say those words we’ve been waiting for “there’s a Rhino.” However, it is so far away, it is just a blob in the distance to my parents and me. The problem is that rhinos are very shy and as protected animals, due to their dwindling numbers, they all get tagged here for their safety, meaning they have all had interactions with jeeps that they did not enjoy and as so now spend their days avoiding vehicles as much as they can. We stop for lunch at another watering hole and eat in the jeep to avoid swooping kites that we find ourselves circled by along with being surrounded by Marabou stork, pelicans, African Sacred Ibis, Kori bustard, hippos and a myriad of other birds looking for crumbs. After lunch as we continue our drive, we are held up by a zebra standing in the road and using a boulder as a scratching post for those hard to reach spots. The rest of the day is spent trying to get a closer look at a rhino, during which we see cattle egrets, flamingos, commandants, pelicans and yellow billed stalk as well as an array of wildebeest, zebras and buffalo, but no rhino.

Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact, inactive, and unfilled volcanic caldera

Grant's Gazelle

Thomson's Gazelle

Grey Crowned Crane

Marabou Stork

Old scarface

Enjoying a cool drink on a hot day

Ah, that's better!

At last, a rhino, albeit a distance away

And a second sighting – our best ever

The journey to the airport is a long one but luckily we have a stop on the way at a lovely resort for some food and to change drives. It is sad to say goodbye to Jabshir, he has made this holiday. His wisdom and knowledge has been so impressive. In this whole time, only once has he had to check on the name of an animal and it was the specific name of a bird, he already knew the general breed just wasn’t sure of the specific one. Also without him we wouldn’t of spotted about 90% of the animals we did, his slow and steady driving style and quiet confidence meant we didn’t doubt at any point that we weren’t going to see some amazing things. So after our farewells we treated yourselves to our last nice meal in Tanzania. Dad, feeling rather sweaty and restless, insists we head to the shop to buy him a new t-shirt before we head out for our final journey to the airport. Belly’s full, new t-shirt acquired and truly thrilled with our experience, it is time to head for the airport, which is essentially a single building next to a very basic landing strip, to begin our journey home. It has been truly a once in a lifetime experience and I believe we would all recommend it, as anyone will tell you who has been unfortunate enough to ask and consequently been regaled with stories of our favourite highlights. To be honest the majesty of this place is one I can’t truly capture in words or photos, it is one of those unique experiences that there is no way to fully understand unless you do it yourself. So what are you waiting for…

A red kite escorts us out of the crater

Farewell Ngorongoro

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