The first order of business was learning to pronounce ‘Ngorongoro.’ Never quite got it – that initial ‘ng’ sound doesn’t come easily to most Westerners. Second, we learned that the crater is actually a caldera, the difference being that a crater blows debris outward during an eruption, whereas a caldera forms when a volcano collapses inward. Whatever, it was gorgeous!

Our lodge was perched on the rim of the caldera, and the view provided no clue about what was happening 1,800 feet below on the floor. The special thing about Ngorongoro is the high concentration of wildlife – an estimated 25,000 large mammals sharing ~100 square miles of living space. In theory, you can see all of the Big 5 (elephants, cape buffalo, leopards, rhinos and lions) and more.

We only found 3 of the 5, but the lions provided the WOW factor. We encountered this big boy soon after arriving at the crater floor.

We watched as he moved with purpose and crossed the road right in front of our vehicle a couple of times. After (at least) 20 minutes of checking out his surroundings, he settled down for a nap.

Without a doubt, one of the coolest sights ever. Our guide then pointed out at least two lions (mom & cub, perhaps) farther away, most likely his family. And difficult to spot in the tall grass. Two photos – in the distance and a little more zoomed in.

Later in the day, we had a female lion experience. She was focused on a couple of waterbucks that either didn’t know she was there, or they knew and weren’t concerned.

Eventually she shifted gears, crossed the road and made a short-lived stalking move.

Then she sat. And stayed. Like a statue. For a long time. We don’t know how it played out, because we moved on. No matter, it was amazing.

What else did we see? Our first close up look at a recent animal kill. Not sure I wanted to look, but I did, and it was fine. By the time we arrived, there wasn’t much left of the unlucky zebra, thanks to a large group of vultures, one marabou stork and a jackal doing what they do best.

We also encountered more animals:

And the backdrop views were beautiful:

There are no giraffes living on the crater floor, but they were nearby. We ran into a herd that lives higher up close to the rim where our lodge was located.

And speaking of lodging, we stayed two nights at the wonderful Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, designed to blend into the hillside.

The lodge even provided free entertainment in the evenings – we enjoyed percussionists and Maasai dancers.

And that’s our story from Ngorongoro Crater – wonderful!

Next on the itinerary – Serengeti National Park!

If you would like to be notified when future articles are published, please enter your email address below. Thank you!

• More Tasmania – Caves, Mountains & Art With Heart
• Where in the World Is Tasmania & Why Did We Visit?
• Australia’s ‘Wildlife Is Weird & Wonderful’
• Canadian Maritimes: Finale & Fond Farewell
• Canadian Maritimes: Best of the Rest, Part II