Ngorongoro Crater

After a strong goodbye with our Hadza friends and a purchase of a brand new bow and arrow set (no idea how I'm getting that back to the US...) we were off to Ngorongoro crater, one of the biggest destinations in all of Tanzania.

They call Ngorongoro crater one of the many “eighth wonders of the world” and I can see what they mean. The crater itself is the worlds largest unflooded caldera and the 6^th largest caldera overall. From this, the crater has a very fertile soil that has harbored one of the densest and most diverse areas on the entire planet. From this though, has come much controversy, specifically involving the Maasai who were removed from the area around 50 years ago.

Anyway, having incredibly high park fees, we were only able to spend one day here, but wow did we see a lot for one day. After packing up camp this morning, we were off on our drive up the crater rim and into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As we entered, we were greeted by your average troop of baboons, paid our fees, and continued in. Instantly we were engulfed by the 2000 m crater rim and the rain forest that has grown from the clouds that collide with it. As we reached the top we were met with the sublime image of the massive crater below and the lakes, fields, and forests within. With Binoculars, we could spot herds of wildebeest and the like, often reaching over 1000 members. Then we began our journey into the crater. The whole experience was met with immense amounts beautiful scenery surrounded by dense wildlife. Within the first few minutes we encountered a cheetah, along with a few jackal, hyena, countless species of magnificent birds, and more. Throughout the day we saw rhino's, lions only a few feet away from the car, thomson gazelle, grants gazelle, impala, waterbuck, hartebeest, hippos, thousands of zebra and wildebeest, cape buffalo, and more. Honestly an amazing wildlife experience and a strong reason for supporting the conservation efforts of these areas.

Since being here, we've been having some great discussions involving what pressures are on the land and the social negative and positive consequences of these areas. Specifically kicking the Maasai out and the impact of rapid population growth on our world. Ask me someday and we can have long talks on this subject. Compared to Tarangera, this park almost seems a little more dolled up, but for obvious reasons being a World Heritage Site and all. There are some ugly ass hotels on the rim that I'm highly tempted to just burn that fucker to the ground. One charges well over a grand a night to stay there and our guide said that he had one client pay more than $300 for coffee and biscuits.