by Lauren Smith
October 24, 2016

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is different to a National Park in that people and domestic animals live side by side with the native animals here, with the exception of the crater itself.

Coming from the Serengeti the night before entering the crater, we stayed at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge which had spectacular views on the entire crater. They also had large binoculars where one of the staff members spotted a number of rhinos for us to see.

Ngorongoro View of "Lerai Forest" in the Crater

 

We got up early in the morning to spend a solid 7 hours in the crater before heading back to Arusha. Getting through the entrance point was definitely a much faster process here than it was in the Serengeti. As we descended into the crater, we saw lots of monkeys.

Monkeys Ngorongoro Monkeys in an Acacia Tree, Ngorongoro

 

With the addition of the Black Rhinos, which we saw in the distance, the animals here are the same you can see in the Serengeti. The difference, is mainly the beautiful backdrop that you get within the crater. One of the biggest highlights for us here was watching the hippos splash and roll around in the water.

Birds Ngorongoro Secretary Birds, Ngorongoro Elephants Ngorongoro Elephants, Ngorongoro Hippo Pool Ngorongoro Hippo Pool Ngorongoro Birds, zebra and wildebeest in Ngorongoro Crater Hippo Ngorongoro A hippo sighting outside of the pool Ngorongoro The rhinos (mother and baby) that we saw in the distance Ngorongoro Clouds along the rim of the crater

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