Today we got to explore the interior of the Ngorongoro crater.
The crater is about 19km across and has about 300 sq km inside. The crater walls rise nearly 700 m from the floor (quite steeply). Because of it’s shape animals rarely ever leave or enter creating a microcosm of life.
We added to our animal list today with:
1) Snipe Eagle
2) Jackal
3) Black Kite Hawk
4) Crow Crane
5) Flamingo
6) Spotted Hyena
7) Rhinocerous (pretty far away)
8) Umbrella tree
9) Morning Glory flower
We also got to see some more lions mating. Did you know they mate every 15-25 minutes for 7 days only stopping so the female can hunt and bring food to the male so he can keep his energy up? Tough life for the king of the jungle.
Also we saw a wildebeast give birth. Honestly, it’s disgusting.
After lunch we started our drive back to Arusha where this trip comes to an end. Tonight we are staying at the Lake Manyara Lodge. Thankfully, we actually got here early (for a change) and had some downtime by the pool.
We are having dinner at 7:30 and then have our last night out! Tomorrow is almost entirely a travel day so expect this to be the last update before we get home…
James, you’re not a lion! Liz, good luck!! love your pictures – those zebras are amazing. speak to you soon. xxxooo moo-my
James you can start writing for National Geographic. Your safari sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait to hear all about the trip from you and Liz in person. Have an easy trip home.
xoxo,
MOm
Liz, I hope you did not have to do any nursing for James. I didn’t hear much complaining about teeth, feet or anything else. Excellent!!!
Nevermind – I’d actually prefer a zebra.