A Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater- Part 2

Following my previous post on my 5-day safari experience in Tanzania, here I continue to ramble about the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire Park.

View of the Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is a Maasai word that means “Big Hole”. In the last 5 million years, 9 ngorongoro volcanoes erupted. The crater formed when the last volcano erupted and then collapsed on itself about 2 million years ago. The area is enclosed due to the mountains or hills that surround the crater. This doesn’t however stop animals from migrating or moving over to the Serengeti plains. In the crater, one will not find giraffes because there are no trees to eat from. Animals who eat grass and carnivores will predominantly be found in the low plains of the crater. The view of or in the crater is spectacular. The pictures I took literally look like paintings. Here, we got to finally see a rhino from very far, buffalos, zebras, wildebeests and lions. The highlight of my day in the crater was watching a lion chase a baby zebra, where the mom protected its baby, which finally didn’t result in a deadly end!

Tarangire National Park

By the time we go to Tarangire Park on the 5th day of the safari adventure, I had already seen all the animals I wanted to see, other than the Cheetah. The Tarangire was nevertheless a nice place to see, although you cannot compare it to the Serengeti. Here you find dense bushes and high grasses. It was a rather quiet morning in terms of animals. We didn’t see all that many animals but did see many baobab trees. Baobab trees are big and hollow trees that the Maasai protect because they believe the trees hold a secret. We also saw a vervet monkey steal a tourist’s lunch, which was really funny!

This finalized the 5-day safari in Tanzania. Although I’m not particularly an animal fanatic, I must admit that leaving Tanzania without going on a safari would have been a big mistake. The landscapes, the abundance of animals and the simple beauty of it all is definitely worth a stop. It will take your breath away! Do keep in mind that safaris are fairly expensive, mainly because of the price of permits to enter these protected areas. I’d suggest not to cheap out and pay the price to make sure you visit the right places and see what there is to see in the region.  You won’t regret it!

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