After breakfast we set off at about 7.30am to spend much of the day in the Ngorongoro Crater, which, first thing in the morning was swathed in a cover of white misty cloud below us. The steep one-way descent road took us down past a lovely immature, pale blond Tawny Eagle and a migrant Rock Thrush to the vast crater floor where a resident population of Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Common Zebra, and Eland awaited us. With the excessive rains that have occurred of late, there were some tracks that were impassable, but we managed to get around much of the usual circuit and see plenty of what we’d anticipated and hoped for. The game herds were largely concentrated in the short grass area directly after our descent and this was where some of the high concentration of predators – especially Lions and Hyenas – were gathered. It wasn’t too long before we came across a trio of young male Lions lounging about oblivious of our attentions at the side of the road. Typically they were not doing very much other than at one point getting up for a pee and slumping down right below one of the gathered vehicles that gave some
temporary shade from the mid-morning sun. We assumed they were well fed as a little further along there was a more active scene of Spotted Hyenas and larger numbers of Golden and Black-backed Jackals squabbling over the dismembered, skeletal remains of a Wildebeest. One Hyena had possession of the pelvis and some vertebrae while another paraded around with the head and neck vertebrae. Other Hyenas unsuccessfully tried to join in the bone-crunching, while the jackals were more cheeky and successful at darting in and grabbing smaller scattered titbits. All around, the large gatherings of Wildebeest, Zebra and gazelles – all with young – carried on grazing and getting on with life as normal; presumably happy knowing it hadn’t been their turn to be Lion supper last night.
Interspersed with this activity were many good bird sightings – some appealing only to me, such as the noisy Pectoral-patch Cisticolas buzzing all around us and the many Northern Anteater Chats, Fan-tailed Widowbirds and Rufous-naped Larks. But there was plenty else of more general and spectacular appeal; Grey Crowned Cranes with chicks, Pied Avocets, Black-bellied Bustard and Rosy-throated Longclaw.
Our main goal today was our only chance on the tour to see Black Rhinoceros that survive here (possibly as few as 20 or so). Much of the Crater is open, short-grass savannah and Black Rhino are mainly browsers on bushes, so it always surprises me that they come out into this open area at all. But they do and can usually be fairly easily spotted, even if at great distance, as they look like huge dark boulders in a sea of green. We got word from other vehicles that one was not too far off, so Roger did a sterling job of working his way around the slick, bumpy, muddy tracks to get us as close as legally and safely possible. Thus we found a splendid chunk of a Rhino with very long, spikey horns, a fair distance away, but clearly a splendid “graviportal” beast that looked a lot closer through the telescope.
Bird-watching continued to be interesting with sightings of huge Kori Bustards, 2-3 weird Secretarybirds and many Abdim’s Storks along the way as Roger set out to take us down to the edge of the soda lake, now a massive, much more freshwater feature requiring some careful driving to reach. Further Spotted Hyenas and a rumour of another Rhino diverted us towards one of few picnic sites in the Crater where we ended up at about 11.45am. After a leg-stretch and a chance to use the WCs we decided we may as well stay and have an early lunch before the crowds arrived (although the Crater was pleasantly quiet today). As the weather prevented us from reaching the Hippo pools it was good to find 20 or so in the freshwater lake at the picnic site. Here too we shared our lunch with some very precocious Rufous-tailed and Speke’s Weavers, Superb Starlings, Helmeted Guineafowl and a few Black Kites overhead – all looking for the proverbial free lunch. The weavers got quite lucky!
After our picnic lunch we set off again with the intention of circling the soda lake to run back through the Lerai Yellowbark Acacia forest to the Ascent Road – apparently the only way to get out of the Crater at present, with the other track options too muddy. But we noticed a gathering of safari vehicles precisely along the route we’d decided was too dodgy to try for risk of getting bogged down. So we carefully worked our way along towards them and came to a sensible stop where the track turned into a quagmire and various other vehicles were stuck. But from this point we scanned and found what the attraction had been: more Rhinos. By now the weather had turned cloudier and threatened rain. This made viewing better with none of the heat haze and shimmer associated with the morning’s Rhino sighting. Two animals side by side were closer and clearer. A bit more scanning took both myself and Roger by surprise, as here was a total of 9 Black Rhinoceros out on the grassy plains in ones and twos scattered over half a mile perhaps. An absolutely remarkable sight that neither Roger nor I had witnessed before.
We left the over-enthusiastic drivers up to their axles in mud to sort themselves out (though Roger had provided assistant to one previously). Turning around we did the long circumnavigation of the lake to exit the National Park by about 4pm. Along the way were further great finds. A few water-birds showed up including some very colourful bright pink Greater and Lesser Flamingos plus a few waders and ducks such as Blacksmith Plovers and Cape Teal. We were back in the thick of the large game herds again here and with them were the inevitable predators. Spotted Hyenas were everywhere – wandering along the road in front of us, lounging about and interacting with one another. A total of over 25 were noted during the day and at least 17 in one spot on our exit journey with one obvious Alpha Female with two almost cute cubs.
The Lerai forest provided a few last birds, with perched up Lappet-faced and Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures, before setting up the steep Ascent Road, climbing 2,000′ or so on a newly paved road to the crater rim. Arriving back by about 4.30pm gave everyone a chance to relax, take afternoon tea and coffee and sit on their verandas and view the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater below.