On the way to the crater…
After our Kilimanjaro climb we started our safari in Tanzania with a visit of the Ngorongoro Crater, one of the very rare places where you can see the Big 5 in one day!
We had a funy goodbye at our lodge in Moshi: A camel family (owned by the lodge as we found out upon departure) popped up in the backyard of our hotel and they were lovely and handsome, so we spent a couple of hours cuddling them. It was not hard to leave Moshi with the knowledge that we will go on safari now!
On our way to Ngorongoro we visited a traditional local tanzanian village and a banana plantation. We even tasted banana beer (…we recommend NOT to try it… :-)) as well and harvested some almond fruits.
Picture perfect: The Ngorongoro Crater
After a mere 4 hours drive we reached a viewpoint where we had the first look of the crater – it was ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!
As it was already afternoon, the light was perfect and we were blown away by the shere beauty and wide range of the Ngorongoro Crater. The Crater is a UNESCO World Heritage and well known for its massive amount of animals ranging on the wide open land of its floor and even living on the crater walls and in the adjactent highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We were superexcited that this would be the place where our safari was going to start!
Another highlight came right away: We spent the night at the overall amazing Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. The Sopa Lodge is located at the eastern rim of the crater right above the eastern entrance. In this area it is the only lodge, offering breathtaking views of the sunset over Ngorongoro. It is one of the more upscale places in the area, but it was worth every penny. See by your own…
Ngorongoro Crater – an animal lover’s paradise
The next morning we got up at 5 am to be the first to enter the crater. This was exaclty the right decision and we would highly recommend to do so whenever you visit, as it gets busy very fast. The road into the crater is bumpy, so you will not fall asleep. 🙂
Soon we spotted the first animals and after a few minutes we were hundred percent in “safari mode!
A lion crossed right in front of our car, we spotted a rhino in the far distance, tons of elefants and in the end of the day, we really got all of them – the BIG 5!
