Africa 4 : Ngorongoro Crater

September 24, 2017September 25, 2017Thomas

[It has been so long since I’ve blogged because I have had these Africa pictures hanging over my head. John took over 6,000 photos and that is an insane amount of pictures to weed through. I think I may have gotten it down to a manageable (and interesting) few.]

Staying on the ridge of Ngorongoro Crater was different from what came before and what would come after. Even though the weather for the whole trip was really pleasant, it was really cozy up on the crater ridge. Got down into the 40s at night. Made for really nice sleeping. The floor of the crater is like a giant zoo–if there was a zoo that was 100 square miles and had no fences.

Click on the pictures to really get a good look.

Those blankets and the campfire came in handy after dark.

On the bed: The Octopus by Frank Norris. After 100 pages I gave it up.

Getting ready for our day on the floor of the crater.

Damn I forgot what these are called. Something about a crown I think.

We were up high and the clouds were down low.

I don’t think I had every seen flamingos fly.

A zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest walk into a bar…

Moon tiger. (Except it’s a lion and it’s not the moon.)

The ladies were keeping an eye on things.

Another mammal salad, this time with avian croutons.

This is John’s plate. I would never eat beets.

And speaking of mad, I was a little worried this cape buffalo was going to charge us.

nettebuecherkiste September 25, 2017 / 5:56 am

Simply beautiful! I envy you! :-)

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Colin Bisset September 25, 2017 / 6:25 pm

Great pics. Love the HP sauce on the lunch table! (Old habits, I’m guessing…)

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- Thomas September 26, 2017 / 7:53 pm
  
  I’m afraid that bottle of HP didn’t get much use from a table full of North Americans.
  
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  - Colin Bisset September 26, 2017 / 10:43 pm
    
    Quite wise, in my opinion.
    
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Karen K. September 26, 2017 / 5:06 am

I got that Pym reference!! And I would eat everything on John’s plate.

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- Thomas September 26, 2017 / 7:52 pm
  
  John thought one of you would get the Pym reference. But he was less sure of my Penelope Lively reference (Moon Tiger).
  
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Joan Kyler September 26, 2017 / 9:26 am

I’m reading these posts backward, but I had to stop here and comment. When you mentioned your trip to Africa on The Readers, I had to have a look. Man! John is one great photographer! Fabulous!

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- Thomas September 26, 2017 / 7:53 pm
  
  Well I am glad you stopped by to take a look.
  
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Jeane September 26, 2017 / 4:07 pm

Crowned cranes. It looks so dry- was it the dry season there?

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- Thomas September 26, 2017 / 7:51 pm
  
  Thank you! (Are you a naturalist?) It was the dry season, but things weren’t as dry as I expected. Plus the crater had so much water (lakes, streams, marshes, etc.) that it didn’t seem dry all. The Serengeti and Tarangire seemed drier. We actually had rain on 3 days in the Mara.
  
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aparatchick September 27, 2017 / 8:05 pm

Wonderful photos. 6000 of them doesn’t surprise me; there’s just so much to photograph! Makes me want to go back.

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