Tanzania, Ngorongoro Crater, Encounter The Big Five Up-Close

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Exploring Africa is a dream many people hold. Either they have seen amazing footage on BBC or natural geographic. They hold a romantic Disney-view of what the savanna has to offer in term of Lion Rock and dancing animals. They might have read one of Ernst Hemingway’s short stories about the green hills of Africa or another literary depiction of this magnificent continent. Regardless of the motivation visiting Africa is an amazing idea. It gives you exotic animals, extraordinary scenery, and memories for a lifetime.

Today I will take you with me to visit the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. It is far from the biggest park in Africa and doesn’t give you the same vast never-ending landscape and Serengeti, but I will tell you why this park is definitely worth a visit on your trip through Tanzania and Africa.



Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is filled with spectacular scenery and game viewing. It is a small park, naturally enclosed by the crater’s high walls. The crater is 600m deep, 16km wide and spans an area of 265 square km. So there is plenty of space for all the animals, but very little likelihood of them leaving their home by accident. It is fertile and green, as the volcanic soil gives excellent nutrition for the plants to grow. Ngorongoro Crater has been called the eighth natural wonder of the world.



When you turn off the red dirt-road and start entering into the crater you feel the excitement rising. Today we are finally going to see the Big Five. A term used in many different settings, but in Africa the big five refers, of course, the game animals. These are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros (both black and white species), elephant, and buffalo. Initially, they got their title because the big five are among the most dangerous, and difficult yet most popular species for big-game hunters to hunt on foot, and not on their size as many believe.



Ngorongoro Crater
My most fond memories of Ngorongoro Crater was the number of African elephants we met and how close they chose to come to the car. When we were entering the park on our way down the crater we encountered 6 huge male elephants that choose to come very close to the car and just chill around it for around 15 minutes. It was an amazing experience and a chance to see this animal closer than most TV-programs allows you to. The African elephant is a huge majestic animal with thick, almost hairless skin and tusks of ivory which is why it is endangered. Up-close they are fascinating with their big trunks and mere size. They look peaceful and calm but do take caution. Elephants are more likely to charge than the other species.

Ngorongoro Crater
The Animals
This is the place where you can catch a glimpse of the local celebrity - the black rhino.
The black rhino is critically endangered. Many of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhino can be found here in the Ngorongoro Crater. They can be seen grazing on the open grassland of the crater floor along with the 20.000 other large animals that occupy the crater. They are fairly shy and do not often let tourist or cars come to close to them.

Along with it you can catch the buffalo. These are considered one of the most dangerous animals and are reported to kill more hunters in Africa than any other animal. They are especially aggressive when they have small calfs around them. A guide told me once that if you meet a buffalo on foot your group should divide and run and you pray to god that I didn’t choose to pursue you.

Other big mammals to be searched for here are lions, cheetahs, elands, and elephants. I loved the Ngorongoro Crater because wherever we looked we saw huge Elephants and they came very close. We also stumbled upon ponds filled with hippos all crammed together in the water. Standing as close as possible and touching on as big an area of the body of each other as they could.






Ngorongoro Crater

* All photos are private and taken by me.
Location: Serengeti, Tanzania

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