Ngorongoro Crater

I can't even begin to think of the words to describe how amazing today was. We got up early to drive to Ngorongoro Crater to have a short lecture and a day-long safari. This was our first safari where we didn't have any assignments to complete or data to collect during the trip. Ngorongoro Crater is absolutely breathtaking. You drive down the steep side of the crater until you reach the bottom where the safari really begins. Fun Fact: Ngorongoro Crater was originally a volcano. It erupted and left the giant crater that is Ngorongoro. My professor took us a different way from everyone else and it was kind of a slow start. We saw the usual wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles. It is still exciting though, riding in the Land Cruisers, standing up on the seats with the top of the car up. The exact order of what we saw when is blurry but at one point we were in the middle of herds of wildebeests and zebras. They were surrounding our entire car and we just stopped and watched them eat, drink, rest. It was insane how many there were; hundreds at least! There were some warthogs with them too, which is pretty cool. Ostriches are around here and there and they are such strange creatures! One of the most exciting things of the day was when we saw a black rhino out in the middle of the grasslands hanging out with the buffalo. It was very far away and we could only see it with binoculars, but we could see if well enough that it was definitely a rhino! That is a rare thing to see here. There were some awesome hippos in the hippo pool that were flopping around and talking to each other. Hippos are so big and calm. They just chill out all day. Probably the most exciting thing of my life so far was seeing a lioness and her cub 7 feet away from our car. When we first spotted the lioness we thought she was alone but then the cub poked its head up from feeding. It was amazing. They just laid there for a while and the lioness licked the cub to groom it. After a bit the lioness stood up and started walking while the cub just sat there. The cub quickly ran after her and they walked across the grass. We followed them for a bit and at one point the lioness and cub crossed the road right in front of our car! It was such a unique experience! Before we left we stopped by to see another lioness but she was hidden in the grass. We saw her walking for a bit. We also saw two male lions through binoculars near the hippo pool. Male lions are so majestic and beautiful. It will take a lot to top today, but in a couple of weeks we go to the Serengeti. I’m sure that will be just as good, if not better than today and I can’t wait!