Tanzania, Ngorongoro crater, Monday September 8, 2003

Map of the Ngorongoro crater during the dry season

09:37 - A Kori bustard (poor birds, got a lousy name)

09:37 - At the edge of the crater the Wildlife Lodge where we stayed the night before

09:42 - some remarkable flora in the Lerai forest

09:43

09:43 - These are the yellow fever trees

09:44 - Velvet monkeys hidden up on the trees

09:44 - A Strangler Fig tree

09:44

09:52

09:53

09:55 - A baby velvet monkey

09:56

10:09 - A male elephant and some Thompson gazelles

10:14

10:44

10:46

10:51 - A bloat of hippopotami in the Gorigor swamp. It is rare to see them out of the water during the day, their skin dries and breaks up easily

11:44 - A spotted hyena, not minding us much...

11:44

11:45 - A Stand of pink flamingos on lake Magadi

11:47 - The pink flamingos like the salty lakes, they feed on the algae that grows on them

11:47 - there are the lesser flamingos (smaller) and the greater flamingos

11:48

12:39 - Part of the pride of lions that made the buffalo kill the day before

12:49 - Their stomachs bulge

12:52 - There is not much left of the Cape Buffalo, the hyenas and vultures have their turn

12:52

13:03

13:09 - Pedro, time for lunch in the picnic area

13:10 - Gaston at the Ngoitokitok Springs

13:12

13:13 - two homo sapiens caught after feeding

13:13 - The Land Rover had a raised roof to give a more real "safari" feeling.

14:16 - the crater is a closed basin and lake Magadi accumulates salt, which is only lost to the wind during the dry season.

14:17 - a rock, so what? (several animals use them for scratching and hence the thread around it)

14:21 - Baboons by the Munge river and the German Farm ruins

14:21

14:22

14:22

14:24

14:25 - Mommy, don't leave without me

14:25

14:28 - Gimme a ride horsey!!

15:17 - Ohhh yes, I have an itch right there... (these are velvet monkeys which mingled with us in one of the picnic areas)

16:36 - A couple of Kori Bustards

17:43 - The Lerai forest at the end of the day was very peaceful and inviting

17:43 - We continued to be charmed by its trees

17:46 - A rumpus of baboons (yes, rumpus is the collective name for baboons)

17:46 - They were ignoring us completely

18:12 - Climbing away from the crater, the Lerai forest, behind lake Magadi.

GPS data for the descent (and later ascent) into/from the crater.

Last updated on Sat May 1 05:53:42 EDT 2004 by GhG.