While in Tanzania, should my son and I try to take in the Ngorongoro Crater the day before we go on our safari? And do you have any thoughts about the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge?

Absolutely!!!!! I got some great photos there. Saw lion, buff, and rhino, plus lots of plains game the day I was in the crater.

Go and enjoy,
Jim

Spring,

The Crater has to be one of the great wonders of Africa if not the world. Please go see it. TGTS will set it up with Ker& Downey. You'll have your own stretch Landcruiser and a PH for your guide plus a driver. I don't remember the name of where we stayed on the rim of the Crate but it was very nice and pretty reasonably priced. Just ask George Hartley about it and all will be taken care of.

Do not miss it.

Regards,

Mark

Thanks, Mark and Jim! Mark, I was chatting with George Hartley last Friday and he mentioned that he thought I should get to Tanzania a day early so that we could spend a day at the crater. This trip is already so long that adding anything to it at first gets a meek reception from me, but based upon your thoughts, and the bit I have now read about the place online, it indeed sounds like something that could prove to be a highlight of our trip.
I just hope I'll still have a job when I get home!

Yes, you should go see the crater but it will take two days. The road up to the crater was a nightmare last fall. There is much construction going on. If it is finished before you get to TZ, you should have a much quicker trip.

We left Arusha about 1 pm and barely made it to the park gate before it closed at 6 pm. We spent the night at the Sopa Lodge (nice accomodations as is the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge). My friend and I had our own safari vehicle and were at the crater gate the next morning when it opened at 6 am. We had the crater to ourselves until about 9 am when the tour vehicles came in. We had the lodge pack breakfast and lunch for us.

We spent the entire day in the park and had a great time. We spent 75% of our time glassing the buffalo. We saw several 43" to 46" buffalo and a couple that might go 48"+, but saw hundreds of average buffalo. It just goes to show you how rare really big buffalo are.

We spent two nights at the Sopa Lodge and left for Arusha our second morning. I think one full day in the crater is just right.

It will be impossible to make the crater a day trip from Arusha and tough even to make it a one-night stay unless you cut short your time in the crater.

IMO, the crater is much more impressive from the rim than from the floor. I would have liked to spend more time in the area around the crater. It is high-altitude thick forest with lots of game trails (mostly buffalo tracks).

In the crater, we saw one big elephant (pushing 100 lbs) and a couple of other small bodied elephants that were carrying long elegant looking ivory (but the tusks were thin). We saw two black rhinos early in the AM but no cats at all.

I'm driving myself crazy thinking about what a great time we had on that trip, and I don't have another booked for this year.

Vic,

We had just spent 28 days hunting and I really expected the Crater and Tarangire to be a yawn. No way! You are up close and personal with the animals but there is no zoo feeling about the experience. In 1.5 days there we saw a 100 pound elephant, a big lion that walked so close to the car I lost sight of him, hyenas ran down a wildebeest and killed it, a jackal hunted for and killed a lizard practically under our vehicle and we saw an incredible array of other beasts that were completely undisturbed by us.

As far as the animals are concerned you aren't there. You have to experience that to understand it.

Regards,

Mark

Take the baloon ride!! that is awsome...

YES!



We saw black rhino, elephant, two maned lions who were just finishing feeding, lionesses and cubs, pink flamingoes on the lake/pools plus numberous other game.



In fact the lion below (see http://nitroexpress.com - the home page for a larger picture) , is one of those.



Also the clouds cascading over the craters rim can also be spectacular.



Great place to take lots of photos of LIVE animals that don't run away straight away.



Oops I remember the lion didn't fit in the signatures code space on AR, so here it is:

The Crater isn't as good as you have been told......it's better!

The Ngorogoro Crater Lodge was (probably still is) on the list of the top 10 hotels in the world and you won't believe it until you see it. No matter where you are in your suite (even in the shower or on the po!) you will have a view of the entire Crater......if you have a few extra days you might also like to consider spending some time at Grummetti River Camp & Kleins Camp.....oh yes, and I mention.......

Spring,

Here are a couple of shots from Ngorongoro. I just scanned these from prints, but they are no where near as good as most of the slide film photos that I shot there. The crater view was from my room the afternoon that I arrived, and the lion was taken early in the next morning on the crater floor. There was a layer of clouds and mist covering the complete upper level of the crater that morning, and we had to drive through it to get down to the bottom of the crater, beautiful!!!!!!

Jim

I agree with the others that the crater is worth a visit. I would advise to use 2 days though because of the road conditions etc. We personally liked Serengetti better because we were practically alone there and were lucky enough to see over 20 lion in 1 day! The crater can get a bit filled with other tourist vehicles, so it's good advice to be on the rim gate at opening time. This will give you a couple of hours before others arrive. While we were there, the differant elephant and single black rhino we saw, hung around the wooded area in the south of the crater. Pretty much right below the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. We slept in out tent as usual, but did splurge on a light lunch at the Crater Lodge. It looked very nice!



You'll also see quite a few Masai from the settlement near the southwestern corner of the crater:







To be honost, if you're travelling as far as you are, you might as well take a couple of days in Serengetti too! IMO.



Erik D.



Edit: Was corrected by the wife; the place we had lunch was named Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

We spent two days at Tirangire and two at Ngorongoro crater. Both were very different from each other but both were great. We saw Lions so close that the telephoto lense wouldn't work. Chetah, buffalo, and great herds of plains game. Tirangire is great for Giraffe and elephant. Believe me, take the extra time, especially if you are taking some of the family. You will have a great time. Good hunting. "D"

If you decide to go to Tarangire, a great place to stay is Tarangire Treetops. The rooms are basically a series of tree houses. Service and food are good. You are escorted to your room at night by a Masai armed with a spear or bow (same with Migration Camp near the Grumetti River). The Masai guard sounds a bit dramatic, but it is obviously more to prevent some bunny hugger from trying to pet the "nice hyena", etc (besides, he has a light for those intrepid travelers that don't know enough to carry a flashlight if it is getting dark outside ). I did hear a leopard in camp at Tarangire, and the next morning found leopard tracks near the stairs to my room, so maybe the guards are not totally for show . Can't you just imagine a "greenie" out for a midnight stroll running into "Mr. Spots", and trying to get close enough for the flash on their point-and-shoot camera to work?
Tarangire Treetops
Migration Camp

You will probably get a better deal if you get a tour package, not to mention having a driver for yourself.

Jim

Mbogo is right. Get car and driver/guide for the whole time. We had Gracy Travel set it all up and it went like clockwork. I would not have omitted the photo safari part. I usually have done the photo safari part at the beginning of the trip so you have time to get used to Africa time/jet lag and getting your eye used to picking up game out of the background. Sometimes with the critter right there they are hard to see. Nice to have all that out of the way before it is time to start shooting. Good hunting. "D"

The Lodge really does sound great and the overall experience at Ngorongoro sounds like one not to be missed. You're making me want to go right now! Unfortunately, I won't be able to get there until late June of next year. The decision on whether or not to go there, however, has to be made soon as I'm trying to figure out if I can use Frequent Flyer miles on this trip, and as you know, those flights have to be booked as far in advance as is possible, hence, my need to determine my exact schedule early.
Speaking of the Lodge, it looks like a spot that my wife would really enjoy. Unfortunately, she won't be going on this trip though no doubt my son, who will be going, will enjoy it, too.
I have heard that the road to the Crater is nearing completion. Surely sounds like that will make the trip much easier for visitors in the future.
I am so looking forward to my first trip to Tanzania. Some of you fellows need to be hired by their Tourism Bureau!