Ngorongoro Crater

Vervet monkey
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A cold but excellent nights sleep, and up before dawn to get packed.  Had breakfast as the sky above the crater turned pink and headed off from the campsite shortly after 6:30 in order to maximise our time in the crater.  The whole area was shrouded in cloud and we could see nothing form the rim until we started the descent into the caldera.

We started by going into the small area of forest in the south of the crater.  Herre we saw elephants, vervet monkeys, buffalo and zebra.  After that we headed across the plains of the crater (caldera) floor where we were once again met by large numbers of wildebeest (although a mere few compared to the Serengeti!).  Amongst the wildebeest were a couple of Black rhino lying down in the morning sunshine. Saw another, lone, rhino shortly afterwards as well.  As we drove nbear to the shallow carter lake we saw flamingos, pelicans and many wading birds and buffalo around the edges.

Ngorongoro crater(from the viewpoint en route to Serengeti)
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Through the morning we also saw a couple of bat-eared foxes, warthogs and spotted hyenas.  A few hippos were wallowing in a smaller lake and then we headed to a ridge where a couple of other vehicle had assembled.  Here was the evidence that lions really are not bothered by vehicles.  A young male lion was lying on road in the shade of a land rover.  As other vehicles assembled it walked around and lay on the grass on the other side of the land rover, still only metres away from all the onlookers (8myslef included).  Another lion looked on from a nearby bush, but the lion in the road remained as the land rovers came and went (we actually drove past it later in the day and it was still there!).

Ngorongoro Crater
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After our close-up lion experience, we drove off and after seeing a couple of spotted hyenas headed towards an open area of land near a small river where two land rovers had stopped.  I crossed my fingers and hoped..... what were they looking at in the grass...??  Then I saw it.  The tail was unmistakable and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my wish had come true! A cheetah!!! I squealed (quietly), leapt with joy (very gently) and grinned ecstatically! Didn't actually cry, but it was close!  The cheetah was absolutely beautiful, elegant and graceful.  It (she?) was standing in the grass about 20m away, then sitting and then rolling over in the sunshine just like a certain cat of mine does back at home.  Through my binoculars I could see her beautiful markings - so neat and perfect with stunning dark patches around her eyes.  Sadly, several other land rovers pulled up and she, unlike the lions, was not happy about it.  She got up and walked past the vehicles (quite close) before heading off across the river away from us.  A thoroughly magical experience watching a stunningly beautiful creature!! :)

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After that, we saw more lions enjoying the sunshine before heading down the small river to cool off.  Had another close encounter as the first of the females walked right past us on her way down, again, unfazed by our presence.

Headed back toward the edge of the crater, stopping to see a couple of jackals, more hyenas and the grazing herds again before the ascent back to the campsite.  The drive up was beautiful (and rather steep!) but we got our last views of the crater following a thoroughly magnificent morning of wildlife.

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Back at the campsite we had lunch and sheltered from a torrential downpour before heading back to the Lake Manyara campsite, where we wallowed in the pool before dinner in a significantly hotter environment than the previous night.