We’re Not "Lion" - It Was All Picnics, Pink Wings, and a Little Lion Lovin’ in Ngorongoro

 Monday, November 3

A day in the crater!

Today was a day to explore Ngorongoro Crater. Once a volcano eruption that formed a mountain, then the mountain collapsed and created a caldera or a crater. The animals in the crater don’t really migrate or leave because they have everything they need right there…water, trees, grasslands…

Some of my research about Ngorongoro:

Location & Geology

• The crater is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in northern Tanzania, located in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley. It is an ancient volcanic caldera — a large volcano collapsed inwards after a massive eruption, roughly 2.5 million years ago. The crater is about 16-19 km across and covers around 260 km² (≈100 sq miles) of floor. The walls rise about 600 m from the crater floor. 

Significance & Conservation

• Ngorongoro Crater is often described as the world’s largest intact, un-flooded volcanic caldera. The broader Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — designated for both its natural diversity and cultural significance.The area supports a high density of wildlife and is famous for its ecological value.

Wildlife & Ecosystems

• The crater floor supports a variety of habitats — grasslands, marshes, woodlands, a seasonal salt lake, forested walls — making it rich in wildlife. Many species live here, including large mammals (elephants, buffaloes, lions, black rhinos) and a wide diversity of birds (over 500 species). It is one of the few places where you can see the “Big Five” (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhino) in a relatively compact area.

Human & Cultural Dimension

• The area is also home to indigenous peoples such as the Maasai, who have historically lived in the region alongside wildlife.

After a great breakfast at Neptune Lodge with Devotha, we loaded up with Francis to explore Ngorongoro. 

Wbrought with us a “hamper.” We were going to have a lunch in the crater that was packed by the lodge. Mom stayed back because she wasn’t feeling up to it and needed a reset after the past few days. She was pampered like a queen by the Neptune Lodge staff and when we returned she was back to 100%

The main entrance to the crater was about 5 minutes from our lodge. We arrived and Francis had to get our documents processed to enter. 

After that was complete, our first stop was up, up, up to top of the caldera to see a view of the crater from above! Wow!!

Here we are with our driver, Francis at the top of he crater.

We then went down, down, down and got to the floor of the crater. Once we got to the official entrance, Francis stopped to pop the top again!

We saw warthogs and lots of wildebeest.

I learned about Grant’s gazelle.

We followed a hyena for a bit.

A highlight was watching a lion and a lioness do a mating dance…will they, won’t they, will they, won’t they…spoiler alert, she played hard to get and they ended up just resting. 😊

We had a great lunch – picnic style…two different kinds of stew, bread, some chicken, some beef and some rice. It was a little different than our picnic lunches, and delicious!

We made it to the lake in the crater and saw the flamingoes. It was amazing how many different birds there are here. It’s so beautiful!!

We then found out that we were invited to a surprise Bush lunch provided by Roane Travel Design – our tour agency – and it was cooked and served right there in the bush. Lunch #2 was just as good as the first!!

We also some gray crowned crane, some ostriches and a more of the other animals as we were working our way out of the crater.

As we went up, up, up to leave the crater and exit the conservation area…we saw these two little guys and watched them for a little while.

We then made our way back to Neptune Lodge and found mom, she had enjoyed sleeping and being spoiled all day.

We had a great dinner and went back to our rooms to pack (again) because tomorrow we head to stop three and enter Serengeti National Park!!!

Good Night!!

Stay tuned tomorrow as we enter Serengeti National Park and our first tent camp!

It's always Seldom A Dull Moment !with the #retiredrahns