The Ngorongoro Crater

Today we got up early to experience one of Tanzania’s highlights – the Ngorongoro Crater, a huge volcanic caldera covering around 260 square kilometres. The area is home to a unique ecosystem, including lions, rhinos, elephant, hippos and many different types of antelope – but no giraffes, since the sides of the crater are too steep for them to enter. Our guide Estomih wanted us to be at the entrance gate at 06.00, saying that in the afternoon, the crater gets very busy with day trippers from the Serengeti or even from Arusha.

We arrived at the lip of the crater just as it started to get light, Estomih bought our (very expensive) permits, and we set off down a steep slope along a one-way road. Our first stop was the lake at the bottom of the caldera – apparently the largest volcanic lake in the world, and home to flamingos, hippos and pelicans.

Sunrise at the Ngorongoro Crater at Dawn

The steep sides of the Ngorongoro Crater at Dawn

Next we headed to the small forest occupying the south end of the crater. There, through the trees, we caught a glimpse of some white rhinos in the far distance. This species was driven to extinction in Tanzania by poaching, and in 2025 eighteen were brought from South Africa to a special protected enclosure at Ngorongoro to see if they thrive and can eventually be released into the wild. Whilst we were admiring these massive animals, Estomih heard on the radio that back on the plains of the crater, a wild black rhino had been sighted, so we hurried off to see it. However, our road was unexpectedly blocked by an elephant having his breakfast, and we had to wait until he had hauled his tree branch out of the way before we could continue.

The black rhino proved to be a bit of a disappointment. It was far away, and lying down, disappointing the large group of tourists in jeeps that had assembled to watch it.

We had breakfast in our jeep, hoping the rhino might at least get up and walk a bit, but when we had finished he was still stubbornly immobile, so we headed of to see the rest of the crater. It was a beautiful sight, justifying its reputation as one of Africa’s seven natural wonders.

Soon it was time for lunch, which we ate at a picnic spot beside a small lake. The area was busy – just as Estomih had said, day trippers had arrived from the Serengeti, and the crater was now quite busy. We were concentrating on eating and protecting our food from the black kites circling overhead, when suddenly on top of a hill overlooking the lake appeared a group of lions. I quickly calculated that even with my small teddy legs, I could reach the safety of my jeep before a lion could reach me, but they ignored us and passed on their way.

Estomih once again got a message on the radio about another rhino sighting, so we hurriedly finished eating and headed off…..to run into a big traffic jam caused by the lions we had just seen. They were now walking down the main road, oblivious to the chaos they were causing behind them. It seemed that the tourist jeeps divided into two groups – those with passengers like us who had seen lots of lions and were hurrying to see the much rarer rhino, and those with people who had just arrived and found lions exciting. The latter groups would stop frequently for pictures, making the traffic jam even worse.

Eventually we fought our way past the lions and found the black rhino, who, whilst still being a long way off, was at least walking around and posing for photos.

We took a few pictures of him before it was time to leave Ngorongoro – to control traffic and preserve the environment, the authorities only issue a six-hour permit to visit, and ours was due to expire at two pm. On the steep road back to the crater rim we had time for one last stop to admire the view of one of the most magical places in the world.

At the exit to the park, we continued our road east on the main road back towards Arusha, and then turned south on a dirt track to Lake Eyasi, arriving at our lodge in the mid-afternoon for once. This gave us time to sit in front of our room, looking at the sun setting over the lake, enjoying the company of a flock of lovebirds and absorbing what we had seen over the past few days in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. The trip so far had been mostly devoted to Tanzania’s animals – it was now time to meet more of the country’s people……

Previous Post: From the Serengeti to Ngornogoro

Next Post: Hunting with the Hadzabe

29th January 2026 2

Etosha National Park – Okaukeujo waterhole and more elephants and rhinos!

Ostrich at Etosha National Park — An Ostrich runs away from my car

Today I was due to move from the Mushara Bush camp, just outside the east gate of the park, to the Okaukuejo camp located inside the central gate. It was about 150km away, so I combined moving with a “game drive” which included parts of the park I had not visited before. I said a sad farewell to the Mushara Bush Camp, which had been a wonderful place to stay, and set off.

This morning I was less lucky with my game spotting. I tried a track called “Eland Drive”, since I had yet to see the eland, Africa’s biggest antelope. At first, there was no sign of any animals – just lots of unusually green trees, which contrasted with the dry scrub that makes most of the park. I found it surprising that animals seemed to be avoiding this cooler area with lots of edible vegetation- maybe predators were hiding somewhere, out of my sight. After an hour’s driving I finally ran into some zebra and springbok, and as I progressed, they became more and more numerous. I also glimpsed a red hartebeest….but no elands.

Zebra at Etosha National Park — Zebra blocking the route at Etosha

After the slight disappointment of Eland Drive, I reverted to the usual strategy of visiting waterholes. In the midday sun, these were dominated by elephants, who drank and sprayed their bodies with water to keep cool. At my first waterhole, there was a family group with a couple of babies.

Mummy and baby elephant — Mummy and Baby Elephant at an Etosha waterhole

After a few minutes a rhino joined the group. Etosha has white and black rhinos. Confusingly, they are both the same grey colour and the main difference between them is the shape of their lip. This one had a pointed lip, so was probably a black rhino.

Black Rhino approaches waterhole — A black rhino joins the group….

Rhino at Etosha — ….and changes colour after rolling in the mud.

The next two watering holes I visited also featured elephants. At the first, two of them were washing and drinking.

Elephants at Etosha — More elephants at Etosha….

At the second, a couple appeared to express affection to each other with their trunks.

more elephants at Etosha — ….yet more elephants

I finally arrived at Okaukuejo, a government-owned camp near Etosha’s main entrance. It is famous for having a large watering hole just outside the camp, which is lit up during the night and frequently visited by lions, elephants and rhino. After checking in, I went straight there and found a viewing platform and lots of other guests with cameras and binoculars……but no animals. So instead, I headed off to the swimming pool to spend the hottest hours of the afternoon – like the elephants I had seen earlier!

At six, as the sun was setting, I returned to the Okaukeujo waterhole to find an elephant, giraffe and magnificent black rhino. The latter approached the viewing platform, watched the crowd of humans for a while, and then lay down on the ground to snooze. It was an amazing sight, and I was a little puzzled as to why the waterhole viewing area was not overflowing with fellow tourists and their cameras.

Rhino at Okaukuejo Watering Hole — …and then sits down to sleep.

With this thought in my mind, I headed off to dinner. It was a chaotic affair. The waitress told me that I had booked table 32, but after half an hour of waiting there, a group of German ladies arrived to claim my place. They went to fetch the reservation list which showed that I should have been on table 25. In any case, the choice of table made little difference since the waitresses were all busy serving in a different part of the restaurant and completely ignored us all. I realised that if I sat there patiently, I would wait forever, so I collared the person who seemed to be the drinks waitress and ordered steak and a beer. After another long wait, the steak arrived – tasty and tender, but cold – without the beer. To get this, I had to accompany my waitress to the bar and stand there reminding her of my order, as she was accosted by a stream of other complaining customers. A simple dinner of steak and a beer took ninety minutes, even thought my persistence meant that I was one of the first to be served. After finishing my beer, I hurried back to the waterhole but found it quiet – the elephant had left, and the rhino was still asleep on the ground. I suddenly realised why the waterhole was not overcrowded with fellow guests – many of them were stuck in the restaurant, still waiting for their dinner. With nothing new to see, I headed back to my hut for an early bedtime, resolving to try my luck again if I woke up during the night.

I returned to the waterhole at 2am to find a wonderful sight – a herd of elephant, including several babies, drinking quietly in the moonlight. I stayed for a half an hour, watching the elephants, a cautious giraffe, and finally a tiny scrub hare – not much bigger than me – taking its place to drink alongside the massive elephants.

Elephants at Okaukuejo Waterhole — 2am at the Okaukeujo waterhole, Etosha

A giraffe approaches Okaukuejo — A giraffe approaches the Okaukeujo waterhole

Elephants at Okaukuejo Etosha — The elephants continue to drink

scrub hare and elephants Okaukuejo — A tiny scrub hare (left) joins the elephants

Finally, the herd of elephants headed off into the night, and I decided to do the same. It had been a memorable day, and I went back to my hut to sleep for the rest of the night.

Elephant herd Okaukuejo — The elephant family leaves Okaukeujo waterhole and heads off into the night

Next Post: Twyfelfontein and its rock art

Previous Post: My first full day at Etosha

28th October 2023 5

Etosha National Park – hidden leopard and lion, aggressive rhino and lots of giraffes and elephants!

The following morning I was woken up by birds chattering in the bush outside. I opened up the flaps of my tent and sat in bed enjoying the morning air with a cup of coffee. The tent was flooded with light from all sides, and it felt like I was sitting in the open air in the middle of the bush.

camp Etosha — The morning light flooding through my room at Etosha

After breakfast I set off again to the park. There are two ways to visit Etosha – one is in your own car, making your own itinerary, and one on an organised “game drive” in a truck with other tourists and a guide. The organised tour offers better chances to see animals, since the guides know where to look and communicate their sightings to other guides by phone. But having invested in a big 4×4 I wanted to keep my independence and drive myself. Serious visitors enter the park at its 06.30 opening time to have the best chances of spotting the less easily seen game – particularly the big cats. After my three days of travelling I did not have the energy for another early start and reached the park at around 9, when some of the organised groups were already returning.

Despite my late start I was very lucky. First I spotted – very briefly – a leopard, one of the most elusive animals in Etosha National Park, but I was a little too slow to get a really good photo.

Leopard Etosha — Leopard (disappearing behind the tree trunk)

October was the end of the dry season in Etosha, and the once abundant water brought by the rains had reduced to a few waterholes where the game comes to drink. This makes for the best time for spotting wildlife. My first visit to a waterhole did not disappoint; a group of oryx and springboks were drinking, soon to be followed by zebra and some kudu.

Oryx-at-Etosha — Etosha – Oryx and Impala at the water hole

On my way to the next waterhole, I had a stroke of luck and noticed a lion, sheltering from the late morning sun under a bush. Sadly my lack of mastery of my new camera caused me to mess up my photo.

Lion-at-Etosha — Lion hiding from the sun (top left)

The final waterhole of my morning visit was home to a small group of elephants, who had come to drink and cool off by spraying themselves with water. Elephants seemed very common at Etosha.

Elephant-and-Impala — Elephant and Impala at a waterhole, Etosha

Watching the giraffes drink was the most interesting. They would approach very slowly, then look around for several minutes. Then they would slowly splay their legs and lower their necks to drink. I suppose that their caution is because they is only ever vulnerable to predators in this rather awkward drinking position.

Giraffe-at-Etosha — Etosha – a giraffe drinking

It was now one o’clock, and the hottest part of the day had arrived. This meant that animal sightings would be much harder, so I drove back to my lodge to relax by the pool. At 4pm I set off again for my evening “game drive”. I visited a couple of waterholes without luck, before setting off along a remote track. At first the landscape was empty and dry, and I began to regret my choice of route. But then I bumped into an old, grey wrinkled elephant just standing by the side of the track. He looked a bit crumbly, and like many elephants in Etosha National Park, had broken tusks (apparently a lack of minerals means that few Etosha elephants have big healthy tusks).

The old elephant, isolated and maybe rejected by his herd, made me feel rather sad, but transformed my feeling about my drive, which became a big adventure. I drove off onto a flat plain. In the distance, I could see the silhouettes of other lumbering elephants and tall giraffes; occasionally the track would bring me face to face with one. I’d stop to let the giraffes run away, but slow down and pass the elephants carefully – my guidebook had a whole page devoted to what you should do if an elephant charges your vehicle. I felt that I had landed on another planet, or gone back to some prehistoric time on earth, before the rise of man. I was enjoying the feeling of total detachment from the modern world when I stumbled upon the highlight of the afternoon – a rare white rhino. I stopped and we looked at each other with curiosity, whilst I took more photos.

White Rhino Etosha — Face to face with a white Rhino at Etosha

I noticed the sun was sinking on the horizon, so looked at my watch and checked the map. I was a long way from the entrance and I had an hour to reach the gate before it closed. I hurried off, initially pursued by the rhino. I raced the sun as it dipped down to the horizon and cast long shadows of trees over the plain and the road. I didn’t want to have to find out what happened to people that got stuck in Etosha after closing time, and made it there exactly at the 19.02, to be the very last vehicle to leave. As I drove off I heard a guard say “Right, home now!” to her colleague.

Back at my camp, I had another excellent dinner (fish this time – how did they get it here, so far inland?) and then collapsed into the bed in my tent, very happy with day’s game spotting. Out of all of the larger animals at Etosha, I had been lucky enough to see everything except the eland (Africa’s largest antelope) and the cheetah.

Previous Post – The Long Trip to Etosha National Park

Next Post – Day 2 at Etosha

27th October 2023 3