While in the crater, in point form:
Ostriches in mating splendor. We saw a couple mate.
Saw some Bustards, Africa's largest flying birds. They can weigh up to 12 kilos. And vultures! I love them all!
We saw lots of (sleeping) lions, including sever males with large manes. With my binoculars, I was gobsmacked by the size of their thighs and paws. They are big beasts!!
One really should have a camera with a telephoto lens, but I don'tand I rse to take photos of, essentially, landscapes with dots in them that are the animals too far away to photograph.
And speaking of big beasts, I saw rhinos (white) today and more hippos and elephants. These beasties are gargantuan and they are all herbivores. They can con some up to 60 kilos of grass and ants a day.
And OH, the birds here. Kites, brilliant yellow finch-like birds,the metallic blue starlings, Egyptian geese, cator egret, and different kinds of ibis. And majestic vultures!
Thompson gazelles are gorgeous. Ciprian calls them leopard "fast food." seeing them makes me want to buy a farm end raise them. I just love them, especially when you see them in herds.
Seeing hyenas. They are bigger than I thought and dirty and mean looking. But they are part of the plan and is see dignity in them all.
The "Big Five" here are the elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard. I have seen all but the leopard. I don't expect to see one, but don't care at all. All these animals are coexisting in the reserves, even the lions. You see bones about so you know life is being lived in all it's glory but I see no aggression except the display behavior in baboons.
As we left the park, we stopped to sign out. While waiting in the car, a pack of baboons came up over the hill and one of them hopped up on the empty truck beside me and did all he could to get in through the window and by the handle.
The other news: By noon, I was feeling poorly. I had a blazing headache and felt really faint, so I told Ciprian I had to go back to the hotel. As we headed back, it very suddenly clouded over and a torrential rain with hail started pounding down. Our road up the crater was a river and visibility was a challenge in the sheeting rain and the mist. Perfect timing for bad weather, I thought, since i feels like crap anyway. We got back at 3:00 and I went to bed.
Reflecting on today, I was thrilled to see the rhinos, the particular pride of Ngorongoro. But I have to say, every time I go out, I never tire of the zebras. As numerous as area are, they are just so stunningly beautiful and charming. And ostriches, even though now I have seen dozens of them, are just so amazing and today, seeing the mating ritual that involves full use of those wings and feathers, was wonderful.
And finally, as impressive as the animals is we're landscape—enhanced even mo re by the presence of the animals. I will never ever forget the sight of nine giraffes walking at their particular slow lope, one after the other in a long line in the diminishing light of happy hour across a vast, vast open landscape that stretched flat to the horizon.
Location:Tanzania
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