Reaching the base of N'gorongoro Crater, the area was teeming with wildlife. Everywhere you looked, there were multitudes of animals. We drove along, admiring the implausibilities of wildebeests, a gang of cape buffalo, and dazzles of zebra, among others.
The crater is a special place. There are an estimated 30,000 animals in the 102 square miles of the crater (no, I don't know who counted, or if they ever lost count, having to start over again.)
Due to its enclosed caldera, it has essentially formed its own ecosystem. The word "N'gorongoro" is a word that describes the sound the bell on the lead cow in a herd makes, "ngor, ngor," which comes from the herds of cows that graze on the outer wall of the caldera.
The crater is unique because it is the largest caldera in the world with unbroken walls, and yet has not filled up with water. It is one of Africa's Seven Natural Wonders, including the wildebeest migration, the Nile River, the Sahara Desert, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Red Sea, and the Okavango Delta.
The initial variety of life on the base of the crater was just a warm-up for the star of the show -- Lake Magadi.
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