The Road To N'gorongoro Crater

Even though the crater wasn't very far away, it was an hour drive to the base of the crater.  After a bit of a drive up the outside of the crater wall, we stopped at the entrance gate for the crater.  While Hassan was getting paperwork approved, we posed for some pictures at the entrance.

Entrance to the Crater.  It is a 

UNESCO World Heritage site.

This picture is out of order, but it is of the

sunrise over the crater wall.  The wall

ranges from 1,300 to 2,000 tall.

Meena and Carol.

Meena and Sanjiv.

The Iron Tourist and Mrs. Iron Tourist.

UNESCO means "You Must Go!"

Fact check re the crater: True!

From there we headed up to the rim, where we stopped a couple of times to admire the views.  We did not always have a view, but there are some viewpoints along the way.  You drive about halfway- around the crater rim, which encompasses 102 square miles.  The rim's diameter is approximately twelve miles -- that's the diameter, and the circumference is nearly 38 miles.  

Being that it is a dirt road around the rim -- the road up to the rim, and down from the rim to the crater floor are both paved for easier use during the rainy season -- it was slow going to get around to the drive down.

Along the rim, we drove past some Masai villages on the outer wall of the crater.  It's amazing how human life adapts to its surroundings.

Part of a Masai village, taken

from the crater rim.

Lake Magadi in the distance.  It

proved to be a mecca for wildlife.

On the drive down into the crater, I was

finally able to get a good picture of a

candelabra tree.  It's taller than it looks

in the photo, as we were on the road

above it.  They grow 30-40 feet, and

the branches all come out of the trunk.

The branches look like cactus.

Ogre buzzard on a termite mound.