Critter Crater More Than 30,000 Animals Roam The 10-Mile-Wide Floor Of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania “Simba!” whispered Emmanuel, the safari driver.

Just 40 feet away, almost hidden in a patch of tall grass, was a lioness with four cubs.

“You must be very quiet,” Emmanuel said.

The babies were nursing. Visitors watched from their “pop-top” safari rig.

Then the lioness stretched and yawned. Feeding time was over. The cubs wrestled and played tug-of-war with a stick.

It was as if we were invisible to the lion family.

“They know we are here, but they have no fear,” Emmanuel said.

Ngorongoro was working its magic.

This volcanic crater in northern Tanzania is one of the world’s greatest wildlife sanctuaries.

Roaming its 10-mile-wide floor are more than 30,000 animals … lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, leopards, cheetahs, Cape buffalo, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, hyenas, jackals, monkeys, baboons and more … and almost 200 species of birds, ranging from eagles to flamingos, from cranes to ostriches.

This may be the ultimate safari destination.

The Sierra Club’s guide to East Africa says so.

“If you have only one day in your life to visit an African game park, that day should be spent at Ngorongoro,” writes Allen Bechky), author of “Adventuring in East Africa.”

But because of its relatively remote site at the end of bone-jarring dirt roads, Ngorongoro (“en-goro-engoro”) is not included in all itineraries arranged by the 100 or so safari companies that operate through Tanzania and neighboring Kenya.

The great caldera of Ngorongoro - all that remains of a 15,000-foothigh volcano that exploded millions of years ago - is about 300 miles south and east of Nairobi, East Africa’s safari hub.

Getting here involves either a rugged overland trip from Nairobi or a more tolerable combination of airtaxi and land travel.

Micato Safaris, with offices in New York and Nairobi, knows the way. The family that owns Micato has been in business here since the turn of the century.

To set the scene:

It is dawn in Ngorongoro.

First there are bird songs. It is as if an orchestra is tuning up for the overture.

Then there is a knock on the door of your room at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge on the crater rim. A waiter offers a tray with a pot of coffee.

Pull up a chair - a rocking chair. The room seems perched on the very lip of the crater, with picture windows and rocking chairs for two.

Open the curtains.

Do you hear a fanfare?

First rays of the sun flood the crater with golden light. You can see the faint lines of game trails far below.

It must be something like the first glimpse of a new planet for space travelers.

In a way, Ngorongoro is another world - a world of born-free, stillfree animals surging over grasslands and marshes and forests inside the crater.

This is no zoo. It’s real life - where the big cats hunt down wildebeests, zebras and gazelles for meals, where bull elephants crash through acacia trees as if they were sticks of kindling, where poachers still pursue beleaguered rhinos for their precious horns.

The animals are not trapped in the crater. Some migrate to and from Tanzania’s famed Serengeti plains. But most stay because of Ngorongoro’s dependable supply of fresh water.

The caldera was formed when the spent volcano’s walls collapsed inward. The rim is at an elevation of about 7,500 feet. The 102-squaremile crater floor is 2,000 feet below.

Only four-wheel-drive vehicles are able to navigate crater trails for the safari “game drives.” The Land Rovers are fitted with roomy roof hatches for cameras and binoculars.

Will you see Africa’s “big five” species this day - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo? Chances are excellent. Ngorongoro has them all.

Carry plenty of film. The action is non-stop:

A lion king is silhouetted on a distant ridge. The sentry lion is watching a herd of wildebeest grazing nearby.

“Simba!” says Emmanuel, calling out the Swahili word for lion. We will hear it often before the day is over.

Ostriches are foraging for seeds in a charred strip of open savanna. A wildfire burned here the other day, a reminder that Ngorongoro is not for animals alone.

Once the crater was home to the Masai, the noble nomads of East Africa. Wildlife-conservation officials are prodding them away from the crater, but the Masai persist. Sometimes they start grass fires to prepare the soil for crops.

A buffalo carcass from a recent kill putrefies in the hot sun. A sidestriped jackal, an efficient scavenger, rests nearby.

Then a crested crane parades across the road like a beauty queen.

“Show time!” says a visitor.

Scores of zebras and wildebeests are grazing together in a field of grass the color of old gold. An hours-old zebra, legs still wobbly, stays close to its mother.

The zebras (“donkeys with pajamas,” says Emmanuel) and the humpbacked wildebeests with their comical gray beards have a symbiotic relationship. The wildebeests crop the top part of the grass for its highprotein yield. Then the zebras can munch on the lower portions for the high fiber needed for their diets. Teamwork.

Two endangered black rhinos watch warily as the safari wagons pass. They have reason to be cautious. Recent poaching here - by those entrusted with protection of the rhinos, guides say - has reduced the crater count from 26 to 22.

Nearby is a pond with 20 hippos half-submerged, like fat logs, in a cool-water pond. A court of pretty birds - Egyptian geese, sacred ibis and egrets - decorates the shoreline.

Down the trail is a lake turned pink with masses of flamingos. And across the way three cranky, old Cape buffalo are rolling in mud to shed pesky ticks and flies.

Camera-shy warthogs, armed with wicked tusks, waddle across the savanna. Thompson’s gazelles prance as if on springs. A tawny eagle watches from a treetop by a pool with islets of floating papyrus.

Then, just when you think you’ve seen it all (and the film supply is getting skimpy), there’s a roadside scene for the memory book.

Lions are lounging around two parked safari rigs - yawning, dozing, seeking cover from the blazing midday sun. We counted nine in all.

A heart-pounding encounter for passengers with eye-to-eye lion views. But old stuff to Emmanuel and the other guides.

“The lions are just being lazy,” says Emmanuel. “They like the shade.”

Later, back at the lodge, you gaze down on the crater as the African sun sets the clouds afire, then falls beyond the horizon.

Curtain down.

A full moon, a golden coin, rises over Ngorongoro.

By now, the lioness has hidden her four cubs in the tall grass and set off to find them a meal. Restless zebras and wildebeests and gazelles are on guard against the hungry cats.

Once again, Ngorongoro belongs to the night.

MEMO: Stanton H. Patty is a Vancouver, Wash., writer.

This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO GENERAL: Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater is featured in safari packages with Micato Safaris that combine several wildlife parks in Tanzania and Kenya. The escorted safaris begin and end in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Several packages also include a stay at the posh Mount Kenya Safari Club, founded by William Holden, the late actor, and his friends. A typical 12-day Kenya-Tanzania safari - including deluxe lodges and all meals while on safari - is priced at $2,440 a person. Also available is an 11-day package, priced at $1,790. Air fare for international flights is additional. Micato offers tourbased fares from U.S. gateway cities served by its carrier, Lufthansa German Airlines. VISAS: Both Kenya and Tanzania require passports and visas for travelers from the United States. Figure about $54 for a Kenya visa, $34.50 for a Tanzania visa, if using a U.S. professional visa service to obtain visas. Kenya also charges a departure tax of $20 (payable in U.S. currency only) when leaving Kenya. INOCULATIONS: Tanzania requires a yellow-fever certificate. Anti-malaria tablets are recommended for both countries. Public-health agencies here may suggest other precautions. WATER: Rely on bottled water, even for brushing teeth. But expect to pay up to $4 U.S. per liter outside Nairobi. WEATHER: Temperatures range from the 70s to the 90s by day; low 50s at night. However, temperatures may be cooler in high-elevation areas. Warmest months are December through March. Coolest are July and August. Heaviest rains occur in April in both countries. Shorter rains usually occur in late October and early November in Kenya; November and December in Tanzania. ELECTRICITY: 220 volts. Pack a three-hole-type adaptor. Don’t count on finding 110 volts for hair dryers and other accessories. CURRENCY: Exchange rates fluctuate. Figure about 52 Kenya shillings to $1 U.S.; 500 Tanzanian shillings to $1 U.S. Suggestion: change as little currency as possible. Most of the hotels and lodges on the Micato circuit accept major credit cards. Some shops in Nairobi do, too, but may tack on a surcharge of 5 or 6 per cent when credit cards are used. SHOPPING: So-so. Best buys are wood carvings and native costume jewelry. Beware: peddlers in villages and along country roads ask outrageously high prices for their wares and are unwilling to bargain much. WHAT TO PACK: Sun-screen, lip balm, flashlight (electricity is turned off late at night at some wildlife lodges), extra batteries, shorts and other light clothing for day touring, sweaters for cool evenings, sturdy walking shoes, alarm clock, insect repellent, sun glasses, and plenty of film, including 400 ASA film for early morning and late-afternoon game drives. You’ll want a telephoto lens (at least 200mm) for wildlife photography. Carry some large ziptype plastic bags to protect cameras from dust. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Micato Safaris, 15 West 26th St., New York, NY 10010; phone 800-642-2861 or 212-545-7111.