Tanzania: Ngorongoro Crater: Black Rhinos and Red Ox-Peckers
April 5, 2011
4/5/11 - 4/6/11
87 °F
We woke to a beautiful sunrise outside of our panoramic window overlooking the crater. Maybe if we had views like this at home Ruby would let Tony sleep without blackout curtains!
On our way from the crater rim to the floor we got stopped by some “traditional” Masai boys dressed in crimson blankets, or shuka, peddling their beaded jewelry—not sure how traditional they really are but we bought some anyway! We descended into the crater and saw the largest antelope (the eland), followed by the heaviest flying bird (cory bastard) that we NEVER see flying and then Abdul’s hawk-like vision spotted a total of 16 black rhinos for us (not exactly small mammals). We think the animal kingdom is giving us a hint: Go on a diet! Thankfully none of the rhinos charged at us which they are known to do. By the way, there are only 30 endangered black rhinos in the entire crater.
Did you know that Ruby’s obsessed with baby animals? I think she’s been deleting shots of me on the memory card to fit more shots of baby hippos, wildebeest, and zebras!? We still think we’re animal Viagra because today we saw rhinos and baboons mating. I don’t know if we can post some of the photos because they may be a little too PG-13 for some of our viewers? Tony’s goal today was to see a rhino but Ruby wanted to see something a little more difficult: a red-billed ox-pecker. As a former nurse she wanted to see the little bird that is known as the “nurse of the animal kingdom”, keeping wounds clean and taking care of parasites. Of course, Abdul showed us plenty of these birdies hanging out on zebra backs. Sadly as we drove we saw a newborn elephant lying alone on the side of the road. This is completely uncommon since usually the herd of elephants surrounds the birthing mother until the newborn is able to walk (usually takes about 24 hours) but his little guy was all on his own! Abdul let the park rangers know so they could rescue him.
On our way out we ran into lots of lions and jackals but Ruby’s favorite was a small pride of lions with 2 cubs and the male of the group hanging out nearby! We had a great picnic overlooking a hippo pond watching a baby hippo float around. We then exited the crater and made our way back to Arusha. We couldn’t imagine a better trip or a better guide. If you ever plan on coming on Safari please contact Abdul Mpuruty on his mobile +255 789 295767 or send him an email at: Abdul742000@yahoo.com We can’t thank him enough for our amazing trip and Tony’s unforgettable birthday!
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Posted by Tony.Ruby 05:59 Archived in Tanzania Comments (2)