Ngoro Ngoro Crater: The Eighth Wonder of the World

The Ngoro Ngoro Crater has been described as the eighth wonder of the world and it really does live up to expectation. So much so that I couldn't quite finish my series of blogs on my August trip without posting some of the pictures I took there.

We visited the crater during the last three days of our Masai Mara safari. It was my third visit to this remarkable volcanic bowl and as always proved well worth crossing the border into Tanzania for.

It was quite dry there and although the animals in this crater are isolated by the steep crater walls from the vast savannah that surrounds it, the wildebeest still migrate locally.

Their steady progress made a dramatic picture against the back drop of the salt pan and the crater walls behind.

These elephant had clearly been stripping the bark from the yellow fever trees.

Again the steep walls of the crater set the scene each day.

Black rhino are a rare sight in Kenya and Tanzania, but the Ngoro Ngoro Crater is well-protected and supports a stronghold. There are nearly 30 living in the 10 mile wide crater.

There were plenty of lion there too. This lioness was in season and in a playful mood.

She jumped across a muddy river - hence the 'black stockinged effect up her back legs - to greet another lioness and left a pride male looking rather disgruntled on the other side.

We came across this year-old cub and his mother. He looked in very poor condition.

I suspect he had been attacked by another lion, or hyenas.

When we stopped at a toilet block we noticed a dead bull buffalo about 70 yards away. He was in too good a condition to have died of disease or age. Then as we all filed out of the toilets we saw this male lion glowering at us.

I walked a bit closer to get a photograph and he dragged it under a bush. I decided it was time to get back in the car since I didn't know where the rest of the pride were.