Chapter Nine: Rhinos, Servals & Life in the Crater

The Rhino Appears

After all the drama surrounding the lions, we continued deeper into the crater searching for something different.

Then came one of the sightings we had been hoping for.

Rhinoceroses.

few appeared in the distance and gradually moved closer. Eventually, they crossed the road in front of us while several safari vehicles waited quietly nearby.

Cameras immediately came up.

Once across, the rhinos returned to grazing, apparently completely uninterested in the excitement they had created among their human audience.

Watching such powerful animals moving freely across the crater floor was extraordinary.

Another unforgettable Ngorongoro moment.

A Serval in the Grass

Soon afterward came a completely different kind of sighting.

Moving quietly through the tall, dry savanna grass was a serval, one of Africa’s most distinctive small wild cats.

Its long legs, oversized ears and beautiful golden spotted coat made it immediately recognizable.

The camouflage was remarkable.

One moment it was clearly visible; the next, its coat seemed to disappear into the surrounding grass.

Servals are encountered far less frequently on safari than lions, elephants, zebras or giraffes, which made the sighting particularly special.

Ngorongoro continued to surprise us.

Throughout the morning, familiar faces from Tarangire also appeared — zebras, wildebeest, antelopes, hyenas and an incredible variety of birds.

Then another new character entered our safari story.

A hippopotamus.

Emerging from the water, it finally revealed itself long enough for us to admire — and photograph — its enormous presence.

There were warthogs too.

And, of course, our safari favorites: the mighty African elephants.

By now, it was lunchtime.

And A&K had another surprise waiting.

Lunch in the Crater

Our lunch stop was inside the crater, where safari travelers from around the world had gathered to take a break from their game drives.

A&K had prepared our own table with a generous spread of food accompanied by a variety of drinks.

There is something wonderfully surreal about sitting down to a proper lunch surrounded by one of the greatest wildlife landscapes on Earth.

But our day was far from finished.

After lunch, we were leaving wildlife behind temporarily for something completely different.

We were going to visit a Maasai village.

From Our Trip

This chapter is drawn from our firsthand Ngorongoro journey. It describes our experience, not a promise of wildlife sightings or a fixed schedule.