After breakfast we’re off on the next leg of our journey to Ngorongoro, the eighth wonder of the natural world. Along the way we drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area—a region created to accommodate the grazing needs of the Masai people and a unique test of the idea that humans leading a pastoral lifestyle can coexist with wildlife. We arrive on the rim of the crater and descend 2,000 feet into the giant caldera of this extinct volcano.
This magnificent natural amphitheater contains the largest concentration of animals in all of Africa. Prides of lion, black rhino and elephant share this land with the legendary Masai tribesmen. Because the grasses are short, game is easily spotted and can be approached quite closely. We spend a splendid morning on the floor of the crater observing wildlife in this ageless World Heritage Site. After lunch at the hippo picnic site we continue on a game drive en-route as we ascend the crater driving back to Moshi.