Tanzania - Ngorogoro Crater

Our second round of game drives brought us to the Ngorogoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. Set inside a 20 km wide volcanic caldera, Ngorogoro Crater plays host to Africa's densest population of wildlife. Within the crater live enormous herds of Wildebeast and Zebra, as well as smaller groups of Thomson's Gazelle and Antelope. To provide some balance, the crater is also home to Lions, Cheetah, and Leopard. To be fair, we never actually saw the "Leopard" so we're still a little skeptical. All the same, we did manage to take some fantastic photos. The photos were shot by both Phil and myself. Phil was using his 10D with a Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS lens which he bought in Bangkok, while I was using my 30D with a Canon 70-200 f/4 IS lens. Again, we hope you enjoy them!

Two male Wildebeast sorting their problems out in a civilized manner. I swear this photo could have come straight out of National Geographic. (Phil)

Wildebeast on the move. (Graeme)

Wildebeast contemplating Life, the Universe, and Everything, while simultaneously blocking the road. (Graeme)

Spotted Hyena sitting amongst a pile of broken machinery abandoned within the park. This one is definitely one of our favorites. (Graeme)

Baby Hippo sticking his head out of the water while surrounded by about 15 tonnes of adjacent Hippo Bum. This is also high on the list of our favorite shots. (Phil)

Hippo yawning in the afternoon sun. Lions are not the only African mammal that are perpetually lazy. (Phil)

Cape Buffalo peering at us through the morning mist. (Graeme)

Yellow bird of unknown variety. We like him because he's got such a sexy look on his face. (Phil)

Ostrich standing in the grass. From earlier experience in Africa, we learned first-hand that these big guys are really tasty. We wanted to take him home for dinner but we were told this was against the rules. (Graeme)

African Eagle soring overhead as we sat eating lunch. (Graeme)