The Ngorongoro Crater is game viewing gone crazy and it is not surprising that with is one of Tanzania’s major tourist draw-cards. Within the crater rim a daily wildlife drama is played out as large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby lions, leopards, elephants and black rhinos. Outside of the crater a similar drama continues in a more spread out manner with Masai herdsmen thrown into the mix.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Authority area is part of the larger Serengeti ecosystem, it adjoins the Serengeti National Park, merging into the Southern Plains. The south and west of the area are volcanic highlands including Lake Natron ,the active volcano Ol Donyo Lengai and the lesser known Empakai Crater; the southern and eastern boundaries are defined by the rim of the East African Rift wall.
It is most famous for the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most well-known wildlife areas in the world. The Crater itself is the world's largest inactive and intact volcanic caldera, formed when it exploded and collapsed in on itself some two to three million years ago. The floor of the Crater covers 260 km2 (100 square miles) and is mostly covered by grasslands with two small wooded areas and a seasonal salt lake in the centre of the crater; the lake is known by two names, Lake Magadi or Lake Makat. The other major water source is the Ngoitokitok, near the eastern crater wall.
The Serengeti is one of the most famous wildlife areas in the world and home to the annual wildebeest migration. The Serengeti National Park itself covers 14,750 km2 of grassland plains, open savannah, riverine forests and woodlands. It lies in the north of Tanzania, bordered by Kenya and the Masai Mara National Reserve in the north, the Ngorongoro Crater Area to the southeast, the Maswa Game Reserve to the south west and the Loliondo Game Controlled Area area to the east. Together, all these areas form the larger Serengeti ecosystem which almost all see the wildebeest herds at some point during their annual circuit.
The northern Serengeti area of lush, rolling grassland and tree-lined watercourses is the most northerly point of the migration journey, together with Kenya's Masai Mara. During the dry season from July to October, the herds mass on both banks of the Mara River, frequently crossing - and braving the crocs - in response to local weather patterns that only they seem to understand.
Unlike the southern plains of the Serengeti that dry out, forcing all but the hardiest of species to leave, this area remains lush and green. There's a collective sigh of relief from the resident game when the one and a half million migrating wildebeest - and the madness that follows them - leave town for a few months. And the resident game in the area is spectacular. Plains game in the form of zebra, topi, gazelles, impala, buffalo and giraffe all frequent the area throughout the year. Lion are rarely far away and leopard, ever present, but always elusive, stalk the rocky kopjes and river lines.
Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in East Africa, covering an area of about 20,200 square kilometres in what's called "the southern circuit”. It's in the middle of Tanzania and part of an extensive ecosystem which includes the Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve and other protected areas.
The great Ruaha River runs through the park, flowing along its south-eastern margin; it's here where the game viewing is at its best with the river being the main source of water at certain times of the year. The landscape is vast and wild with hills dotted with baobabs, rocky escarpments and open savannah; it also has less camps and lodges than most other parks, despite its size.
Ruaha is famous for its large population of elephant, with about 10,000 roaming in the park, and this is believed to be the highest concentration of elephant in East Africa . You can also see both the Greater and Lesser Kudu here, Sable and Roan antelope, as well as other plains game like giraffe, zebras and eland. Other animals in the park include lion, leopard, cheetah, bat-eared foxes and jackals and you might see the endangered wild dog. Crocodiles inhabit the Ruaha and Mzombe rivers, as well as a number of other reptiles.
It is a paradise for birders, with more than 571 species, some of them known to be migrants from within as well as outside of Africa. Migrating species from Europe, Asia, the Australian rim and Madagascar have been recorded in the park.
