We continued down into the crater and drove through a little part of the park and made our way to a stream. We saw a pride of lions who had eaten something earlier that morning (we could see blood around their mouths). My favorite was a mother with her four cubs.
They gave themselves and each other baths and came very, very close to our vehicle.
After we had watched them for awhile, we decided to keep moving in search of the elusive black rhino! We drove for awhile and eventually came upon an interesting scene. A buffalo had been attacked by lions, and had managed to make it into a pool of water. The lions wouldn't go in the water, but a massive pack of hyenas would...
Eventually, the lions came back over and the hyenas cleared out. But then another buffalo came over to try to help the wounded one, and the lions decided to go after the newcomer.
The newcomer lost a tail, but otherwise made it out ok... The other buffalo was not so lucky... We watched until people had to go to the bathroom, so we made it to the service area and then on to lunch. We had lunch around a little lake that was full of hippos!
We again decided to take our chances trying to spot black rhinos, and made our way down another dusty road. The wind had really picked up after lunch, and the result was nasty dust that got everywhere... But eventually, way off in the distance, we saw what we were looking for: a black rhino! I was lucky enough to get a shot of it marking its territory!
We wanted to see if we could find one that was closer to the road, so we kept on moving in hopes of spotting one at a closer distance. We saw two that were way far off in the distance, and then another one lying down a little closer to us. After that, we didn't think it was possible that we could get any luckier, and then as we were driving, a cheetah crossed the road right in front of us and began stalking a gazelle (that soon spotted the cheetah and took off - no meal for the cheetah).
After the cheetah watching, we headed back to the lodge, had a shower to wash off all the dust and dirt (I am not sure that my long hair is going to survive this trip...), and then a cocktail party before dinner. At dinner, we ate and then were entertained by a singing performance by a number of the lodge staff. Then it was time for bed, since tomorrow we have to be up early to head to the Serengeti!
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Location:Ngorongoro Conservation Area
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