Ngoro Ngoro is the sound cowbells make. At least this is one of the possible origins of the name Ngorongoro. These bells you hear right away when descending the 600 meters from the crater rim. Some Maasai herdsmen are leading their herds down for water. These herds consist of dozens if not hundreds of cows.

On the crater floor, we encounter only birds at first, such as cranes and the sacred ibis. The major salt lake also holds numerous flamingos. Unfortunately, you cannot come close, but a pink glow can be seen. Not far away is a mud bath full of hippos. These are more lively than the ones we saw in the Serengeti. They perform a full circle of 360 degrees with their fat bodies, so they get completely covered by the mud.

On a plain, our driver suddenly spots a rhinoceros. There are only 22 of them in the crater, so it's a rare appearance. He is moving among a group of wildebeest and buffaloes. With this (black) rhino, we have completed seeing the "Big Five" of predators in two days (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros).

Another highlight comes from a family of hyena just along the road. We first see a male and a pregnant female hurrying in front of our jeep. A little further it shows that they were on their way to their little ones, which are half-hidden in a pit. There are three kids in all. The whole family then huddles together nicely in the pit which is full of mud. A few meters away a large warthog is buried in the same way.

After lunch, we drive through a part of the 260 square kilometers large crater which seems to hold fewer animals. On the crater wall, there are huge herds of wildebeest, just like ants when seen from a distance. Also, there are zebras, as they are everywhere.

In a corner of the crater floor is a spot with higher grass and trees. Here we see lions again. Six of them stretched out in the grass. And then four females with two children. The latter are close to the road and look at the visitors in the jeeps. Their mothers, however, all look the other way: they have their eyes on two zebras. One lioness slowly creeps through the high grass. Two others remain on the lookout. The fourth has started a large move to the zebras from the other side to surprise them. We continue to look for a long time, but it doesn't come to an attack. Lions need to be very close to their prey to be successful, they then jump on top of it by surprise.