Tanzania: Nongorogoro Crater

When we first told people we were going to Tanzania, they all said that Nongorogoro Crater was their favorite place to visit on safari because it felt like being in the Garden of Eden.  No kidding!

The view from the rim of the crater.

We were greeted immediately by a herd of zebra.  Shana loves zebra!

The kids loved finding animals from The Lion King.  Here is a hyena.

And two warthogs, which our guide called "Pumba."

The view of the boys looking out at the animals.

Another warthog.  Nice tusks!

Shana and Ripley trying to find tree climbing leopards.  Unfortunately, the leopard is the only animal of the Big 5 that we didn't get a chance to see.

We found two prides of lions.  This female was hanging out with the below male, and another female was looking for prey down by the river.

The king lion, or "Simba."

The boys looking at the lion.

The male lion came very close to our car to sit in the shade with his female friend.

We were also so fortunate to see more zebras!

Ripley loved looking for animals using the binoculars.

It was very far away and very hard to see but we spotted a Rhino using our camera zoom.  Sorry it is so blurry!

We also saw thousands of flamingos.

We also saw hippos.  If you didn't look closely, you would have thought it was a rock. 

The days were long so the boys needed some time to recharge.  The loved playing together in the car.

We sat down to lunch by the water across from this pod of hippos.

This cutie kept popping his head up out of the water.  I think he wanted my sandwich.

Our Land Cruiser stopped for lunch.  Can you see the zebra in the background?

On our way out of the crater, we found another pride.  We were so lucky!

It was a truly spectacular day.  We made it out of the crater just before a huge storm rolled in.