NGORONGORO CRATER
Encompassing
three spectacular volcanic craters, the Olduvai Gorge, huge expanses of
savannah, forest and bush land, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the
flagship of Tanzania'stourism industry.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), measuring 8,300 square
kilometres, is also the only place on earth where mankind and wild
animals co-exist in harmony. The NCA became a Man and Biosphere Reserve
in 1971 and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.
Originally part of the Serengeti National Park when the latter
was established by the British in 1951, in 1959 the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) was formed, separating NCA from
Serengeti. Land within the area is multi-use, providing protection
status for wildlife while also permitting human habitation. Its
uniqueness lays in the fact that the NCA is where man, livestock and
wild animals live in peace: Maasai cattle can sometimes be seen grazing
alongside zebras on Ngorongoro's grassland.
Apart from conserving world heritage, Ngorongoro plays a major
role in national development. "We pay 30 per cent corporate tax, 3 per
cent tourism tax, and remit 10 per cent of our earnings to the
treasury", explains Bernard Murunya, the NCAA's Chief Conservator. "We
also give over US$125,000 to the local District Council as well as
supporting the area's Pastoralist Council, in addition to funding
various community projects such as schools, hospitals, veterinary
services and road construction," he adds.
World Heritage site
The NCCA's wildlife and land has been a UNESCO site since 1979
and now its cultural heritage is to be included. The NCA is the only
site in the world with a high concentration of wildlife living in
harmony with human communities. The multiple land use systems in this
area are among the earliest to be established around the world as a
means of reconciling human development and conserving natural resources.
The
NCA also contains numerous paleontological, archaeological, and anthropological sites of exceptional quality.
The Main Crater
Had
it not become the world's sixth-largest unbroken caldera, then what is
now known as the Ngorongoro crater could have been a towering volcanic
mountain, as high as Kilimanjaro.
The crater is the flagship tourism feature for the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area. It is a large, unbroken, un-flooded caldera, formed
when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed some three million years
ago. The Ngorongoro crater sinks to a depth of 610 metres, with a base
area covering 260 square kilometres. The height of the original volcano
must have ranged between 4,500 to 5,800 metres high. Apart from the main
caldera, Ngorongoro also has two other volcanic craters: Olmoti and
Empakai, the former famous for its stunning waterfalls, and the latter
holding a deep lake and lush, green walls.
On the leeward of the Ngorongoro highlands protrudes the iconic
Oldonyo Lengai, an active volcano and Tanzania's third highest peak
after Kilimanjaro and Meru. Known to local people as the Mountain of
God, Mount Lengai's last major eruption occurred in 2007. At the
mountain's foot is Lake Natron, East Africa's major breeding ground for
flamingoes.
Flora and Fauna: Wildlife
The area contains over 25,000 large animals including 26 black
rhinoceros. There are 7,000 wildebeests, 4,000 zebras, 3,000 eland and
3,000 Grant's and Thomson's gazelles. The crater also has the densest
known population of lions, numbering 62. Higher up, in the rainforests
of the crater rim, are leopards, about 30 large elephants, mountain
reedbuck and more than 4,000 buffalos, spotted hyenas, jackals, rare
wild dogs, cheetahs, and other felines.
The legendary annual wildebeest and zebra migration also passes
through Ngorongoro, when the 1.7 million ungulates move south into the
area in December then move out heading north in June. The migrants
passing through the plains of the reserve include 1.7 million
wildebeest, 260,000 zebra, and 470,000 gazelles. The Lake Ndutu area to
the west has significant cheetah and lion populations. Over 500 species
of bird have been recorded within the NCA. These include ostrich, white
pelican, and greater and lesser flamingo on Lake Magadi within the
crater, Lake Ndutu, and in the Empakaai Crater Lake, where a vast bird
population can be observed.
Flora and Fauna: Vegetation cover
Ngorongoro is home to lush green, rain-watered vegetation, as
well as desert plants. The area has uncultivated lowland vegetation,
arid and semi-arid plant communities, abundant short grass used for
grazing, and highland forests.
Scrub heath, grasslands, high open moorland, and the remains of
dense evergreen forests cover the steep slopes of the crater, while
highland trees including Peacock Flower, Yellow-Wood, Kousso (Hagenia
abyssinica), and Sweet Olive can also be found. There are also extensive
stretches of pure bamboo on Oldeani Mountain, and Pencil Cedar on
Makarut Mountain to the west. Dove- weeds dominate the lower slopes,
while the upland woodlands contain Red Thorn Acacia and Gum Acacia that
are critical for protecting the watershed.
The crater basin is covered by open short grass plains with fresh
and brackish water lakes, marshes, swamps, and two patches of Acacia
woodland. The Lerai Forest is home to the Yellow Fever tree and Acacia,
while Laiyanai Forest has Pillar Wood and Acacia Lahai. The undulating
plains to the west are grass-covered with occasional Umbrella Acacia and
Commiphora Africana trees. Blackthorn Acacia and Zebrawood dominate in
the drier conditions beside Lake Eyasi. These extensive grasslands and
bush are rich, relatively untouched by cultivation, and support very
large animal populations.
Where human life began
At far end of the NCA stands the Olduvai Gorge archaeological
site, widely regarded as the cradle of mankind and the most important
prehistoric site in the world. It is at Olduvai where remains of
Zinjanthropus, the world's first humans, were discovered by Dr Louis and
Mary Leakey over 50 years ago. The earliest known specimens of the
human genus, Homo-habilis, as well as early hominids such as
Paranthropus boisei have also been found there. The Olduvai Gorge is a
steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley, stretching along eastern
Africa. The windswept Olduvai is about thirty miles long, lying within
the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro highlands. The gorge is named after
oldupaai, the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant.
Millions of years ago, the site comprised of a large lake, the
shores of which were covered with successive deposits of volcanic ash.
Some 500,000 years ago seismic forces diverted a nearby stream, which
began to cut down into the sediments, revealing the seven main layers in
the walls of the gorge. Based on fossil evidence found at the Olduvai
Gorge, it is believed that various hominid species have been occupying
the crater continuously for the past three million years of Ngorongoro's
existence. Native hunter and gatherers who initially lived in the
vicinity were replaced by pastoralists a few thousand years ago.
Hotels and accommodation
The area has some of the best hotels and lodges in Tanzania, such
as the classic Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, built in 1939, and now operated
by the And Beyond group of South Africa, along with the Ngorongoro
Rhino Lodge, built in 1942, the Ndutu Lodge, built in 1946, and the
Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, dating back to 1971.
Newer establishments include the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, built in the mid- 1990s. The six facilities,
all located along the crater rim, have a total bed capacity of 560. The
NCAA also has 16 campsite areas. Three more firms, the Whitesands, Kibo
Safaris, and Coastal travels intend to establish other facilities within
NCA; the new entries will boost the area bed capacity to
1,000.
Famous visitors
About 450,000 tourists visit Ngorongoro every year, accounting
for 60 per cent of the average 770,000 tourists visiting Tanzania per
annum. Famous visitors include former US President Bill Clinton, the
Queen of Denmark Magrethe II, former American Human Right Activist the
Rev Jesse Jackson, Hollywood film star Chris Tucker, John Wayne, Prince
William, and the entire delegation attending the 2008 Leon Sullivan
Summit which took place in Arusha.
Some scenes from the Oscar winning Out of Africa and John Wayne's Hatari were filmed in Ngorongoro.
Conclusion
In addition to the above-mentioned attractions, visitors can also
sample cultural tourism or eco-tourism in various Maasai bomas and
settlements. Gibbs Farm, located near Karatu along the NCA perimeters,
specialises in this. There are also the Endoro River nature trail
expeditions, conducted within the Northern Highland Forest Reserve,
where visitors can see elephant caves, waterfalls (150 metres high),
enjoy bird watching and learn about local flora.
