We bounced along rough dirt roads in the Landcruisers as sunrise came on. It was the rare clear and dry morning up on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater and we were thrilled with the views into the giant caldera. The air was crisp and cool as we made our way down in, fully on the lookout for critters. We began to see countless Cape buffalo, gazillions of gazelles, and absurd numbers of zebra. We saw a set of lions getting frisky between catnaps. Big solitary bull elephants marched to and fro in the distance. Hippos were relatively hyper, moving from one mud bog to another and performing barrel rolls in the soup. Ostriches and Kori Bustards strutted about. We saw hyenas and jackals, wart hogs and a few thousand gnu. A picnic lunch and some French pressed fresh coffee prepared us for a final flurry of game viewing. We saw a lone and distant rhino to make it a “big four day” (elephant+lion+Cape buffalo+rhino = The big five minus a leopard) and then Ibrahim and Francis expertly piloted the Landcruisers up the steep switchback road to the 8,500 feet crater rim and we headed back to the tranquility of the Plantation Lodge in late afternoon. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn