Scenic Helicopter Transfer
- Entamanu Ngorongoro to Serengeti Safari Camp -
This excursion starts with an early morning collection from your lodge, we head up through the famed Ngorongoro crater and fly around the rim of this ancient caldera. We will continue through the cool Crater Highlands and over the Rift Escarpment to Lake Natron in the hot Valley floor. As we fly up the lake you will see its ever changing colours - red, purples and oranges, a consequence of its algae rich water which attracts numerous flocks of flamingos. We will continue on to fly around the coolest active volcano in the world, Ol Doinyo Lengai. We land here for our picnic and walk along the edge of the crater to peer into the rim. Climbing back up the Rift Valley we will fly over Empakai Crater before following the Crater highlands into the Serengeti. For the last leg of the journey we fly over these vast plains, here you might be lucky enough to spot the wildebeest migration before landing at the Ndutu Airstrip where your Nomad car and guide will be waiting for you.
NGORONGORO CRATER HIGHLANDS
The Ngorongoro Crater is estimated to be 2.5 million years old, it is the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. It stretches an astounding 20km across, with a forested rim that rises 600 meters from the floor. The caldera has a rich biodiversity, with abundant wildlife coexisting with semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists.
Plate tectonics, volcanism, landslides, erosion and deposition are all very evident in this view of the volcanic Crater Highlands along the East African Rift in Tanzania. The Crater Highlands rise far above the adjacent savannas, capture moisture from passing air masses, and hosts extensive montane forests. Over time, streams erode downwards deeply dissecting the volcanic slopes.
LAKE NATRON
This primeval-soup like shallow alkaline lake is high in cynobacteria, an algae that releases a chemical which damages the cells, nervous system and liver of most of the organisms that consume it. These salt loving microorganisms thrive in this alkaline water, creating the rich red colour. The lake is a flamingo paradise as they do not have to contend with any predators and can feed on the algae, as a result 75% of the worlds population of lesser flamingo are born on the shores of Lake Natron.
OL DOINYO LENGAI
On the southern end of Lake Natron stands the conical mountain of Ol Doinyo Lengai - the “Mountain of God” in Maasai. The only active volcano on the Eastern Rift.
It is the coolest volcano in the world, being the only known volcano to erupt natrocarbonatite (sodium-rich) lava, which is half the temperature of typical glowing basaltic lava. Its lava fountains harden midair, then shatter like glass. Ol Doinyo Lengai rise about 2,000 meters from the Eastern Rift floor to a summit elevation of 2,890 meters.
We land on the dormant side and walk across to Lengai to peer into the active volcano. Watch as the crater bubbles and spits before returning back to the helicopter for a picnic with incredible vistas all around.
