‘Too many vehicles hinder Ngorongoro Crater’s scenery’

TOURISTS visiting the legendary wildlife filled crater in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are complaining of high number of vehicles populating the caldera at one given time, saying they interfere with the natural scenery

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is so far the leading tourist destination in Tanzania, attracting around 600,000 visitors per year; all of these tourists apparently need vehicles to get around in their game viewing experience, but it seems each visitor wants to be alone in the crater, the sight of others makes them queasy.

It is being estimated that at least 450,000 tourists visit the crater annually and these ride in an average of 400 cars daily during peak season, the sight of these machines, all being large Four-Wheel- Drives take toll on the otherwise beautiful natural setting in the caldera.

The Conservator at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), Dr Fred Manongi, seems to have taken note of the situation; “It is very funny that, while tourists want to go down the crater, they do not want others in there; still we have found a way of solving the problem without affecting the number of visitors here,” he said.

According to Dr Manongi, the best way out so far is to redraw the driving tracks inside the crater to separate incoming and outgoing vehicles reducing the possibility of groups meeting each other while game viewing inside the vast caldera which has all types of wildlife, except giraffes but that can also be spotted on the rim of the crater.

Ngorongoro Crater which is one of the Seven World Heritage Sites found in Tanzania is the only place in the world where the rare and endangered Black Rhinos can be seen grazing freely in their natural environment.

Elsewhere, like in the ‘Serengeti’ and ‘Mkomazi’ National Parks, these animals are kept under special enclosure to protect them from horn-seeking poachers and other illegal hunters.

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