Serengeti, Tanzania

Serengeti, Tanzania

We left a bit late on Thursday morning as driver Gav had a bout of malaria again. But once he could stand up again, off we went. After a couple of long days driving we arrived in Arusha, the leaving point for the Safari drives in Ngorogoro Crater and the Serengeti. So on Saturday morning we took 3 safari vehicles and headed out to find some animals. We went past the crater and onto the Serengeti. We saw buffalo, zebra, wilderbeest and giraffes before lunch. The afternoon was pretty good but we hadnt seen anything amazing until near the end when we found a pride of lions eating something and then rolling around after a satisfying feed. There were also some cute cubs there. Then on the way back to the campsite a leopard ran across the road in front of us. Leopard are rarely seen so we were very lucky, though no time to get a picture cos it went and hid behind a bush. In the evening a few of us went to a bar and watched the Champions League final. The place was packed and there was a great atmosphere.



We got at 6am the next morning and went for another drive around the Serengeti. We saw hyenas chasing wilderbeest and a few single elephants - they are huge! Just before lunch we stopped to watch a giraffe that was about 50 metres away. But then he actually walked all the to the truck and started eating from the tree next to us. Then he walked into the road and then crossed over. It was fantastic watching him so closely. We were all very happy about that. I would have been happy with the $430 cost of the trip just for what we had already seen....but after lunch.....we started to drive out of the Serengeti towards the crater. On the plain to the left was a herd of about 50 elephants gathered together and being marshalled by a huge bull. We watched them for a while then moved along to another large herd on the right. As we sat there they came towards us, eating as them came closer. They were right next to the truck, you could hear the grass and plants tearing as the elephants tore it with their trunks and you could hear them munching it. There were a couple of elephants behind the truck, one alongside and lots ahead of us on the grass and on the road. It was absolutely unreal. We were speechless. After about 30 minutes they moved away. Definitely one of the best days ever! We then carried onto the (volcanic) crater and to the campsite where there were 3 elephants and some zebra happily wandering around.


Next morning we headed down into the crater. We saw some lions near the lake, some elephants and rhinos far away. So i can say that i have seen the Big5. (its what everyone talks about on safari) Elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo are the Big5. After lunch we drove back to Arusha with big smiles and happy memories and some great photos and video.

Crossed the border yesterday from Tanzania to Kenya.