Tour Day 3 – Serengeti National Park
Full-day game drive in Serengeti National Park, overnight Seronera Campsite.
A whole day for exploring the Serengeti is almost a little too much – one can only spend so much time driving around looking for animals before needing a break.
Thankfully Andrew understands this and he adjusts the schedule by breaking up the day into two parts – an early morning drive and a late afternoon drive. This way we get to see the animals when they’re most active, and when the sun is its strongest and the animals are resting, we get to have a rest too. And better yet, we get a hot lunch… I can’t wait to see what David comes up with.
Eric and I had set our alarms the night before so we would be up and ready on time. But as it so happened we didn’t really need them – our tent was attacked by a Cape buffalo at about 5:00am, which tends to make one wake up pretty fast.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so much a “buffalo attack” as it was a “buffalo tripping over one of our tent’s guide-wires while grazing”, but either way it gave the two of us quite a start and it provided good entertainment for our neighbours who watched it all go down from their “bug-screen TV”.
Our morning drive starts off with as much excitement as our wake-up. We spot a lioness having breakfast and at one point she gets up and “expels” some of it into the tall grass. We can’t believe the smell – we’re probably 10 metres away, but it smells like we’re right beside her! It’s equally disgusting and fascinating, though Eric thinks it’s significantly more disgusting than fascinating…
It’s early and there’s a lot more to see in the park, so we continue on.
Just around the bend from the pooping lion is a herd of Cape buffalo grazing among the trees… I wonder if the one who woke us up is in there?
This line of buffalo is massive and goes on forever, though according to Andrew, it’s just a small herd compared to what you get during the annual migration in the Serengeti.
Why can’t we all just get along?
We haven’t driven far when we come across a grouping of other safari goers... sometimes you don’t see the animals so much as you see the cluster of 4x4’s looking at the animals. We pull up beside the other vehicles notice everyone looking towards a rather large tree in the distance. What could it be?
It’s a leopard!
Yes, it’s hard to see but the tail hanging down from the top right branch is what gives it away. This is the first time we’ve seen a leopard in a tree since starting our safaris in Africa and even though it’s far away, it’s still pretty cool.
The morning drive continues to be exciting as we see giraffes, elephants, gazelles, topis, red hartebeests and much, much more. Our “taking care of business” break takes place at a hippo pool, much to Eric’s joy since hippos are one of his favourites. We spend time trying to count all of them while taking in the sounds of them laughing and farting…
On our way back to camp we come upon a large herd of elephants crossing the road. We give them an extra-wide berth as two of the males seem to be jostling for position....
Seriously, why can’t we all just get along?
When we arrive back at camp once again we are exhausted but ecstatic.
From 12:30-4:00pm we enjoy a hot meal – David has made tilapia, vegetables & chips – and have a small siesta. We even manage to get in an early shower so as to avoid the evening rush. There are only two showers and toilets for a campsite that sleeps at least 60 people, so I’m sure you can imagine the logistics of this.
Our evening drive is every bit as successful as our morning drive, if not more.
We see a spotted hyena beginning its evening of scouting.
We’ve seen hyenas before, but just not so close and for so long – they’re usually running away from us.
We also pass a pair of secretary birds on our way to see our very first, not yet seen on safari, we can’t believe our luck, CHEETAH!!!
Both Eric and I are unbelievably excited. We had pretty much given up on seeing a cheetah because they’re very elusive and the Serengeti is so big. But not this time…
Our drive wraps up with us watching a band of bandit banded mongoose scurrying to their nightly meeting… try saying this three times fast.
While David provides his best meal yet – pumpkin soup, beef stew, vegetables and the Tanzanian staple of ugali…
… Eric provides the entertainment.
Right now Eric’s being just like his father – all I want is a nice photo and this is what I get...
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