Serengeti Nationl Park

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13/09/08 - 16/09/08

On the way to the Serengeti from Lake Manyra we passed through Ngorongoro Crater wildlife reserve. As usuall the road was very rough as we climbed up over the range and down onto the open plains of the Serengeti. We passed through lots of Maasai land and was astonished to see boys as young as 6 years old tending the heards of cattle and goats as they graze. Passing by one herd a cow decided to jump in front of the 4WD, we were going slowly but still hit it side on (does this bring back memories Michael) the cow rolled over once got back to its feet and walked off. To add insult to injury the young herds man walked over to it and slapped it on the rump with his stick. The Maasai are herdsman and do not grow crops or hunt wildlife, they graze their cattle and goats all day, and lock them up at night away from preditors.
We finally reached the gate into the Serengeti and the road seamed to get a little better. We made our way to the northern end of the park taking time to spot many animals on the way. These animals included, cheetah, the migration herds (wildebeest and zebra) in great numbers, elephant, giraffe, hyeena, baboon, Thompsons gazelle, impala and buffalo.
We spent 2 days exploring the northern part of the Serengeti, finding 4 of the big five. These being male lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and the one we are yet to find is the rhino. We hope to see the rhino at Ngorongoro. We saw many lions in the 2 days we spent in the this section. The scenery in the park was beautiful, and we haven't missed a sunset.
Our guide, Davis, has been teaching the girls some African songs, which they enjoyed singing along to at the dinner entertainment in the lodge.
At breakfast on the last morning at this particular lodge, a couple of cheeky monkeys slipped into the dining area and sneaked up to the buffet stand to steal a couple of bread rolls, and made a hastey exit back to their treetops. The staff were less than impressed, but Sophie and Brianna thought it was really funny.
Our last day in the Serengti was spent in the central area where we found an a great number of lions and even watched a lion stalking some zebras. This was a great experience. The zebras got away in the end as she was not an experienced hunter, according to Davis. He said she was easily close enough to have been successful, but gave up the chase too soon.
The accommodation on our last night was very flash as we were upgraded from two rooms to a suite, so we could all be together. This also ment we had the access to a bar fridge full of beer, wine and soft drink at no cost.

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Comments

[Samantha Towns]

Thanks for sharing
What a wonderful trip you are having. thanks for sharing with us. This is the closest we will ever get to Africa.