Blogs from Serengeti National Park, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 5

Wild Kingdom Overload Syndrome. Is there such a thing? Because I think I've got it. Having spent the last few weeks in Rwanda and Uganda, getting soaked by rain while viewing animals, it was nice to dry out on the vast plains of Africa. We Mario Andretti’d it down the dust filled roads while droves of impala attempt to become safari-jeep hood ornaments. At the helm, Samson, our local guide, hired to escort us around and track animals. The Serengeti park entrance sign hangs oddly eschew as tumbleweeds bounce by, much to my delight. I don’t know about you, but when I decided to go on safari i was sure I’d see a few animals, I had no idea it would be ALL the animals. I am also amongst my beloved Australians and the Canadian, but ... read more

Day 8 After the excitement of a leopard the night before, we were keen to set off and see if our luck was going to hold out. We set off from the lodge at 8am for a morning game drive armed with our picnic lunch. We immediately saw monkeys, and the "usual", which sounds terrible, but the zebra, impala, warthogs, giraffes and gazelles are everywhere, so you stop getting as excited about them. We did stop when they were particularly close to the road if we thought we could get a good photo. Our guide was very accommodating and didn't mind stopping the jeep whenever we asked him to. We also saw a couple of antelopes we hadn't seen before from the same family as topi's and wildebeest - a reedbuck and a hartebeest, darker and ... read more

Geo: -2.4492, 34.5932I am touched by this beautiful world and our exploration of it this past 7 months. As our friend expressed in one of our blogs, the universe is treating us with kindness.We had reports of other people who went on safari and whose experience was marred by the behaviour of one of their group members and/or the group dynamics. We were so lucky with our safari-mates: Jim, myself, Jackie and Irina - a compatible group who collectively valued sustained time observing and photographing wildlife and scenery.Day 1Those first glimpses of wildlife are indescribable! From the odd looking lizard-like ‘Go-Away' bird to that first sighting of the majestic lion, it just got better and better. We travelled from Arusha to Tanangire National Park, staying in a campground surrounded by a cement wall to keep the ... read more

Frokosten ble inntatt med sebra og elefant som tilskuere (iallefall nesten), mens vi spiste hørte vi tre som knekte og lyder bare en elefant kan lage. Litt etterpå sto elefanten fornøyd å spiste av treet sitt. Det var ikke mange minuttene etter vi satt oss i safaribilen at fire løver rundt en død sebra å nød dagens første måltid. Et spesielt skue, samtidig vet vi at slik er dyreverden. Fra hotellet til selve safariområdet i serengeti er det nesten to timer å kjøre, men dagen har på langt nær vært kjedelig. I dag har vi sett mer dyr enn noen av de andre dagene, helt tilfeldig kom vi over en leopard. Først lå han i treet sitt å slappet av, men ganske så plutselig var han på bakken. Dette er svært sjelden det skjer, iallefall slik ... read more

From our quiet time in the Selous, we flew to the other extreme and hit the busiest part of the Northern Circuit. We were booked on a private tour with our one driver to take Caleb and I around the parks in our own car (as a result of my fussiness in the safari-planning stage in wanting to go to particular areas and stay in one place for more than a day). Our initial few days in the North were a shock to the system - driving through busy towns, on horrible roads and staying at lodges with heaps of tourists (in contrast to our boutique camp in the middle of nowhere in the South). We drove through busy Lake Manyara National Park en route to our accommodation near the Ngorongoro Conservation Area - no tree ... read more