The latest chapter in my birthday safari took place in the Serengeti. I think we were extremely lucky not only to see all the animals we did, but to get as close as we did to most of them. I had a short list of animals I wanted to see, understanding that it wasn’t guaranteed. The animals are all wild and could care less who had come to see them.
As we entered the Serengeti I was pretty concerned that I wasn’t going to see much. It reminded me of Southern Saskatchewan, a place where you could watch your dog run away for 3 days. I might see a lion, but would it be worth it if we were half a mile away? To top it off our guide, Gerald, said that the grass was very high this time of year so it would be tough to spot certain animals. There went my hopes of seeing my favourite animal, the Cheetah.
We saw a few of the standards along the way to camp like zebras, giraffes and gazelles, and even some “big 5” animals like buffaloes and elephants. As I was preparing for disappointment we came upon 13 lions feeding on their latest kill. This was foreshadowing of things to come.
We reached camp which was what DawnO called “glamping” because it was quite glamorous to have a flush toilet in our tent. We also had a hot shower which was quite lovely. We were in the last tent which meant we were the closest to all the wild night traffic. Last night a couple of hyenas woke me up because they were messing around outside our tent entrance. Not to worry, like vampires, they vanish before the sunlight can get them.
Day two in the Serengeti was amazing. We got up early in the morning to get a head start on the morning light and right away we saw so many beautiful animals within a few feet of our jeep.
During our afternoon run we finally got to see a Leopard that was eluding us earlier in the day. If you look closely at the next picture you can see a baby leopard climbing around the tree. We also watched a lioness feed on a zebra. Afterwards she walked right past us to get a drink from the nearby watering hole.
This morning we said goodbye to our camp and spent the rest of the morning getting some close-up shots of some exotic animals. Within the hour we had come across two cheetahs. They were chilling out under a tree beside the road.
Later, we captured a few more feline close-ups.
I was recently asked where this trip ranks among all our trips to various places around the world. Top 3. And we haven’t even finished the safari.
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