In the wild: Our 5-day Tanzanian Safari
After a well deserved 7-hr sleep in the comforts of our bed after our Kilimanjaro Climb (finally – No.More.Tents), our day started early with a sumptuous breakfast comprising French toast, plantain soup, passion fruit juice, omelette, and Tanzanian coffee. We met our fellow hikers, bid them goodbye, and got ready for our next adventure – The Great Tanzanian Safari!
Our driver/guide, Mr Benny Mroso, picked us up at 7:30am in a 4×4 LandCruiser. We had the entire vehicle all to ourselves 🙂 It was a 4 hour drive to the park from our hotel. We kept discussing our Kili adventure, which now seemed like a dream come true. The triumphant talk gave way to the occasional slumber and power-nap – our body, especially our knees were finally thanking us. Little did we know what awaited us in the next 5 days would be an icing on the cake. Ok, lets dive right in.
Located right below the cliffs of the Manyara Escarpment, Lake Manyara National Park is a paradise for bird-watchers and offers breathtaking views of varied ecosystems. The entrance reminded us of the gates to Jurassic Park 🙂 After stopping for a bit to get tickets, we started our drive into the park, led by Benny, who was our new rafiki (friend in Swahili). We were welcomed by bush plains, baobab strewn cliffs, algae-streaked hot springs, and troops of baboons! In fact, it has the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world – the locals call it the Baboon National park 😛
The sightings included pelicans, flamingoes, storks, wildebeest, hippos, and giraffe. We drove around hoping catch a glimpse of Lake Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions who make the ancient mahogany and elegant acacias their home. We managed to spot one hidden in a mahogany but didn’t find a decent spot to take a good photo. What was interesting was as soon as our driver spotted it and informed other drivers via radio, within no time, dozens of other vehicles gathered there in no time. The half-day game-viewing at Lake Manyara was a perfect teaser of the grand spectacle that awaited us in the next 4 days! We drove an hour towards Serengeti and spent the night at Karatu Simba Lodge. The resort was surrounded by vast expanses of lush green fields. We could hear hyenas and elephants at night. It was our first night in the Jungle 🙂
Days 2 and 3 were spent in Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti plains are vast and endless, and harbor the most dramatic spectacle on earth – the wildebeest migration, an annual cyclic phenomenon in the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystem, where over one million wildebeest engage in a 1,000 km long circular trek in a unique scenic setting of endless plains dotted with rocky outcrops (kopjes) interspersed with rivers and woodlands. Even though we had planned our trip such that it would coincide with the start of the migration season in Serengeti, the change in rain-cycle (and there are people who still don’t believe in climate change!) meant the herds were well into northern Serengeti by then. However, we witnessed plenty of action over two days, and stayed right in the heart of it at the Serengeti Angata Camp. Game-viewing comprised elands, topis, gazelles, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, elephants, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, and the majestic lions. Besides mammals, a variety of colorful birds throng the place. Highlights included a leopard jumping from the cliff of one kopje to another to scare away a hyena, another climbing down from a tree, a cheetah marking its territory, tree-climbing lions putting up a show for us, and a pride of lions basking in the sun. The aesthetic game-viewing experience at Serengeti is unparalleled.
Lithe and Tawny
Her King, His Queen 
Tree-climbing lion cubs 
Copy Cats! 
After an early evening game drive on our 3rd day, we headed out of Serengeti toward the Ngorongoro Conservation area (NCA). Just as we were about to exit the park, Serengeti provided us one final moment to treasure – a cheetah feeding on a fresh kill!
The NCA is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that takes its name from the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera, formed two to three million years ago. This crater has the highest density of animals (in a natural enclosure) anywhere in the world. It was recently voted one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. The crater rim is also infested with herd of animals including zebra, elephants and giraffe. While we were driving along the rim to our lodge, we were lucky to see a tower of 12-15 giraffes! Along the route, there were expansive views of the crater at several points. Our accommodation for the night – the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge is strategically located at possibly the best view point to catch the sunset. While the last rays of the sun kissed the crater below, we had a couple unannounced visitors right outside our glass windows – Zebras, or Punda Milia as the locals would call them!
We started our descent to the craters in our vehicle early morning on Day 4. It was at least 10 degrees cooler in the crater below. There were herds of wildebeest and zebra everywhere. We also saw a group of hyenas in the first couple hours. Our futile search for the elusive rhino went on for the next 2 hrs or so. Benny, an expert spotter, drove us to every possible point where there was a high chance to spot one, but we were just unlucky. However, we got to see a pool full of hippos basking in the sun.
As we were about to make our way back to the crater rim, we saw a couple vehicles rushing to a secluded area. We quickly followed them knowing they had spotted something interesting. There were two lions, a male and a female, lying in shade on one side of the dirt road. On the other side, there was a herd of zebra grazing. Lions usually don’t hunt in the sun, we hoped we might get lucky 😛 And, we almost did! The lioness stealthily crossed the road and hid behind a rock with her gaze fixed on a lone zebra. The zebra was at least a thousand feet away, unaware of the lion couple lurking nearby. We knew the lioness would make a dash for it as soon as she saw a chance. The lion meanwhile was lying next to her – waiting for her to hunt. 5…10…15 minutes…still nothing. Finally, we saw the lioness slowly raise her neck and started walking briskly towards the zebra. Probably bored of waiting and disturbed by a swarm of flies, the lion woke up with a start which the zebra noticed. Within no time, it galloped away and steered clear of the impending danger. Zebra 1, Lions 0. Well! Noticing the shade of the vehicles, the lion made its way towards us. He then decided to catch a siesta next to our landcruiser. It was right next to our window. We’d never seen a lion from such a close proximity – It was huge, and with its black mane, it reminded us of Scar from the Lion King!
We had our lunch in our jeep while the lion lay there for a few more minutes. We then started making our way back to the rim of the crater toward Tarangire National Park – our last stop!
We reached Tarangire National Park around dusk. On our way, we saw a herd of elephants walking into the setting sun – it was pure bliss to see the giants calling it a day.
We left our resort early on Day 5. This park is full of elephants – and they come in all sizes 🙂 The highlight of the day was a herd of elephants drinking water from a river bed. There were two baby elephants who kept running in circles, falling, getting up and then running again. Since they were too little to use their trunk to drink water, they knelt and dipped their mouths directly into the water – Cuteness overload! We also spotted colorful birds such as the lilac breasted roller, many giraffes and herds of gallopping zebra. Oh, we were also bitten by dozens of tsetse flies during the game viewing. Insect repellents hardly helped!
We headed back to our lodge (Tarangire Angati Camp) for a hot lunch, took a shower, and left for the airport around 3pm. On our way back, we caught one last glimpse of Mt Kilimanjaro, and we bid her goodbye 🙂
Great pictures, makes one want to see it all!