Our next adventure after recovering from Kili was to book a safari. We ended up booking a 4 day, 3 night safari to the Serengeti and to Ngorongoro. Four days later we were back in Moshi and had spotted the Big Five: Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo and Leopard; along with many other animals.
Day 1 - We left Moshi around 9am in our safari pop-top jeep and headed for the Serengeti as it would take about 8 hours to get there. We passed through Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and multiple Massai Mara tribal areas as well as other local villages along the way. The Massai are definitely some of the more interesting to watch. They all wear red (some blue and purple as well), the females wear loads of earrings and necklaces and the males start herding cattle, goat and donkeys at a very young age. We saw some boys about 5 years old with herds of goats, or course their goats are usually the ones all over the place as the kids are fighting each other with their herding sticks (or napping). We also saw one older boy pick up a rock, throw it and hit the exact goat he wanted as it was getting to close to the road, herding is truly their life and they do it every day. We got into the Serengeti around 5pm and went on our first evening game drive. We learned real quick to go where other cars were and were able to see a leopard (which are one of the hardest to see) on our first drive. We also saw some hippos (they smell horrible), grand gazelles and thompson gazelles, dik diks, warthogs, hyenas, zebras, giraffes and a few other animals that night. We got to camp by 7:30pm (already dark by that point), laughed as the guide tried to set the tent up, ate some dinner and got in bed. The camp site isn't enclosed and the animals tend to know this so the that night we heard a bunch of hyenas and other animals going through the trash and trying to scavenge for leftovers. It made for a long night of not leaving the tent and hoping nothing joined us in our tent.
Day 2 - We woke up the next morning, ate some breakfast and hit the roads for what would be a full day of game driving. Our first task of the morning was to find the wildebeest migration. On the way there we had to take a pit stop for an oil change and to get the tires checked, which ended up taking about an hour to do it all. During that time we sat around and watched some monkeys, giraffes and mongoose that live in the staff area as it's safe and there is always a food supply. After a few hours of driving and seeing some of the same animals plus some crocodiles, we finally found some wildebeest migrating. We didn't get to see the full million plus that migrate each year but we did see two migrating groups of about 3,000 to 5,000 each. It was amazing to see all those at one time. After that we set off to eat some lunch and find some more animals. The rest of the day we were able to find some lions looking like they attacking each other. Turns out that they were in their week of mating, and we figured the male pissed the female off, although it was pretty neat to hear a lion roar in the wild. We saw another leopard, this time in his tree eating his kill from earlier that day (a gazelle). We also found a herd of elephants, around 20 with a few baby's who are super cute with their not so little selves and their trunks. We spotted yet another leopard (maybe the same one from the first night) and of course we saw all the other 'common' animals that live in the Serengeti that we had already seen along with a bunch of different birds. Once the day had ended we went back to camp, ate some dinner and got to bed. This night they put the trash cans in the enclosed food area so it was a little quieter and a better sleep.
Day 3 - We decided to get an early start this morning when the animals are more active. We left camp around 6:30am since it took about an hour or so to get out far enough away from camp to spot some animals (the roads were all dirt and rocks). The sun came up around 7:30ish (beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the Serengeti) and we started our search for animals. We found a lot of the same animals plus some more lions and two cheetahs who were both really far away from the road. We also found another leopard, red bucks, more buffalo, a nile lizard, elands, hartebeest and a lot of the same animals we had seen the previous two days. One of the coolest things we saw today were some female lions stalking their prey, some gazelles (the males don't hunt as often). Since they take forever to attack we left and went back to the same spot
about an hour later. They were still there stalking the gazelles and there was also a third one stalking a warthog. After about 30-45 minutes the two stalking the gazelles finally attacked and ended up catching a baby gazelle, sad but neat to see the whole thing take place. They left with their kill and the 3rd one was still there stalking hte warthog who had no idea what had taken place, the whole attack was actually very quiet and the larger group of gazelles just stood there watching the whole thing. After a little while longer the 3rd lion went to attack the warthog but she didn't end up catching it so we left shortly after. We did some more driving, saw some more animals and on the way back to camp say and watched a family of baboons in the tree by the hippo pool (the babies are too cute). After getting to camp we had some lunch, packed up and hit the road for Ngorongoro Crater. We got into the Ngorongoro crater rim around 6pm that night, set up our tent, had some dinner and went to bed. Our only visitors that night were some dogs and an elephant who walked up to drink out of the water tank in the middle of all the cars.
Day 4 - The next morning we were up at 6am again, had some breakfast and were on our way into the crater (it's only open from 6:30am-6:30pm). To get there we had to drive through clouds and fog in the dark (scariest drive with the lights off on the side of a mountain!). The crater itself is a big open plain with some small mountains and has most of the same animals as the Serengeti along with some rhinos, which we saw the butt of in the grass really far away. We are convinced they have a plastic thing they stick out there and tell people it's a rhino haha. Although it was really chilly and windy that day and supposedly they lay down when it's windy and cold. We also saw a bunch of lions both males and females; young and old; relaxing and stalking all in the few hours we were in the crater. It's a pretty awesome thing to see six lions (five females with one young male) stalking a group of zebras and wildebeest at the watering hole. We didn't see any attacks but then again there were about 20 jeeps watching them. After about 6 hours in the crater We headed back up to camp for some lunch and to pack our stuff up, then headed back to Moshi. We got back into Moshi around 9pm that same night, went back to Twiga Home, had some dinner and hit the hay for the next two days that would be pure African travel (more to come on that later).
Day 1 - We left Moshi around 9am in our safari pop-top jeep and headed for the Serengeti as it would take about 8 hours to get there. We passed through Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and multiple Massai Mara tribal areas as well as other local villages along the way. The Massai are definitely some of the more interesting to watch. They all wear red (some blue and purple as well), the females wear loads of earrings and necklaces and the males start herding cattle, goat and donkeys at a very young age. We saw some boys about 5 years old with herds of goats, or course their goats are usually the ones all over the place as the kids are fighting each other with their herding sticks (or napping). We also saw one older boy pick up a rock, throw it and hit the exact goat he wanted as it was getting to close to the road, herding is truly their life and they do it every day. We got into the Serengeti around 5pm and went on our first evening game drive. We learned real quick to go where other cars were and were able to see a leopard (which are one of the hardest to see) on our first drive. We also saw some hippos (they smell horrible), grand gazelles and thompson gazelles, dik diks, warthogs, hyenas, zebras, giraffes and a few other animals that night. We got to camp by 7:30pm (already dark by that point), laughed as the guide tried to set the tent up, ate some dinner and got in bed. The camp site isn't enclosed and the animals tend to know this so the that night we heard a bunch of hyenas and other animals going through the trash and trying to scavenge for leftovers. It made for a long night of not leaving the tent and hoping nothing joined us in our tent.
Day 2 - We woke up the next morning, ate some breakfast and hit the roads for what would be a full day of game driving. Our first task of the morning was to find the wildebeest migration. On the way there we had to take a pit stop for an oil change and to get the tires checked, which ended up taking about an hour to do it all. During that time we sat around and watched some monkeys, giraffes and mongoose that live in the staff area as it's safe and there is always a food supply. After a few hours of driving and seeing some of the same animals plus some crocodiles, we finally found some wildebeest migrating. We didn't get to see the full million plus that migrate each year but we did see two migrating groups of about 3,000 to 5,000 each. It was amazing to see all those at one time. After that we set off to eat some lunch and find some more animals. The rest of the day we were able to find some lions looking like they attacking each other. Turns out that they were in their week of mating, and we figured the male pissed the female off, although it was pretty neat to hear a lion roar in the wild. We saw another leopard, this time in his tree eating his kill from earlier that day (a gazelle). We also found a herd of elephants, around 20 with a few baby's who are super cute with their not so little selves and their trunks. We spotted yet another leopard (maybe the same one from the first night) and of course we saw all the other 'common' animals that live in the Serengeti that we had already seen along with a bunch of different birds. Once the day had ended we went back to camp, ate some dinner and got to bed. This night they put the trash cans in the enclosed food area so it was a little quieter and a better sleep.
Day 3 - We decided to get an early start this morning when the animals are more active. We left camp around 6:30am since it took about an hour or so to get out far enough away from camp to spot some animals (the roads were all dirt and rocks). The sun came up around 7:30ish (beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the Serengeti) and we started our search for animals. We found a lot of the same animals plus some more lions and two cheetahs who were both really far away from the road. We also found another leopard, red bucks, more buffalo, a nile lizard, elands, hartebeest and a lot of the same animals we had seen the previous two days. One of the coolest things we saw today were some female lions stalking their prey, some gazelles (the males don't hunt as often). Since they take forever to attack we left and went back to the same spot
about an hour later. They were still there stalking the gazelles and there was also a third one stalking a warthog. After about 30-45 minutes the two stalking the gazelles finally attacked and ended up catching a baby gazelle, sad but neat to see the whole thing take place. They left with their kill and the 3rd one was still there stalking hte warthog who had no idea what had taken place, the whole attack was actually very quiet and the larger group of gazelles just stood there watching the whole thing. After a little while longer the 3rd lion went to attack the warthog but she didn't end up catching it so we left shortly after. We did some more driving, saw some more animals and on the way back to camp say and watched a family of baboons in the tree by the hippo pool (the babies are too cute). After getting to camp we had some lunch, packed up and hit the road for Ngorongoro Crater. We got into the Ngorongoro crater rim around 6pm that night, set up our tent, had some dinner and went to bed. Our only visitors that night were some dogs and an elephant who walked up to drink out of the water tank in the middle of all the cars.
Day 4 - The next morning we were up at 6am again, had some breakfast and were on our way into the crater (it's only open from 6:30am-6:30pm). To get there we had to drive through clouds and fog in the dark (scariest drive with the lights off on the side of a mountain!). The crater itself is a big open plain with some small mountains and has most of the same animals as the Serengeti along with some rhinos, which we saw the butt of in the grass really far away. We are convinced they have a plastic thing they stick out there and tell people it's a rhino haha. Although it was really chilly and windy that day and supposedly they lay down when it's windy and cold. We also saw a bunch of lions both males and females; young and old; relaxing and stalking all in the few hours we were in the crater. It's a pretty awesome thing to see six lions (five females with one young male) stalking a group of zebras and wildebeest at the watering hole. We didn't see any attacks but then again there were about 20 jeeps watching them. After about 6 hours in the crater We headed back up to camp for some lunch and to pack our stuff up, then headed back to Moshi. We got back into Moshi around 9pm that same night, went back to Twiga Home, had some dinner and hit the hay for the next two days that would be pure African travel (more to come on that later).
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| In front of the Serengeti gate |
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| In front of Ngorongoro gate |
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| Leopard |
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| Hyena |
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| Lions |
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| Baboon family |
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| Giraffe |
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| Baby Elephant |
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| Wildebeest |
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| Buffalo |
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| Hippo |
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| Zebra |
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