Serengeti

Pictures and words just don't do this place justice, but thought I should write a quick note.

We finished our safari yesterday, and drove across northern Tanzania to Moshi, our home for the next few weeks.  The safari was amazing.  We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in the Ndutu region of the Ngorongoro Conservation area, close to the southern Serengeti.  We saw zebras in the forest during breakfast and a herd of giraffes as we pulled away from the camp.  In spite of the tents and the warnings about not setting foot outside under any circumstances, we slept reasonably well.  Our guide heard a leopard overnight but all I heard was thunder and rain.  Of course the only day we had significant rain was our one camping night!

While making our way away from the lake we happened upon a big herd of wildebeest, zebra, and a dozen elephants.  A great start to the day, and some of my favorite photos from the trip.  We were in a pretty remote area and the only safari jeep there.

We continued on the the Serengeti, with nothing but antelope for miles.  Since we had exactly 24 hours to spend in the park, our driver was on a mission to take us to the most famous and best places in the southern and central part of the park.  We saw lots of kopji, rock outcroppings with trees which are the only change in the landscape for miles.  They are also a favorite resting place of lions, and we saw at least a dozen.

We stopped at the visitor center and had lunch, and then headed off to the south in search of the migration herds.  This time of year a million wildebeest and thousands of zebra migrate from the south through the Serengeti and to Kenya, following the long rains that begin now.  All of the drivers claimed no one had been able to find the herds that day, but Stephen had a hunch.  And his hunch paid off, we found thousands of animals in a remote area of the southern plains.  What we thought was  a small herd as we approached a very slight hill was in fact a herd that stretched for miles in every direction.  The herd is mostly male wildebeest, as the calves and mothers trail along behind the herd.  Not very family oriented, these wildebeest.  Plenty of zebras as well.  The pictures don't even come close to describing it, but picture this as far as you can see in every direction.  It was incredible.

A few other favorite moments from the park: we happened upon a herd of 30 elephants, some of which were playing in the mud after a short rain.  

And on our way out we found 2 mother lions with 5 total cubs relaxing on a rock.

If you are ever in the market for a Tanzanian safari, we could not more highly recommend Naipenda Safaris and our wonderful driver Stephen.   We miss having him around as our protector and guide.

I could talk about the Serengeti for days, but you would get bored and I would not accomplish today's other tasks, namely checking out of our lovely hotel, acquiring some groceries, and moving our stuff to KCMC, our home for the next month.  

Hope you all are well!  Thanks for reading!

For more pictures, here's a link to my Flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55870995@N08/sets/72157642080255825