The wonders of the Serengeti

The dawn broke beautifully across the savanna and graced us with a gentle palate of colours and bird song. 

It seemed like a blink of an eye, but we were off and running after a good breakfast. The staff at Simba camp wished us a good safari and were particularly interested in saying good-bye to Teddy. He was quite popular, unsurprisingly. The plan was to spend the morning in the Serengeti and then head over towards Ndutu Lake in the afternoon. Simba Camp is aptly named as simba is Swahili for lion. As we fell asleep the night before, we could hear the lions' rumbles in the nearby bush. We probably should have been frightened with apex predators that close, but it was strangely soothing. 

As we zipped up the Swala (Swahili for Impala) tent, bags in hand, we found ourselves wishing that we could stay another night, but it was not to be, the safari jeep called and adventure awaited.

We went on our wildlife drive and it was beautiful. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Here it is:

Up close and personal

 

Herd of elephants

Herd of giraffe

Marshlands and savana

Hippo wallow

Look at that tusk!

Not sure what he is except pretty!

Warthog or pumba in Swahili

Warthog aka Serengeti Express

 

I wish I had video of warthogs running. Look it up. They're really quite dainty for such heavy topped animals. When they run, their tail is always up, like a tour guide with  a flag.

Herd of Wildebeest & their calves

Nom nom nom

Chillin' with a cheetah

Lioness looking coy

Herd of impalas or antelope

Some sort of sand piper

Our first land hippo

Flamingo looking fabulous

And at the end of the day, we arrived at Serengeti Bush Camps Ndutu camp, where we would be spending four nights

A bonded pair of Dik-Diks near our camp

 

This guy saying hello before we enter
the camping zone.

Our tent unit in English and Swahili

View from our tent

Maribu storks making our camp home

Front porch...it really is a tent.

Our home away from home

We decided to wash off the dust and found the water to be very slippery. (We had been warned, but didn't completely understand.) The water comes from the nearby alkaline lake which is very salt heavy, which makes the water feel like soap that no amount of rinsing could diminish. Obviously, the day had been full and we enjoyed dinner and a glass of wine, before settling down for the night. Tomorrow would be our 30th anniversary and we hoped for a great day. Next up: discovering Ndutu National Park.

Western Serengeti - Land of Elephants & Lions

After a good breakfast, we said good-bye to Eileen's Trees Hotel with a packed lunch and brimming with anticipation. (There was a minor few-fa, as the hotel wanted to charge us for the wine we'd had with dinner, but it was quickly cleared up.)

Breakfast table at Eileen's

Our first stop would be Ngorngoro National Park, home to the Ngorongoro Crater. The habitat was created a couple of million years ago, when a volcano erupted. The crater is approximately 326km squared and 620m deep. The name is onomatopoeic, in that it's the sound of the cow bells that hang on the necks of Masai livestock. (The Masai equivalent to ding dong, more or less.)

It took a while to get all the paperwork registered (there was a bit of a booking error), so we watched all the comings and goings at the gate to the park. There are over 1000 safari/tour operators in Tanzania, and it felt like it, even in this shoulder season. Before we knew it we were heading up to the rim of the crater to take a look at all it had to offer. It would be several days before we actually headed down to the crater floor, but the views just whetted our curiosity about the unique ecosystem down at the base.

It was a quick pause at the crater's edge and then we headed on towards the Serengeti. En route, we stopped at a lookout and Ron met a group of Masai men, conveniently hanging around just waiting for opportunities to have their photos taken, for a nominal fee, of course. (This is completely against park regulations, just so you know.)

The white Masai - aka Ron

The view point - that's the Serengeti in the distance

 Saying "kwaheri" (good-bye) to the Masai we were off again, descending from the edge of the crater down into the savanna. (Serengeti means "endless plains".) The terrain changed quite dramatically, from rolling hills to flat endless expanses by the time we reached the park's perimeter. 

Be prepared, photo inundation coming:

Heartbok

Hyena

Mama lioness and cub

Unimpressed jackal

Cory Bustard

Wild little pink and purple lizard

Woodpecker

Artsy tree shot

It was a long day, filled with lots of beautiful scenery, incredible animal sightings and interactions with the locals. As the sun was slowly lowering, we headed to our first remote camp at Tanzanian Bush Camp - Simba Camp. We were warmly welcomed, with hibiscus juice and friendly staff. The main take away was that we weren't to leave our tents in the night, without an escort. We were given a walkie-talkie, to let them know if and when we wanted to go out. Fortunately, dinner came before the sun set and the Masai warriors were available to take us back to out tent

Our glamping digs

Sunset on the Serengeti

Gotta be honest, the "tent" camps are pretty lush set-ups. We had hot water, charging stations, a full bathroom and a king-sized bed. Not exactly roughing it. As the sunset on our first "real" day on safari, we could only look forward to what was to come. Next up: unique elephant encounters and Ndutu National Park.