Serengeti Day 1 (28 June 2023)

28 June 2023

As it turns out, we planned the trip so far in advance, I had completely forgotten that I added an extra day in the Serengeti, but I'm so glad I did!  We began the day by roaming the roads looking for whatever wildlife we would find.  The wildebeest herd was just outside our camp, so we actually had to stop for a while to work our way through them.  Before too long, we saw a wildebeest carcass hanging in a tree - we actually came back to this spot later and found the leopard that put him there.  Then we went into basically the middle of nowhere and found several lions.  The first sighting was two male lions that were walking near the road.  They were so close that I was inching the windows closed... after that, we found a small pride of maybe 4 lions... then we saw some cheetah's perched at a distance.  At that point, we asked our guide if the lions ever jumped on vehicles, to which he replied "no, that's the cheetah's..." So, naturally we got very close to some of them at a point as well.  I can't believe the photos I took this day.  

For safety reasons, you don't really ever exit the vehicle.  For bathroom stops, you have to ask your guide in advance, and he'll find a nice patch of open road where he's surveyed for predators, then you go out and go behind the jeep (they all call the Land Cruiser's Jeeps. I know).  For lunch, you eat your boxed lunch inside (except for the rare instance of being near a picnic area).  For lunch, we pulled up under a tree for shade, and there was a lion who thought that was a good place for a nap.  Afterwards, we found a lion on a kopi (or rock formation), and on our way back to camp, we saw a huge pride of (we think) 13 lions.  At this point, we guessed that we saw about 32 different lions today!  

This night, we both slept better (one from sleep deprivation, and two, from the wildebeest herd was finally far enough away that we didn't hear the bleeting all night).  Not sure if I typed this, since my last entries were done over 8 months ago, but, I'm very glad we decided to do the safari.  I have been on them in other parts of Africa, but the Serengeti is something else, and lots of good bro time with the cousin.  Check out photos and video below!

 

I alternated between the Serengeti Lager and Kilimanjaro Lager.  They pretty much taste the same, but it's just cool.

This is our Land Cruiser.  I like that the top pops open, so you can see and take photos without the glass in the way.

Sunset by our camp.  JT felt the need to stand taller (this is before he grew to 6' in like a week).

Probably one of my favorite things was riding standing up in the jeep.  It's very surreal to just be riding and ZEBRA! TWIGA (Giraffe)! SIMBA!

This is iconic.

I really want a Land Cruiser.

Someone smell a hippo?

Camp at Sound of Silence.

Lions with a fresh kill.

These guys...

Wildebeests...

Sire, the herd's on the move!

Snake Eagle

Lilac-breasted roller - I'm not much of a bird guy, but I just really like this photo.

Vultures on the lookout.  Don't sit still too long.  These guys are actually protected, because a lot of poachers will kill them so that they don't give away their location by circling over a kill.

Below - There is NOTHING in the world that quite feels like locking eyes with a lion (or cheetah for that matter).  They're really amazing to see up close, if not a bit frightening!  I've camped a lot in Grizzly country, but wow, camping where these guys are running around is something else!

I'll wrap up with an African sunset.  These are some of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.  More to come, hopefully sooner than 8 months! 

For those following the luggage saga, still no luggage at this point.  However, we DID have cell signal near the Serengeti airport and very weak and slow wifi in the breakfast tent at camp.  Airtags probably saved my trip at this point, as the luggage had gone to Dar es Salaam instead of Arusha.  The KLM flight we took did a point-to-point itinerary, AMS-Arusha-Dar es Salaam-AMS, so they were apparently not going to bring my bag backwards on their loop.  

27 June 2023 Part 3

27 June 2023 - Serengeti 

It's been a minute... Work got crazy, then I ended up moving to another position, and then I've been swamped, and then we had a baby... Just, wow.  BUT!  I do want to finish blogging about Tanzania before it's over a year old, so, with any luck, look forward to some more frequent posts in the next few weeks.

Apparently I promised another post about this day, and I'm not really sure why... However, this was such a unique evening, maybe I felt like it should get it's own post.  After we left the Massai Village, we had a LOOOONG drive to get into the Serengeti.  When you look at this on a map, it doesn't seem nearly as crazy as it is.  Keep in mind, there are no paved roads, and the distances are far.  We pretty much put the pedal to the metal to get in before dark (when it would be dangerous to travel).  It was a very bumpy ride, and we were pretty much the only safari vehicle crazy enough to be out that late, so we had the run of the place.  We did stop by the Serengeti airport to see if my luggage arrived, which it hadn't.  

When it was almost sunset, we finally arrived at Sound of Silence.  Note the wildebeest herd.

Honestly, this was a pretty cool place.  It is a glamping tent camp with it's own restaurant.  Dinner was served in the tent above, but take a look at the dining room...

Below is our tent from the inside.  Good thing JT was journaling, because I pretty much would have forgotten all of the little details by now if I hadn't written them down.  

Anytime we needed to leave our tent at night, we had to radio on our walkie-talkie to get an escort with a spear.  Not sure what our chances were vs. a lion, but, it's the thought that counts.

So, probably the part I was thinking of... this was THE MOST EVENTFUL night of the entire trip.  So, you noted the herd of wildebeest, right?  So, imagine sleeping somewhere between a herd of cows and herd of goats.  Lots of bleeting and grunting and shuffling around.  It was unbelievably loud.  I actually recorded it, and I'll try to get that audio on here below.  Now, add on a big thunderstorm!  Now, add on hyenas circling the tent making all kinds of noise.  I wasn't able to sleep very well, but as soon as I started to doze off, probably around 2-3 a.m., JT starts screaming.  So, as I try to untangle myself from my mosquito net to go over and help, I'm completely exhausted and disoriented.  Apparently it was just him talking (er screaming) in his sleep, but that sent a chill all the way to my bones, so, no sleeping after that!  But, it's ok... because the next full day in Serengeti was one of the most amazing days of all time!