This was not our first safari, and it certainly won’t be the last, but our days exploring the Serengeti we some of our best.
The Serengeti is different than all the other parks we have seen. Every day we have spent on safari has been unique. The different parks and countries all contain different experiences but exploring the Serengeti shows you a number of animals that is difficult to even imagine.
Serengeti is said to come from the Masai word for endless plains. It is a great name. The vistas feel endless like you could drive for days and the landscape would not change. But what does constantly change is the view of the wildlife. Zebra and wildebeest are everywhere. On multiple occasions, we drove for miles and saw them out to the horizon in every direction. Each time, a guide would make a comment about coming back during the peak of the migration because then they would be “everywhere”. We didn’t come for the zebra but they will help bring us back again soon.
We stayed in a camp inside the park that was open to wildlife. We had a hippo grunting in the river next door, the tents would shake at night as the buffalo rubbed up against the tent ropes, and an elephant literally walked next door to our tent one evening.
While we came looking for cats, of course, we have learned that the best way to enjoy a safari is by taking in every experience as it comes your way. You will learn and discover so much more by enjoying everything that the Serengeti decides to show you. But when she decides to show you the big cats, you will never forget them.
On our first day in the park, we met a mother cheetah and two young cubs. “There is a cheetah. 100%.” Our guide, Molel is a Masai <See Post on Masai Village> warrior. I have no idea how he saw it so far away but he was right! She was sitting on a termite mound, watching. She was a little shy and started moving away before we got too close but Molel stayed with her. As we got closer he saw the two cubs long before any of us did and was able to guess where she was heading. We waited and they all found a new termite mound, apparently with a good view. It was right next to our Jeep.
Our time watching mom and her two little ones was a special experience. We saw the different personalities of the cubs with one being shy and a bit skittish and the other a loving adventurer. Mom seemed relaxed like our presence might help deter whatever danger she was looking for. By the number of pictures I took, we must have been there a long time but it seemed to be just an instant before we set off for our next adventure. Next stop lions!
Now our best lion experience on this trip was a few days later in Ngorogoro National Park <See Post> but just a bit after meeting our cheetah family we did come across a group of lovely ladies resting. There is something about the power that radiates from a lion that reaches down into the deepest part of me. Feeling respect, admiration, and a little bit of fear every time I see one.
Our next Serengeti experience delivered a completely new perspective, one from above. <Post Coming Soon>.
Getting to Tanzania during COVID was a bit of work but it was undeniably worth the effort. If you go, don’t just go for the Serengeti. There are many parks in Tanzania worth seeing and even more in the surrounding countries. This was our first major trip since the pandemic and a glimpse into how travel has changed. It makes me reflect on how we might want to slow down a bit more to savor our experiences and Travel Far Better.