Well, this is it. This was the last full day of game drives
in the Serengeti and for our trip. The funny thing is, this was the slowest day
for game sightings, although there was still plenty to see. Our day was divided
into two parts – a morning drive and then lunch at the lodge before going out
on a short afternoon drive. There is a herd of elephants that seem to hang out
near the lodge and sometimes even go right through the grounds. We see them
almost every morning and today was no exception. Today they were very close to
the road and we. Watched awhile while pulled branches off a tree to eat. Jeff
actually got some great video of them tearing off a huge branch. We also
checked in on the resident Impala herd. It’s kind of funny. The guy and all of
his girls are one side of the road and the bachelor herd is on the other side
of the road looking on with envy…
The highlight of the morning was driving through a massive
herd of zebra along an area of rolling hills. There were so many you couldn’t
help but laugh. Intermixed with the herd there were also lots of Wildebeest and
even a few buffalo. We have decided that Zebra and Wildebeest are the kamikazes
of the animal kingdom. They wait until you are just in front of them before
they decide that it’s time to run across the road. We have also decided that
these two creatures are the noisiest ones too! They are constantly called out
and snorting and kicking and making a general ruckus. We could have watched
them all morning, especially the younger Zebra, they are brown and white and
the youngest are really fuzzy, very cute indeed.
After that it was a while before we saw anything else, but
as we have come to learn, sometimes you go for a long time with nothing, then
see something really cool. In this case, we learned of a leopard that was
hanging out in a tree. Unlike the other day, we were either more remote or many
of the trucks were farther away and couldn’t get there quickly, because there
were only a handful of trucks. This looked like a younger leopard and it was
looking around a lot and sure enough, after a bit, it got up and climbed down
to look for another perch! I was lucky and got some nice photos, even though he
was a little farther away. As we were
slowly leaving the area we were able to catch a glimpse of him again as he had
climbed another tree.
As we got closer to the lodge we closed the windows and the
top of the car because we were approaching Tse Tse Fly territory. Forget
mosquitoes, these guy are the true menace of the Serengeti. Bigger than a housefly,
they like to chase moving things and that includes safari trucks. It wouldn’t be
so bad if they just buzzed around you, but the actually bite. I was lucky and
didn’t get bit, but apparently it’s quite painful! So we made it back through
fly country and along a very bumpy road and had lunch at the lodge.
We were not so lucky in the afternoon game drive. Richard
and Joseph took us to an area that commonly has a lot of animals because you
can drive along the river and many animals come down to drink. However, due to
some rains a few weeks ago, the area is still very lush, so much so that the
grasses were probably as tall as I am. You couldn’t see a thing! They were also
worried that if we attempted to get to the river, our truck could get stuck, so
we had to abort that path. It was a bit of a bummer because that was our last
real chance to see some cool stuff, but in the end, we did get to see some
really awesome scenery. By the end of the month, that area will be completely
dry.
As a consolation we drove through a large herd of Wildebeest
and their various hangers-on. These were the animals that should have been in
the area we went to first, but they hadn’t moved on because the other areas
hadn’t dried up yet! As we were leaving we were lucky one last time. I don’t
know how he spotted it, but Richard saw what looked like a tail hanging out of
a tree and once again we were able to see a leopard through our binoculars.
This one was quite far away so I couldn’t even get a photo. So we were three
times lucky spotting this rare animal – probably as he was selecting dinner
from the herd of animals unawares nearby.
The best part of the day and maybe the whole trip was
awaiting us back at the lodge. Since this was our last night, a farewell party
was arranged for us. We walked out onto a patio that overlooked the Serengeti
while a troops of musicians and dancers treated us to traditional African
music. We were poured champagne and relaxed and soaked in the view of the
expanse below us. You could make out the herds of Wildebeest and Zebra that
almost looked like ants from our vantage point. So we drank and had appetizers
with Richard, our guide and Joseph, our driver all while the sun was setting
over the Serengeti – the traditional “sundowner”. We were also presented with
gifts! Josh received a model of our safari truck that looks just like the one
we drove. The roof even pops up! We also reserved traditional cloths that
people wear as wraps. Men, wear it like a skirt and women use it multiple ways.
They showed me how to wrap one as a skirt and another as a head scarf (which I
wore to dinner!). It is hard to put into words the beauty of it all; the light
hitting the plain, the music, our own private little pocket of luxury. It will
not soon be forgotten. I guess you can say that Tanzania has stolen a little
piece of my heart – I am finding it very hard to leave here.
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| Cute little guy! |
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| Leopard Spotting |
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| Serengeti Selfie! |
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| Zebra herd pano |
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| Serengeti Pano |
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| Elephant family goes to work on a large tree |
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| Our farewell "Sundowner" with Joseph (left) and Richard (right) |
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| The setting for our Sundowner |
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| I spy a leopard! |
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| Now spot it from this distance! |
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| Lilac Breasted Roller at rest |
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| Changing trees |
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| Vervet Monkey |
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| Wildebeest herd |
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| Lilac-breasted Roller in flight |
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| He just looks like, "Hey. Don't mess with me" |
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| Watching me watching you... |
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| Family time |
