Magical Experiences in the Serengeti National Park – Part II

On July 29, 2021July 29, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Africa, Tanzania7 Comments

Our second day in the Serengeti National Park were as wonderful and full of magical experiences as our first day. We had several close encounters with lions, only this time it was with a couple of different prides that had young cubs in addition to the adult lions and lionesses. We spent a lot of time watching the lions interact, hence we took a lot of photos of the lions on this day. We also had many different moments of watching the great migration as the wildebeest moved in the thousands ever closer towards the border of Kenya. Whether it was the lions, elephants, wildebeest, hippos, and many different antelopes, the various encounters were all extremely fascinating.

When on safari and seeing the wildlife, it is important to understand that the animals go about their lives without any concern that they are being observed by humans. This means that whether they are hunting, eating their kill, mating, or other normal activities, you will likely come across interactions involving those things. Although not everyone may want to see some of those things, it is part of life and death in the Serengeti, so it becomes part of the interactions. One such moment during this day was when we saw a hyena who was finishing off the remnants of an antelope. In addition to getting up and close with the hyena, we had the opportunity to watch the vultures gather and challenge the hyena and then other vultures to finish what was left to eat.

Impalas Were Everywhere in the Serengeti

Driving around the Serengeti National Park can be challenging as the roads are very rough and at times they can be quite muddy. Our guide, Shabani, did a wonderful job navigating through these obstacles. At one point, there were three vehicles all moving in unison as we searched for different animals and one of the Land Cruisers got stuck and had to be pulled out by the other vehicles. One could only imagine what would happen if that would have happened when no one was around to assist. Getting out of the vehicle was not something that anyone wanted to do unless absolutely necessary as there are many deadly snakes hidden in the grass in addition to the predators that could be hidden there as well.

Serengeti Traffic Jam

There were several times where we literally had to wait for the wildebeest and zebras to cross the road as they sprinted towards their desired destination. We could have moved through and they would have worked they around the vehicle, but it is safer to just let them move through before moving forward. We ended our day by watching the sun set over a hippo pond that had at least twenty to thirty hippos all swimming or playing together. It was just another wonderful way to end a fascinating day in the Serengeti. We were thoroughly exhausted after these amazing days in the Serengeti, but also completely in awe of our safari experiences. The following day we would continue north to cross the Tanzania and Kenya border in order to go to Maasai Mara.

Magical Experiences in the Serengeti National Park – Part I

On July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Africa, Tanzania8 Comments

After spending the day in the Ngorongoro Crater, we continued north to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We would spend two nights in the park where we spend two full days driving around and seeing so many amazing sights. We would see the one missing animal to complete the Big Five as we would have several incredible encounters with Leopards that was the only animal missing as we’d seen lions, water buffaloes, rhinos, and elephants already. We would see much more than just the big cats and we would have many encounters that were up-close and personal. The Maasai word Serengeti means “land of never ending plains”, which is certainly apt as you can see the endless grasslands in every direction that you look.

The Zebras Aren’t Snuggling, It is a Defensive Mechanism to See Both Directions

We stayed in the central part of the Serengeti National Park, which made it easy for us to get out and spend full days exploring the park. The sheer number of animals that live in the park is at times almost overwhelming. We were there as the wildebeest began the migration north towards Kenya, so there were times when thousands of wildebeest and zebras crossed the road in front of us with a distinct mission to reach their next destination. There were so many incredible experiences with wildlife that it is definitely a place that we will remember and cherish our time there forever.

Called a Sausage Tree Because of the Seed Pods

We started seeing giraffes as we neared the park, but since the giraffes eat the leaves of trees, seeing them inside the park is limited to when they go from one location to another. We also saw a variety of elephants in the park, which didn’t use to be the case, but they have naturally migrated to the Serengeti over time as the populations in surrounding parks increased. It was, however, the encounters with the large cats that would be the highlight of our first day in the park. At one point, we saw a lion so close to our Land Cruiser that we could have literally reached out and petted him, but that would not have been a good idea. For the most part, the animals could care less about the people who drive up around them to take their photographs, but occasionally they shy away from our presence. We spent about twenty minutes admiring the lion before any other vehicles arrived, at which point he decided to wander away into the tall grass where he disappeared.

The Dik-Dik is One of the Smallest Antelopes

Hippos Charging into the Water

We saw leopards at two different points on our first day, the first being relatively far away and the second that was relatively close and was eating the Thompson’s gazelle that he had killed. We spent about an hour simply watching him climb around the tree and eating his dinner. We often describe some of experiences as being like a National Geographic special, but instead of watching it on television, it was taking place right before our very eyes. In addition to these encounters with the big cats, we also had a very unique viewing experience of hippos charging down a river bed and splashing into the deep water. Seeing the hippos out of the water was always a unique experience, but seeing them running down the river bed was truly fascinating and it was amazing to see how fast they actually can run.

Our first day ended with a wonderful sunset as we enjoyed a glass of wine at the Thorn Tree Camp in the heart of the Serengeti National Park. Being in such a remote location, our access to WIFI was limited, but that was perfectly fine with us as we left the “real world” behind and simply enjoyed the natural beauty of the savannahs. Although we don’t have any photographs of the night sky, it was absolutely stunning with so many stars that spread across from horizon to horizon. Once again, we were not allowed out at night without an escort as there were many animals that wandered amongst the tents. Our days started before sunrise at 6:00 am and usually ended around sunset at around 6:30 pm. We slept better than we have in many years as we drifted off to the sounds of animals all around the camp.

Olduvai Gorge Monument Near the Serengeti National Park

Maasai Children at a Viewpoint Near the Park

As incredible as our first day in the Serengeti was, it was actually only the beginning of our time in the park. We know that because of the current travel conditions, many people either only visit Kenya or only visit Tanzania, but based on our experiences, we’d highly recommend doing the full safari circuit that takes you through both wonderful countries. We were definitely in the heart of our safari at this point and we had become experts at changing lenses quickly, learning how to use the telephoto lenses for both the camera and the iPhone. All of the photographs that we’ve shared here were just from our first day in the Serengeti. The Serengeti National Park definitely lived up to every expectation that we had as we investigated going on safari and was truly a magical experience.

Amboseli National Park, the Land of Giants, in Kenya

On July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Africa, Kenya3 Comments

We arrived in Nairobi about 15 hours later than we were originally scheduled to due to a variety of cancellations and flight changes. So, instead of arriving Sunday evening and getting a night of sleep before starting our safari, we contacted our guides, Perminus and David, and had them meet us at the airport to take us straight to our lodge at Amboseli National Park. Since we had been awake for over 48 hours at this point, we couldn’t have been blamed for drifting in and out of consciousness during the drive from Nairobi to the park. Since we didn’t leave Nairobi until early afternoon, it was near sunset when we approached the Zebra Plains Amboseli Camp where were to stay two nights. As we got close to the camp, animals could already be seen along the road, especially some wonderful views of giraffes as the sun set behind them. This would be the last time that we would not have cameras at the ready to capture every possible image, but we did take a few photos as we drove toward the camp.

Our Tent in the Zebra Plains Amboseli Camp

As we checked into to our tent at the camp, we were informed that we must always be escorted by one of the camp staff and Maasai warrior guards if we were to leave our tent after dark. This would be true at almost every place we stayed during our safari and it became very evident as to why on our very first night as we heard an elephant trumpet near our tent and even heard a hyena on the porch of the tent. Although we were up early every day and stayed out until dusk, we really enjoyed the places that we stayed. Our days always started with some wonderful African coffee and a warm and hearty breakfast. The lodges also provided us with box lunches to take along as we spent the day driving throughout the parks.

Thompson’s Gazelle – They Were Literally Everywhere on Safari

Amboseli National Park is one of the smaller parks that we visited, but we literally seemed to come across different wildlife around every turn. The park is known for the elephants, hence the nickname “the Land of the Giants”, which are not only large, but also have some of the largest tusks that we would see on the safari. It was also the place where we would have our up-close interactions with the elephants and even had a playful baby elephant lift his trunk and try to smell us. We understand that the park can get quite busy because it is close to Nairobi, but due to the pandemic, there were not many other tourists or other Land Cruisers (the “official” vehicle of safaris) around us as we traversed the park.

We Saw Hundreds of Elephants at Amboseli National Park

One of the Many Types of Antelopes and Gazelles that We Saw

Birds Often Ride the Elephants to Eat the Insects That Get Stirred Up

In addition to the many different encounters with the elephants, we also saw hundreds of giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest. Amboseli would also provide us our first opportunities to see lions, of which we saw several times during our day and a half in the park. We also saw many different birds in the park including the ostriches, African Crowned Crane, pelicans, flamingos (which there are two types known as the lesser and greater), and hamerkop (also known as the hammerhead). As the sun set after our first full day on safari, we asked our guide, David, to drive us back to the area around the lodge where we had seen the giraffes at sunset the previous night. We wanted to capture them with the camera since we didn’t pull it out during the drive to Amboseli.

We Played with Our New Fisheye Lens in Amboseli

By the time that our first day and a half was over, we had seen three of the Big Five, elephants, water buffaloes, and lions, just leaving rhinos and leopards to be seen later. It truly was an incredible start to our safari as we so many different animals and we especially enjoyed seeing some of the baby animals. It was also mating season, which was quite interesting as well. On the second day, we drove through Amboseli National Park to see many more animals before making our way to the border of Kenya and Tanzania to continue south on our safari. The full safari is a giant loop that starts south, then heads west, and eventually goes north and finally back east. We can certainly understand why people might make this one of their only destinations on safari, but we would recommending extending it through the many other national parks as we did.