We saw lions every day on safari and I never got sick of them. We saw four of the big five within the first two days our safari. We had to wait patiently to see the infamous black rhino in Ngorongoro Crater where just 28 rhinos remain.
The rhino is a solitary animal, and is also very shy. We were warned that it was likely we wouldn’t see one, but fortunate for us we saw our one and only rhino just an hour into our game drive in Ngorongoro Crater.
Not ten minutes into the Serengeti, we saw a cub lion stuck in a tree. Our guide explained that his mother put him in the tree while she left to hunt. However, based on the distressed nature of the cub and heat of midday, our guide said that he likely may not make it if he mother doesn’t return soon. Even in situations like this, the park management will most likely not interfere.
The park however is tracking the number of female lions with cubs in the Serengeti in order to better keep count of the population size. Female lions with black collars like this one above are females with cubs.
Later, in the Serengeti we saw some rare sights, including a lion kill and a family of cheetahs that included a male! The kill came out of nowhere. We were driving along when one of our truck mates caught sight of a lion stalking in the grass. By the time we had stopped the truck the lion had pounced on taken out a zebra! We also saw this lounging leopard.
Leopards are selfish. They hunt for themselves, eat a little and then hide their killings high in the trees where other cannot follow. Between the kill, the cub in the tree, and the leopards, the Serengeti quickly reminds you that the circle of life is ever present.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.