The Serengeti National Park located in Tanzania is without a doubt one of the most popular wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The Serengeti, which is home to various wildlife has natural beauty like words would not describe. My mother always said that in the wild, we find nature like it was always meant to be • not ‘raped’ of it’s natural beauty heheheeeeeeeee! The largest population of the wildebeest, an approximate two million live in the Serengeti. When I did the East African safari in 2002, I chanced to view the great annual wildebeest migration (I, must say there is nothing like the movement of these animals). From the Serengeti into the Maasai Mara), it is also known as the Serengeti migration. Sometimes when I’m really quite, I can still hear the thunder and smell the dust in the air raised from the great stampede across the Serengeti, it is incredibly beautiful. I would definitely recommend doing the hot air balloon tours • they are quite expensive but they offer you a view that is priceless. Ofcourse the noise from the hot air under the balloon can be a destruction  from up there, however, all you can hear is the thunder as the wildebeest, Zebras and gazelles make their way across the plains. The feeling one gets is of AWE!

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En ze hebben me wakker gemaakt midden in de nacht. Nu hoorde ik dus ook de leeuw brullen en een hele kudde langsdraven die waarschijnlijk was opgejaagd door één of meer leeuwen. Eén man van de bemanning zou vannacht in de truck slapen en zo gauw de leeuw te dichtbij kwam zou hij de motor starten en de lichten aandoen om hem weg te jagen. Zo kwam hij erachter dat de leeuw maar enkele tientallen meters bij de tenten vandaan was. Gelukkig kwamen wij daar pas in de ochtend achter, anders hadden we geen oog meer dichtgedaan.

Om 6.00 uur stonden thee en koffie klaar en om 6.30 uur gingen we weer op pad. We waren nog steeds op zoek naar luipaarden en cheetahs maar we hadden wederom weinig geluk.

Toen we om een uur of negen bij het kamp terugkwamen stond het ontbijt al klaar, en hierna werd het kamp opgebroken. Ook werd er nog vers water getankt, want de komende nacht zouden we weer zonder zitten.

Onze lunch gebruikten we bij de “Hippopool”, waar de nijlpaarden onder luid gebrul en gesnuif ons begeleidden bij het eten.

Verder ging het weer richting Seronera (dit ligt ook in het Serengeti park). Hier gingen we even in de lodge naar binnen, waar we een glaasje drinken namen en ook een paar foto’s maakten. Hierna gingen we door naar de kampplaats. Natuurlijk werd er ook nog een tussenstop gemaakt om hout te zoeken, maar uiteindelijk bereikten we toch het kamp.

Na het eten maakten we het niet al te laat en de “rust” ’s nachts was ons wel weer gegund.

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Vandaag werd het dagritme een ietwat gewijzigd. Ontbijt om 6.00 uur en vertrek om 6.30 uur.

Tijdens het ontbijt hoorde ik allerlei sterke verhalen over brullende leeuwen midden in de nacht. Maar ja, als ik eenmaal slaap dan krijgt zelfs een brullende leeuw mij niet meer wakker. Dus spraken we af dat ik, als het weer gebeurde, wakker gemaakt zou worden, want we bleven hier nog een nacht.

Ondertussen gingen we dus om 6.30 uur er op uit voor een ochtend-gamerun. Eerst zagen we een paar leeuwen waarvan er twee druk met de voortplanting bezig waren. Dit lokte natuurlijk een hoop opmerkingen uit, zoals: “And that even before breakfast” en “It’s the breakfast I’m worried about”.

Na een tijdje reden we door richting het noorden om de migrerende gnoe’s te observeren. Dit waren er alles bij elkaar nogal wat.

Zo kwamen we bij de noordelijke ingang van het park, dit was maar 5 km van de Keniaanse grens vandaan.

Terug ging het weer zigzaggend over het terrein kijkend of we misschien ook nog de cheetah en het luipaard tegen zouden komen. Helaas deze poging slaagde niet.

Eenmaal terug in het kamp vielen we meteen aan op de lunch die al helemaal klaar was.

Om een uur of drie zouden we weer vertrekken voor een gamerun. Maar voor die tijd gingen we en masse douchen. Er was namelijk de mogelijkheid om in de lodge te douchen. Dit hield in dat je met z’n tweëen een kamer huurde en uitgebreid je zeep en shampoo ging gebruiken, en dat was hard nodig ook. Nou dachten we dat we door de zon een aardig kleurtje hadden gekregen, maar menigeen kwam een tintje lichter onder de douche vandaan.

Op een gegeven moment begon het te regenen dus kroop iedereen in z’n tent. Om 15.00 uur echter werden we daar weer uitgetrommeld voor een volgende gamerun.

Toen we hiervan terugkwamen konden we bijna meteen aanvallen op het diner. Het begon na het eten weer wat te regenen dus besloten we om naar de lodge te gaan om daar een lekker glaasje te drinken en daarna gingen we naar bed.

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Om half negen reden we weer weg. De camera’s waren allemaal al schietklaar en dat was maar goed ook. Met de lunch zouden we de kampplaats bereiken, maar ver voor die tijd werd er al druk gefotografeerd. We zagen bijv. maraboe’s, gnoe’s, impala’s, hyena’s, zebra’s, giraffen, antilopen, topi’s, gieren, jakhalzen en zelfs een paar leeuwen. Deze laatsten hadden zeker net gegeten want even later kwamen we een lijk tegen dat net door de hyena’s werd verlaten en waar de (aas)gieren op af kwamen.

Het kamp, dat we om een uur of twaalf bereikten lag in de buurt van de Lodge Lobo, maar dat was toch nog een paar honderd meter hiervandaan en als je op de kampplaats al een paar afgekloven buffelkoppen vindt heb je dus drommels goed in de gaten dat je hier midden tussen de wilde beesten zit.

Op dit moment lieten zich gelukkig alleen maar bavianen en klipdassen zien.

Om een uur of drie zouden we weer instappen voor een “game-run”. Al gauw was er een grapjas die dacht te weten waarom dat zo heette. “It makes all the game run”.

Drie uur lang reden we zo door zowel over de wegen als daarbuiten, nou je ziet wel wat daar het resultaat van is.

Na het eten gingen we nog even naar de Lodge om iets te drinken en vanavond gingen we daarom wel erg laat naar bed. Nou ja, laat het was nog maar 22.30 uur.

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Vanmorgen reden we weer om een uur of half negen weg. Het zou nogal een lange rit worden, dus daar hadden we ons allemaal al een beetje op voorbereid. Ook zou er op de komende kampplaats geen water zijn, dus hadden we onszelf een goeie wasbeurt gegeven in het riviertje en ook waren de veldflessen allemaal weer bijgevuld.

Eenmaal onderweg reden we eerst naar een Massaï-dorp. Hier konden we (tegen enige betaling natuurlijk) foto’s maken en zelfs mochten we een hut binnen. De hutten zijn wel laag en ontzettend donker maar verder zijn ze vrij comfortabel.

Weer wat verder kwamen we bij Lake Natron. Dit was een zoutmeer met een heleboel flamingo’s Vanwege de zoutlaag konden we helaas niet dichtbij komen, en daarom moesten we het doen met een roze streep in de verte.

We gingen weer verder, de Rift Valley uit, want daar waren we nog steeds. Met de nodige haarspeldbochten bereikten we de Sojo Plains. Daar we niet veel tijd hadden konden we helaas niet bij ieder dier stoppen. We zagen wel impala’s, zebra’s, giraffen, hartebeesten, thomsons gazellen en dan natuurlijk de kuddes koeien, ezels en geiten van de plaatselijke bevolking.

Om een uur of één hadden we weer een uitgebreide lunch en daarna gingen we weer verder.

De kampplaats bereikten we om een uur of zes en het werd nog hard hollen om de tenten voor donker op te zetten, maar we worden er al aardig bedreven in.

P.S.    We zaten nu nog maar enkele kilometers verwijderd van het Serengeti National Park. Oftewel morgen wordt het plaatjes schieten.

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I’m going to just let the photos do the talking here. Safaris are to see, not read. 

All I can say is that my safari was perfect.  The perfect guide.  The perfect 4X4 jeep.  The perfect friend to share it with.  The perfect path down each road.  I saw everything I could ever dream of seeing.  As a human, I began to realize that I am truly just a small part of this world - one creature in one lifetime.  I felt vulnerable camping in our thin little tent in the middle of the Serengeti and walking to the bathroom at night with animals all around, eyes piercing through the bushes, and noises screeching through the night.  It was amazing to see so many different animals living amongst one another - some enjoying every minute of their lives and others struggling to survive.  It reminds me of the rest of the world - the human world.  Why are some animals born to be lions with NO predators?  Why are others born as tiny and thin gazelle with dozens of predators lurking about…..?  Why was I born a healthy boy in California and not a poor Omorate tribal girl in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia?  Who decides this?  What decides this?

We had some very amazing and “legendary” encounters with two different lion families.  You’ll need to ask me about them!  For now, enjoy the photos.

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In the morning we could sleep in a bit because we were leaving for Serengeti. We should only be at the entrance at 12 because of the period our tickets would be valid. Then of we went down from the campsite at the rim of the crater and driving to Serengeti.

The drive to Serengeti was interesting - or whatever it is called. The road was still an old fashion dirt road and the grader may have been by but that was probably five years ago. It was so bumpy that we believed that at the entrance there had to be a line of auto repairshops and dentist to fix the broken teeth from us making a bad hacking of teeth.

We got there way before 12 and both teeth and car seemed to have made it without too much damage. We made lunch and went exploring the area there was a nice view over the beginning of the Serengeti and a very colourful lizard on the cliffs.

Then finally we are ready to drive in and explore Serengeti. Then on the first road in there is not that much interesting. This is Africa - hence when I say there is nothing interesting it means there is only a little pack of impalas every 100 meters. And a zebra now and again. Then a big tree with a big python nicely rolled up on a branch. Then the interesting stuff starts a group of lions just next to the road - in the shade but we are so close just 2-3 meters away from the closest ones. We drive on and there are all the usual stuff like buffalo, zebras, giraffes, impalas and lions. And we get to camp.

Driving to camp we passed a nice little pack of lions really cools to look at - then at camp you kind of expect tall walls guards and a closed gate to protect us against all of this wildlife. Well at camp there were no walls, no guards and no gates. The wildlife could walk right in - great. The toilet block were a few meters away from the campsite - but if you need to go you need to go. I did not have any problems get back to and from the place but another bloke who went after me came back and said well I got to the toilet ok did what I had to do and then got out seeing a hyena staring him in the eyes. Then he decided he needs to spend some more time exploring the fabulous toilet block.

I was sure a mossy net would provide perfect protect against a lion attack - how can a line get through?

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Awesome hotel! it is 100% nature! in fact they make you call reception if you want to move out from your room as there is a risk of finding wild animals around! It seems to be that some animals such as buffalos go to the swimming pool to drink water and it is a very dangerous animal. Actually the second day we were there some of them got really close, so many people from the hotel managed to move them away from the hotel. The restaurant is awesome but try to book a table outside! They also have shows every night which are quite good. The best is a terrace overlooking Serengeti behind the pool. I recommend you to go to the pool around 6pm and order a Serengeti Premium while you see the sunset! that was one of the coolest moment of the whole trip. Ohhh by the way, there you can book the Hot Air Baloon trip although you have to do it at least 3 or 4 days in advance. If you leave early in the morning, do the check out the night before, as recepcionists to do check outs do not begin working until 6am.

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For some reason I cannot sleep at nights. Most probably it is due to the excitement! I got up at 5:30 am, took a shower and walked around the hotel. The sun was coming out, so it was beautiful. It is one of the nicest hotels I have been to. I had never seen before a hotel so concerned about preserving nature the way they do it here.

We left around 8:30 am. That was too late for me, but I am travelling with more people. The best time to take pictures is from 8am to 10am and then again from 4:30am to 6:30pm. Sunset is around  18:15pm and the sun comes out about the same time (6:15am) They always have 12 hours of light.  

We saw many different animals but the most remarkable one was the leopard. We could not get very close, but it was engough to see the leopard rest on a tree. During most of the time was lying down but at some point he stood up!

We took with us a picnic and stopped at a rest area. Lunch was quite fun, even better after having one of the local beers. Beers in Tanzania (Safari, Serengeti, Serengeti Premium, Kilimanjaro…)

On the way to the hotel we were driving and then suddenly a huge African elephant was walking towards the car. Our guide warned us to stay quite so we did. The elephant passed by a meter away from the car. We have been told that an elephant is capable of aatacking you, so we took our guide´s warning very seriously. I could feel how the rest of the group was quite impressed by the situation.

Oce we got to the hotel I took my tripod with me and I headed to the swimming pool. Before setting up all my equipment to take pictures to the sunset I ordered a Serengeti Premium (beer).

After dinner (around ninish) I went to the bar to see the show! Quite impressive.

By the way, today I asked our guide and driver about clubs in Lago Manyara and tomorrow they will take us to go out. Quite scary as I don´t know the place and the people, but we are here for good adventures! I will explain tomorrow…

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Jambo! What a magnificient day we had! Today we were leaving Ngorongoro and going to Serengeti. By the way, its real name is Siringet, a Masai word which means “land with no end” or something like that… It is a huge piece of land with more than 150.000 square kms. Until a month ago was plenty of animals but now they are on the way to Masai Mara (south of Kenia). Today they told us that the best month to visit Tanzania is during January, Februrary and March, when everything is green and you have millions of animals everywhere.

On the way there we stoppet at a cultural center which was alright. From there we kept driving to Serengeti. It is 2 hours distance from Nnongoro, and from the entrance of the park to the hotel there is 40 minutes more. But instead of going straight to the hotel we decided to do a Safari and had a picnic for lunch (under a typical African tree).

Woaw Serengeti is just so inmese. We started driving and there was no end. Although it is not the best season to visit it we found so many animals. Just when we entered the park we stoped in a rest area and we had a local bear… From there we started the safari and I must stay I even got tired of seeing so many lions! ;) It was funny how we made one of them stand up. One of the group was tired of waiting for the lion to get up so he just got an apple and threw it to him! The lion stood up in less than a second and of course I took a large number of photos J

At 2pm we decided to have our picnic, so we parked under a tree. You are not allowed to go out of the cars in the park, so we had to eat inside. After lunch we kept going with our safari… one of the most excititing thing was to find vultures and a hyenas eating an dead animal….

In order to get to the hotel (which was inside de park) we had to do a shorcut across the field. When we arrived to the hotel there was a man waiting for us with cold towels and a fresh fruit juice. That is the life!

While my friends took a shower I went to the swimming pool and ordered a beer. Next to the pool there was a nice viewpoint overseeing the park. What a nice spot! Amazing! I took some pictures of the sunset and then I came back to the room to get a bathing suite!  For dinner you had to call reception so they send you a guard who will take you to dinner. It seems to be that at night buffalos are around and can get very close to the hotel.

During dinner we had a nice bottle of South African wine. Pretty good indeed!

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There is just one thing I couldn´t do in my trip to Tanzania and that I regret so much! The Balloon Safari! There is just one place where you can do that and it is in Serengeti. You have to book it in advance, at least 3 or 4 days as they only do 32 passengers a day! They come to pick you up at the hotel and you leave around 5:30am. The flight lasts 1 hour and you see the sun come out. When you finish the flight they prepare a nice breakfast under a tree which is totally cool! they say they give you champagne, but in fact it is CAVA ;) which is the Catalan Champagne (Freixenet Cordon Negro as I saw the bottles). They produce it very close from where I lived when I was young. By the way and VERY IMPORTANT. If you get the flight from your travel agency it might cost you as much as 450€. If you get it in the hotel it could go up to 340€ but if you call straight and you get it in their office in Arusha you can save some dollars. You can buy it for 290US$. Amazing eah? if you save that amount of money per person following my tip you owe me a beer when I go to your town! hahahah cheers

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Serengeti is derived from the Maasai word 'siringet' that means 'endless plains'. This is a fitting description of the dry and tree-less central plains of the park that continue into western and northern Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is in these plains that the splendour of Serengeti manifests itself during the rainy season which extends from November to May.

The plains appear to be filled by millions of wildebeest (also called gnu), dispersed in all directions, with pockets of other plains game such as zebra and gazelles, and attending predators and scavengers. It has been estimated that there are over 1.5 million wildebeest, 500,000 zebra and 3,000 lions in the park. Of course there are many other mammal species in the park, ranging from the elephant and giraffe to the mongoose and rock hyrax, reptiles including the Nile crocodile, and about 400 bird species, of which the ostrich is represented in good numbers.

Another spectacle starts towards the end of the dry season, when water and grass become scarce in the open plains. The wildebeest move west, this time in long lines that can appear endless, with one wildebeest galloping after another as though they were being chased. Zebra, other antelopes and some of the predators follow in their footsteps. Such a spectacle is best observed and appreciated from the air.

From the west, they move slowly northwards and spill-over into Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, before returning to the Serengeti plains with the coming of the rains, but more slowly this time and spread out. It should be mentioned that, while in the east they spill-over into Ngorongoro Crater, significantly swelling the size of the resident population of wildebeest and zebra in the crater.

(Information by UNESCO)

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When you go on safari after hitting the lottery, or if you save for years for the life-changing experience of Africa, do put this lodge on your list. A fantastic setting, on a ridge high abouve the Serengeti plain. Lions roar in the distance. Wildebeest (and who knows what else) roam the grounds at night. The tents are nicer than 80% of the places I've lived in the U.S. The food, activities and amenities are very welcome after a long day game spotting. Yes, the ambiance is decidedly colonial, and some may find that objectionable. If so, you should choose elsewhere. But Kirawira helped make a memorable safari even more so.

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One thing I would strongly advise anyone visiting Serengeti is to have a fully charged mobile phone with a pre-paid sim card with enough call credit (US$10-20) with you before you embark on the journey. And DO NOT allow your driver to go off the marked road.

We were on our amazing Safari trip and for some reason following the Cheetah, we went offroad and in the middle of nowhere the Landrover battery stalled. The driver had no means of communicating it back to his company. Sheer luck of having the mobile phone enabled us to call for rescue. We could have been stuck in the middle of noweher otherwise for God knows how long..

On another occassion we also had a flat tyre, so be prepared for real adventure in the company of BIG 5!!!

If you point your camera towards Masai to take their pictures, be prepared to be asked for money. Keep small notes with you. Ask before you take the picture. We kept some fruits to give away and kids were happy with apples and bananas!

I personally found people in Tanzania less aggressive and more warm & hospitable than in Kenya towards tourists.

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