We found a good regional air ticket to fly us from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro/Arusha (gateway to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater). We couldn’t hire our own vehicle there for less than a fully catered Safari so the choice was easy. Loads of safari trucks, businesses and tourist are on the move in Arusha town. We bargained for a great safari deal – but it turns out this business was a bad one…long story. But, we DID get an amazing 7-day safari and we saw a ton of cool stuff (photos below) and met cool people.
We started at Tangarire National Park: tons of zebras, impalas, lots of elephants, 3 lionesses right off the road, a tree-climbing lion asleep in a tree, wow! We camped at Panorama camp overlooking Lake Manyara that night and headed out early to Serengeti. Long dusty drive…uugh. We finally got in the park in the afternoon and did a game drive that afternoon, camped (no fence...listening to lions, watching 10 hyenas near our tents - yikes!). An all-day game drive the next day, and then ½ morning the following day. Serengeti was a-mazing. Hippos, giraffes, lions and lionesses within very very close range, cheetahs – we saw both lions and cheetahs on the move hunting. Crazy! The best sighting were the leopards though I think – a mother and her cub in a tree. Very cool. Elephants and their babies – this was awesome! Tons of buffalo – so we saw the BIG FIVE here in Serengeti.
After Serengeti, we drove 2-3 hours to Ngorongoro Crater to have dinner and camp. That night a lion came in the camp and looked in the kitchen (to the surprise of some safari cooks!) and a very thirsty and aggressive elephant came into camp later that afternoon as we were packing up/driving off. (crazy). Earlier that morning we toured Ngorogoro Crater – very very cool place. Spent about 6 hours on a game drive in the crater (driving crazy steep roads in/out) and saw the BEST views of 2 male lions very close to the road, and 3 lionesses hunt some warthogs. Loved it - we were IN on of those Discovery channel wildlife documentaries.
Next stop, we safari'd Lake Manyara and continued the last day at Arusha National Park. We took a walking safari there, got almost too close to buffalo and giraffes! Always though: "hakuna matata!" A 7-day unforgettable safari - and these pictures are only a few of hundreds we could bore you with!!
We head next to Kenya on a 5-hour bus from Arusha to Nairobi (international airport). We’ll hire a car this time and check out the sites in the central interior/rift valley and end at the sea side near Mombasa.
BIRD LIST
OTHER WILDLIFE
[coming soon]
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