Serengeti National Park - Lulled to Sleep By The Purr of Lions

Safari Day Two

March 29, 2008, Serengeti National Park

(Matt)

The first night of the camping safari, which was located in the town of Mto Wa Mbu (River of Mosquitoes) was not that great. We did not set up our own tent, as we did during the next nights, and we were unaware that someone had tied open the exterior flap of our tent. The rains came, and they came hard. While the interior flap was zipped, the water poured into our tent and flooded it, slowly at first and then more quickly as the night went on. I would have gone out to fix the problem had I known what it was.

We were given foam pads to sleep on. My pad, which was the closest to the open window, soaked up the water like a sponge. My down sleeping bag was getting wet. So I tied it to the roof of the tent to avoid the feathers getting soaked, which would be bad.

Amber gave me her sarong, and I spent most of the night laying horizontally across the foot of my pad and Amber's pad curled into a ball, teetering between the wet part of the pads and wet floor of the tent. I was really wishing the night would the end at about 4am.

The next morning we woke up to find that the entire campsite was flooded. Both our sleeping pads were sopping wet. Luckily, we had brought our own pads for the next three nights.

During breakfast, the waters continued to rise in the camp, as water poured in from the adjacent property. The water got so high that several other tents owned by other companies were filled with water by the time we left. We drove out of our camp and found that most of the town of Mto Wa Mbu was under water. We were actually very fortunate that we only got as wet as we did.

We then traveled passed Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Serengeti National Park, passing through the amazing annual migration of the wildebeests to Masai Mara in Kenya. There are about 2 million wildebeests, who buck, jump and kick their way through this area during the wet season. During the month of February, about 8,000 wildebeest calves are born every day. So there are many young wildebeests performing their first migration right now. Sadly, about 40% of these die before they are 4 months old.

The scope and the scale of the migration of around 2 million wildebeests, who travel with seemingly endless herds of zebras, is hard to describe in words or even in photographs. Wildebeests and zebras go on in all directions for as far as the eye can see. I actually was able to see the wildebeests migration in Kenya in July 2001--the wildebeests and zebras migrate to Masai Mara via Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Serengeti--and I was more astonished by the migration on this side of the border, as the parks here are bigger, and we drove for miles and miles through a sea of wildebeests and zebras.

Once we crossed into the Serengeti National Park, the migration thinned until it stopped. Andrew explained that the path of the herd will fluctuate between Ngorongoro and the Serengeti at various times during the migration.

Once in the Serengeti, I was immediately on the large set of every nature television show that I have ever watched. Indeed, the Serengeti is world famous for its predators, especially lions. If you watch Animal Planet on any given day and you see lions killing wildebeests or zebras in the savanna, it was almost certainly filmed in the Serengeti National Park, which is 14,763 square kilometers of protected land. I immediately recognized the terrain, which is the quintessentially African grass land, just high enough to hide its predators, and the occasional acacia trees, which provides nourishment to the large giraffe population and a hiding place to the baboons.

The Serengeti is literally teeming with life. We saw hundred of thousands of wildebeests and zebras, elephants, Grants and Thomson gazelles, ostriches, giraffes, baboons, water bucks, a beautiful leopard posing for us in a tree, hippopotamuses, baboons, impalas, jackals, spotted hyenas, kori bustards (largest flying bird in Africa - gets up to 36 pounds), white backed vultures, hooded vultures, lappet faced vultures (which is the largest of the huge vultures here), an eagle hawk, superb starlings (with an amazing blue color), red headed iguanas (hot pink and purple males), secretary birds, hammerkops, herrons, pelicans, bat earred foxes, black bellied bustards, lilac breasted rollers, topis, vervet moneys, and, of course, lions. In fact, we came upon three female lions that had recently killed a wildebeest, who had strayed from the herd, and we watched them devour it right next to the road.

I was apparently really hot in Zanzibar and Dar Es Salaam because I stupidly left every pullover in Arusha...and it got really cold in the Serengeti after dark.

(Amber)

We woke up in a lake. On night one, we camped at a site in the middle of a small village, and when we woke up, the entire village was flooded. Some of the thatch huts were knee-deep in water. It was a really sad site, and the villagers were busting to try and dig ditches, clear the roads, etc....They did seem in a hurry, but it looked to me like they also expected this during the rainy season and were in no way shocked at the rising water.

We spent the day on a drive through Ngorongoro Conservation Area on the way to the Serengeti. In the Ngorongoro area, unlike its neighboring Serengeti, Masai people are still allowed to live. So we passed countless Masai villages, and Masai walking, Masai herding their cattle.

At one point, the guys in the truck had to have a pit stop (which is more exciting than usual...when lions could literally be in the bushes), and when they left the car, three Masai children surrounded the truck and just stared at us. They stared at me with such curiosity. It was much different than my interactions with the children on Zanzibar. These children, who live an entirely pastoral lifestyle that has changed very very little for maybe centuries, looked at me as if I were from the moon. The older one, and only one I was able to photograph without being rude, had large holes in both ears. One of the smaller children had a large piece of pottery through his right ear....working on his adult hole I guess. It was phenomenal to have this encounter. I wish I had been able to get more shots of the Masai, but it hasn't been possible so far. I'll keep trying. They are tall, thin, bald, beautiful people who usually carrying some sort of staff or weapon and wear the most brightly colored dresses and jewelry. I loved getting a view of their world en route to the Serengeti.

In addition to the interesting Masai culture, we also drove straight through the middle of the annual wildebeest migration, when approximately 2 million wildebeests (called gnus here) migrate to southern Serengeti to have their babies in the open plains where they can keep a better eye on dangerous predators. We didn't plan our safari in order to see this and were thrilled when it worked out. The scene of so many animals sprinkling the landscape is more than I could ever describe. It literally went on for hours.

Intermingled throughout the wildebeests were countless other animals. Zebras, who do a really cute thing where they snuggle with each other and lay their heads on their family and friends' backs, love the wildebeests I guess and were also everywhere yesterday. Gazelles were also with the migration in large numbers.

We arrived at camp around 6pm. Camp is just an area....in the middle of the Serengeti....in no way fenced. Hmmmm....I didn't..and still don't...think it's a very safe setup. And that's an understatement.

There were about four other tents here. John and Nathan started talking to one of the people in the other tents, who had already spent one night here, and they told a tale that made the no fence issue even more real.

The night before we arrived, a pride of lions killed a buffalo about 50 yards from the tents. The campers heard and saw it all. The next morning, the same day we arrived, one group of lions fought over the kill with another group, who then turned and ran from the scrap, passing straight through the campsite at about 6:30am right when a camper was walking to the restroom. Great.

We sat and had dinner and listened to a lion roar just outside the camp area, and I was really nervous. But you have to think....they do this all the time. If people were eaten from their tents, we would hear about it......right?

Safari Day Three

March 30, 2008, Serengeti National Park (Amber)

Once we all got in our tents and settled in, things got quiet. And...we woke up bright and early with no casualties.

We drove all day and saw some amazing sights, not the least of which was the famous Serengeti landscape. For more about this amazing landscape, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serengeti

We saw giraffes, zebras, hippos, gazelles, buffalo, topi, impalas, baboons (one of whom broke into our truck while the tire was being changed and stole our chocolate bar), crocodile, monitor lizard, mongooses, lions (more on those below), warthogs, rock hyrax, dwarf mongooses, and hyenas.

Birds included...

hooded vultures (eating the kill near our camp), maribou stork, guinea foul, Egyptian goose, blacksmith glover, long crested eagle,

Throughout the day, we saw several lions. The Kings of the Jungle are the highlights for obvious reasons. They are not only majestically beautiful, but they are A#1 on the food chain....and while there are roughly 3,000 in this park alone, they are well camouflaged and can be quite elusive.

First thing this morning, we saw two females and three cubs. But they were about 100 yards away and quickly disappeared into the yellow grass.  Later in the day, we came up on two males lazing under trees. To see a male is very rare, and they were both about 20 feet from us. It was stunning.

A bit about lions....Females get to about 320 pounds and males get to about 520 pounds. A wildebeest, and you'll understand the importance of this in a bit, is about 600 pounds. A healthy female lion, alone, can kill up to 1,000 pound prey.

So the backdrop was the amazing Serengeti....teaming with giraffes, hippos, monkeys, gazelles, zebras....you name it. But the kicker was at the end of the day. We came up on three female lions with a newly killed wildebeest. They were about 20-30 feet from our truck. We watched, for at least half an hour...from a close distance...as these three (in a very defined pecking order).....devoured the wildebeest.

This is something, according to our guide, that is exceedingly rare to see, especially at close range. We were right there. When we pulled up, the animal was almost entirely still intact. When we left, the three fat and happy lions had left the sight, and all that remained was a stomach and some intestines. The vultures would get those....but not until they were sure that the lions were finished. Photos of the feast in the link below.

If I see nothing else in the wild, I am awed and could not be more amazed. I just can't describe the beauty and the power of what we saw on our first day in the Serengeti.

After a full day of game driving, we returned to the camp and had a great meal of pasta with vegetables. Then our driver, Andrew, asked if we wanted to go to the "bar." Keep in mind, we are in the middle of the Serengeti. All we've seen are dirt roads and wild animals. But of course we went (and saw a hyena and jackal on the way) and found a room with a few women, some beer and coke, and one light bulb. We sat in the mostly dark bar and just marveled at our surroundings and our experiences from the day. It was a great...and appropriate....way to end the evening.

That night I was less nervous about the fact that we were camping in a very exposed camp in the middle of these wild plains. I can shift gears quickly and surviving the first night gave me some sense of comfort and security. But as we slept, you could hear the distinct roar of a lion near camp...and a herd of hyenas spent most of the night in or very near our camp laughing that ominous laugh. It is funny how nervous we were the first night in the Serengeti. By night three of the safari, we were right at home. Although I am still sure that we will someday hear of a camper here being eaten or stomped. It's really only a matter of time.

Interesting note - there are about 20-30,000 lions in the world. Half are in Tanzania. Where have we pitched these tents again?

(Matt)

I just have to add that the camp at Masai Mara, much like the Masai villages, is surrounded by a fence to keep lions out during the night. This camp in the Serengeti is really kind of insane because there is no fence and nothing really even to denote a boundary at all, except that someone came in and mowed the grass a little shorter on the people side, leaving the grass long on the animal side, which is perfect for an animals stalking people from outside the campsite. The animals, however, seemed unaware of the import of this mowing, as lions, hyenas, mongooses and baboons freely passed into the cut grass area while we were there, which I assume is against the park rules and is certainly against the intentions of the mower. I down played the risk while we were there, but now I admit it was completely unsafe. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that someone will be eaten at that campsite some day.

Also, that dive bar in the middle of the Serengeti was awesome. I chatted with Andrew about all kind of interesting things, but our discussion of the black mamba sticks out in my mind, as it was really scary. Black mambas are found in the Serengeti, and if a black mamba bites, you are dead within 15 minutes.

Safari Day Four

March 31, 2008, Serengeti National Park

(Amber)

We were up at 5:30am, because we wanted to see a Serengeti sunrise. By 6:30am we had seen an incredible red, purple, blue and orange sky brighten behind a trademark Acacia on the endless plains of the Serengeti.

We spent the day on a drive and again saw so many animals.....hippos, giraffes, antelopes, lions (a large male and female sitting together quite close to the road - about 15 feet from our car), warthogs....but the highlight was the leopard. This beautiful and solitary animal is rarely seen, especially at such close range and in full view. We watched it lounging in a tree at very close range for probably 45 minutes. Amazing.

Other sightings included the impalas, water bucks, antelopes, giraffes,topis, hippos, baboons, lions, hyenas, wildebeests, and zebras...and lots of all of it.

Birds....necked spurfowl, bataluer eagle, crowned eagle, guinea foul, vultures, grey herons, brightly colored lovebirds, fire finch, gray crowned crane.

Leaving the Serengeti later in the day, we drove back through the migration and saw literally thousands and thousands of zebras and wildebeests...among other things. The number of animals and the scale of this place is astounding. It is truly never-ending. You just look up, and you are in another world.

We arrived at our camp on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. It's the same camp that Matt was in 8 years ago when a heard of zebras ran through in the night. We were perched on bright green grass overlooking the beautiful crater below. To this point, all that we hadn't seen is the rhino and the cheetah (which is nocturnal so rarely seen).

Now the task was again to survive in another fence-less and exposed camp with millions of wild animals. Of course, we did. But not without a herd of something (hyenas according to our guide) certainly shared our real estate again on night four.

Random note....When I order a coke, they ask if I want it hot or cold. I always say cold...can't imagine who says hot...and it comes out luke warm.

(Matt)

We stayed our last night at the rim Ngorongoro Crater at the same campsite where I stayed back in 2001. That time a herd of zebras ran through the camp during the night. Like the others that night, I was scared and curled into a ball in the middle of my tent hoping to avoid being trampled. Interestingly, Nathan also camped at that same campsite back in 2001, and he reported that an elephant walk through that same campsite. This time hoofed animals, probably waterbucks, came through our campsite, though a man with a machine gun was charged with keeping the African buffaloes out of our site. We were told that the next day. That night, the man never announced himself or said who he was affiliated with. He just kind of cruised through camp with his machine gun around his neck and said, "Jambo!" That was it. No explanation, just "Jambo!"

For photos, click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatmbZk0ZtFHTQ