Have five ever been seen together before?

Serengeti sunset
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Serengeti

(Nick's story)

(Ronnie's story) Our visit to Serengeti NP was one of the highlights of my trip in Africa! All the cheesy things I had seen and heard about the Serengeti are true.  When we drove into the park I was immediately struck by the openness of the plains, the beauty of the solitary trees and the clouds in the sky, which appeared so low I felt I could touch them. The wildlife was not bad either. We saw the last of the wildebeest migration... it was fantastic to watch a herd of about 100 run across the road.  Our pointed out that on the horizon there was about a thousand.

The 5 cheetah Safari
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We spent the night in another very basic camp within the park. The surrounding wildlife was incredible, one jackal kept edging closer and closer to our campsite and the brightly colored birds came in all shades of the rainbow. Also, the sunset was spectacular. I am not sure if I was more excited or scared to hear the howls of hyenas from our tent during the night...there was no way I was going to make any bathroom runs that night. Before I fell asleep I thought I heard a lion's roar... but in the morning no one else had...so maybe it was just the Larium?

I loved the trees in the Serengeti
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Our morning game drive was unparalleled. As the sun was rising, I redeemed myself to Nick and Simon by spotting two cheetahs sitting in the grass. We later discovered there were FIVE! With the help of binoculars, I was the whispering commentator on their every move.  A few times I was sure they were getting ready to hunt but alas they were only playing. A fantastic, fantastic experience... we had 5 cheetahs to ourselves for 20 minutes! Simon has never seen that many cheetahs in one place in his 6 years as a guide. The excitement did not end there. On a way back to camp Nick spotted a wild cat. At first glance it looked just like a domesticated cat...but not one I would want to pet or give a glass of milk.

The last of the wildebeast migration
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On the way to our next lodging, we stopped at the hippopotamus pond. There was about a hundred hippos, big ones and little ones, and a few very large crocidiles. I sat by the edge of the pond, not to close, and listened to their snorting noises and was occasionally startled as one would just pop out of the water without making a bit of noise. Fantastic animals!

We spent the last night of our safari at the Fort Ikoma Tented Camp located just outside the park. This was one of my favorite places we have stayed so far. The tent with huge with great views and the food was wonderful.  Not a bad way to end a safari either!