The Serengeti this year has proven to be phenomenal; we spent a week with a lovely Chicago family exploring the northern and western reaches of the area.
We started in Kleins just outside the park on the north-eastern boundary, the idea being to have a great Maasai experience before the wildlife spectacle of the migration.
Within five minutes of landing we had found a huge male leopard ensconced in a tree, and on closer inspection we found a pride of 4 lion feeding on a zebra carcass about 30 yards from his tree!
We found a further 6 lions in two groups on the way into the lodge and only got in around 9 o'clock after some spectacular viewing. The next few days we enjoyed more game viewing; more lion and lots of plains game and some elephant herds, and a great afternoon and evening with the Maasai followed by a spectacular electrical storm.
By day four of the trip we had seen a leopard a day; and all amazing sightings with great light. On our first morning in Kogatende we only had a brief wait on the banks of the Mara River, and witnessed a herd of some 25,000 wildebeest crossing; they chose a bad spot to leave the river and in the first few minutes of the crossing we witnessed some 40 - 50 wildebeest drown before they found a better place to get out. After an hour of watching we returned to our breakfast that we had hastily abandoned as the crossing started.
Our last stop was Grumeti Reserves for a bit of pampering; the spa was well used and we also managed to fit in an early morning balloon flight which was phenomenal, and to cap off our previous experiences we had a female cheetah kill a Thomson's Gazelle right in front of the car; again after waiting only a short time.
It became more and more difficult as the days went by to convince the family that these things don't happen every day on safari!
Our final day was one of smoke and fire; sadly there was a huge bushfire which burnt it's way across the reserve, consuming some 30,000 acres or more of grazing. We moved out of the lodge we were in in order to escape the smoke as the fire came right up to the lodge itself. We spent our las night gazing across the plains at the beautiful if sad picture of jumping flames and glowing skies in the distance. What an action packed 8 days!
We started in Kleins just outside the park on the north-eastern boundary, the idea being to have a great Maasai experience before the wildlife spectacle of the migration.
Within five minutes of landing we had found a huge male leopard ensconced in a tree, and on closer inspection we found a pride of 4 lion feeding on a zebra carcass about 30 yards from his tree!
We found a further 6 lions in two groups on the way into the lodge and only got in around 9 o'clock after some spectacular viewing. The next few days we enjoyed more game viewing; more lion and lots of plains game and some elephant herds, and a great afternoon and evening with the Maasai followed by a spectacular electrical storm.
By day four of the trip we had seen a leopard a day; and all amazing sightings with great light. On our first morning in Kogatende we only had a brief wait on the banks of the Mara River, and witnessed a herd of some 25,000 wildebeest crossing; they chose a bad spot to leave the river and in the first few minutes of the crossing we witnessed some 40 - 50 wildebeest drown before they found a better place to get out. After an hour of watching we returned to our breakfast that we had hastily abandoned as the crossing started.
Our last stop was Grumeti Reserves for a bit of pampering; the spa was well used and we also managed to fit in an early morning balloon flight which was phenomenal, and to cap off our previous experiences we had a female cheetah kill a Thomson's Gazelle right in front of the car; again after waiting only a short time.
It became more and more difficult as the days went by to convince the family that these things don't happen every day on safari!
Our final day was one of smoke and fire; sadly there was a huge bushfire which burnt it's way across the reserve, consuming some 30,000 acres or more of grazing. We moved out of the lodge we were in in order to escape the smoke as the fire came right up to the lodge itself. We spent our las night gazing across the plains at the beautiful if sad picture of jumping flames and glowing skies in the distance. What an action packed 8 days!
2 comments:
Squack, I loved reading all about your travels with our clients. Thank you so much for sharing. What beautiful photographs and amazing game viewing that you had. Thank you so much for everything you do for our Hills of Africa clients - you are the best!
wahou!
great action shots!
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