African Elephants

Our first elephant sighting was absolutely thrilling!  From the top of our Landcruiser, we were practically eye-level with the adults.  They were massive yet graceful and it was moving to see them roaming free in the wild.  The young calves were so adorable and playful and were well protected and guarded by the adults.  We witnessed some fun interaction and watched the elephants play and spray themselves in the water.  What a life they live!

In the end, we had successfully spotted the “Big 5” which includes the Lion, Leopard, Cape Water Buffalo, African Elephant and the endangered Black Rhino.  A once in a lifetime experience!

 

Big Cats

Serengeti is home to all the big cats including leopards, cheetahs and lions. We even spotted a serval cat. We were fortunate to enjoy up close views of several lion prides with cute little lion cubs playing and purring.  We saw several males, but usually off by themselves, one was guarding a fresh kill…an unlucky zebra. We also witnessed two cheetahs stalk and take down a gazelle at lightning fast speed and then took turns feeding on their hard earned meal.   While leopards are a little harder to spot, we were lucky to have several sightings, usually hanging out in trees, truly beautiful cats.  

During our stay at the safari tent camp, we were awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of a stampede and saw 3 lions sprint past our tent.  They were apparently chasing down a water buffalo.  They disappeared in the darkness and then let out the deepest loudest roar that literally shook the earth.  It was so surreal.  Through the night, we listened to the pride fight with each other while feeding on the buffalo nearby and they were still going at it the next morning.  

Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest extinct intact volcanic caldera in Northern Tanzania.  It’s a wildlife paradise with Zebra, Cape Water Buffalo, Warthogs, Elephants, etc.  Lots of colorful birds, both big and small, were spotted including ostrich, flamingos, cranes and storks.  We even spotted the rare Black Rhino in the distance. 

The conservation area extends beyond the rim of the crater where we saw Giraffe and Zebra roaming freely. The Maasai tribes are settled in the area so we visited a local village to learn more about their culture.  They greeted us with a native dance.