The Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
June 2023
The East African country of Tanzania hosts many National Parks, and the Serengeti National Park is best known for the route of the Great Migration when millions of wildebeest and other animals migrate in search of water. Indeed, our holiday was described as 'Walking with the Great Migration' but the wildebeest had been and gone by the time we arrived. Apparently climate change had altered their travel plans and they hadn't told our tour operator! The wildebeest are accompanied by zebra, and I think we caught a view of the tail end of the migration when we saw this long zigzag line of zebra in the far distance.
Serengeti means 'The Endless Plains' and the National Park extends well beyond the horizon. In some areas you just see drying grasslands and wonder how anything can live here. You see lumps in the grass which you imagine are lions and later discover that they might well be! And you see huge fires which have been set by Park Rangers to destroy the old inedible dried grasses and encourage the growth of fresh green shoots for the antelopes to graze on.
The success of the Park Rangers in managing this environment was evident by numbers of really healthy looking animals we saw and the family groups with their youngsters.
Our safari consisted of two components; one was a walking safari with a movable camp site (Wayo Fly Camp Safari in the northern Serengeti), and the other was a classical game drive based around a fixed campsite (Dunia Camp in the southern Serengeti) from where we took a hot air balloon ride. I will describe the different experiences in these two locations on separate web pages.
I will put my collection of animal photos in separate web pages because we saw such variety. And we saw and heard so many different birds! But when you go on a safari, the hope is that you get to see the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros). So here they are!
We saw so many lions! This one had just finished mating and allowed us to get remarkably close in our vehicle.
A lone old African buffalo is feared by more people than is the lion, and this one was a little too close!
Elephants were everywhere and could often be smelled before being seen!
Sightings of the African black rhinoceros are rare, and we saw five! The first time it was two adults and a younger rhino, then a lone rhino elsewhere. All were too far aware for my camera. Even the one shown here was really too far away, and they do move at some speed.
A leopard up a tree is really hard to see, but when one is spotted, all the guides tell each other and vehicles rush to see it.
The Serengeti experience is much more than just the animals; it's the guides and camp staff and all the people who make a safari holiday unforgettable, and it's the scenery. Since the animals are most active at dawn and dusk, then you too have to be out at dawn and dusk! So here is a selection of photos taken from dawn to dusk, and the late night sky.
Dawn at the Wayo campsite.
Rows and rows of different trees and colour tones in the morning haze.
Eland and zebra arrive for their early morning drink.
Weaver birds' nest are on the west-facing side of trees; useful if you are lost!
These acacia trees are so elegant. Often you will see monkeys siting right at the top of the canopy. The sausage trees (shown elsewhere) are favoured by the lions.
This is the golden light period before sunset when the colours are so rich.
A campfire before dinner was the norm and quite magical. Note Venus shining brightly in the blue light hour and before the stars appear.
I had one opportunity to photograph the stars, and by luck found my camera was pointed towards the Milky Way.
Our thanks to the guides and staff everywhere we stayed who made this trip so memorable.
Please do take a look at the web pages linked below, and view on a large screen if possible to do justice to these photographs.
