Serengeti Safari

I love animals, all kinds, but I am particularly fond of monkeys. I have always wanted one as a pet and still do.

When I recently found myself in Tanzania in July (said to be one of the best times for wildlife viewing with the chance of encountering the great wildebeest migration) I knew I must visit the Serengeti.

This was my first Safari experience. I booked a 4 day 3 night “Short and Sweet” Safari with African Scenic Safaris, that took me via a 4WD to the Tarangire and Serengeti National Park and to Ngorongoro Crater, all great spots for wildlife viewing. This was considered a “budget safari”; however, I still found the tour to be extremely expensive, but kept in line with the high costs I experienced for everything I did in East Africa. Safari prices are based on the number of people in a vehicle, so the price drops per person when you can go with others.

Our ride with African Scenic Safari

I was able to see lots of wildlife, we spotted four of the “Big Five” (leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo) but never got to see a hippo.

I do have to say I found the Safari a bit boring. The animals let me down. I wanted to see bloody attacks, maybe even some kinky animal sex, but all I got was a bunch of lazy lions and a yawning leopard. There was a small fight between two elephants, but no blood was shed.

Lazy lions

Yawning leopard

Elephant fight

I had hoped a giant baboon would leap from a tree, landing on the hood of our car pressing its face to the window making absurd faces. But the monkeys we saw were not at all interested in us, but I found the tiny baby monkeys riding on the backs of their moms to be the cutest thing in the whole world. I want one!!

Baby monkey and mama

I hoped to see a live birth of a creature, any animal would do! But all I got was a pregnant Zebra, which was still pretty cool.

Prego Zebra in Ngorongoro Crater

The most exciting part of each day was the night. As I lay inside my small tent in the middle of the wild, I wondered what animals were nearby. I wondered if elephants were clumsy and if there was a chance one might trip on the lines of the tent as I do every single time, fall and crush us in our sleep. Tom swore he heard a lion breathing outside our tent one night. I was super jealous to learn that Jenn and Karen had returned to their tent in the middle of the night to find a large buffalo blocking their entrance.

I hoped to get closer to these animals, but we were confined to the car and the guard at the camp site had a big gun to shoot in the air if any animals got too close.

Lions going for an evening stroll

All in all it was a great experience and I am glad I had the chance to see so many different creatures of the fascinating animal kingdom in their natural habitat.

One of my favorite scenes on Safrari was sunrise and sunset behind the bayobob trees was gorgeous.

Sunrise on the Serengeti

Sunset in the Serengeti

FUN ANIMAL FACTS:

• Zebras and Wildbeests are best friends and always travel together. They are a great team working together as Zebras have great eyesight and Wildbeest have good ears.
• When giraffes walk, they move both legs on one side of their body and then both legs on the other side.
• Hippopotamus appear to be slow and harmless; however, they are a very dangerous creature with powerful jaws that can tear a crocodile or a boat in half. They can run very fast in short sprints.
• Female lions are the hunters and the males mark their territory by roaring and spraying the area with urine.
• Zebras rest their head on a the back of a friend when they are tired. They also kiss but I missed that shot.
• When hippos exit the water they leave a trail of poo so they can find their way back. People living near hippos have been known to follow hippo poo to find water.

Zebras resting on each other

Sunset on Tarangire National Park

Zebra in Tarangire National Park

Cute cat in Serengeti National Park

Wart hog in Serengeti National Park

Giraffe in the Serengeti

Baboon

Fierce lion in the Serengeti

Zebra and flamingos in Ngorongoro Crater

Hippos in the Serengeti

Hungry Hungry Hippo

Ngorongoro Crater

Cheeky hyena in the Serengeti

Wildbeests in Ngorongoro Crater

Cute little dik dik

Giraffes are so cool

Osterich in Tarangire

Buffalo in the Serengeti

Ngorongoro Crater

To see more photos of my Safari adventure CLICK HERE!