I arrived in Tanzania on January 15 and have been working non-stop since then. Now on a break in the Serengeti! Soon I will have time to record the wonder of the last few weeks.
But first. The Serengeti!
I’m in CAT COUNTRY!
SUNDAY
Anderson is my guide and right-hand man at Namiri Plains, a decadent oasis in the Serengeti. He collected me at 6:30 AM. Thinking “I’m on vacation, why am I setting my alarm?” I once again trusted the Universe and wow did it deliver. Setting off with a pre-dawn chill and ethereal morning light we headed to the bush.
Ten minutes in, a mama cheetah with her three romping tweens, put on a show. We quietly followed them knowing mama was on the lookout for breakfast. Her stalking skills, although impressive, were not adequate to get the two nearby gazelle.
Eagle eye Anderson noticed another mom with a cub, so we parked a few feet away and witnessed a plethora of feline affection.
But nature will be nature, and it was time to eat. On my many safaris I have watched cats devourer a kill but never the kill. Eagle eye spotted a romping heard of gazelle, so we moved near them to quietly observe the unfolding of nature. Mom sleekly moved unnoticed through the bush until a member of the heard spotted her and yelled “run”. And they did. You know the story. The sleek mom flew through the air and captured the slowest runner. Pole sana, she was a sweet young thing!
Now that she had here price she called for the little one.
Her kill came with a price. She laid nearby to recover, her lungs heaving. It was clear she would need recovery time, so Anderson made fabulous coffee and we ate breakfast. The cub, still with baby teeth, dragged the gazelle around trying to get a bite.
At the first sign of red lips, we headed for camp encountering a beautiful white eagle in a showoff flight.
From a beautiful sunrise to the cheetah shows, nature had delivered a pretty spectacular Sunday morning!
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Recoup with a great lunch and head out for a late afternoon check on nature. Looking for lions we first encountered one old man giraffe with a slight posture problem. Oh wait no! There were seventeen. Like super models they swayed in and out of view. Nice show.
On to the lions, we found a mom and 3 little ones huddled around their dinner, an unfortunate warthog. The lions were too hot to eat so we moved on to a cheetah who was a more active dinner seeker.
Hanging out near the gazelle heard, where we expected cheetah action. Then we noticed she was dawdling with babies in tow.
By now OUR dinner was more important.
We managed a quick check-in on the lions. While the little ones were dining on warthog mom put her feet up, obviously exhausted from taking down a warthog and dealing three kids.
Satisfied with the day’s shows we headed off to an early dinner. I had a 4 AM wakeup call coming.
MONDAY
4 AM is early but wakeup came with a smile and pot of French press coffee. How can that be? Service here is 10 star and always with a smile.
An early morning 90 minute drive was on the bush highway. Sometime road and sometimes not. Always natural speed bumps. My drivers kept me entertained and guided me through the morning adventure.
The reward, a sunrise safari in a hot air balloon, was so worth it. I didn’t take many photos because it is so Zen floating above the beauty.
The exception is the disgusting smell and behavior of hippos!
On the long drive back to the camp I was too tired for an afternoon drive so opted for a nap before dinner.
TUESDAY
Today is my last full day. Eagle eye and I headed out at 6:30 AM. No longer considered early. Beautiful sunrise, freshest breeze and male lions patrolling the perimeter of the camp. They were clearly the boss.
The next half hour we moved through a path of giraffe and gazelle to a male cheetah. He had not missed a meal, so no action.
After a breakfast with great coffee we continued on. Thinking I could conjure up anything I wanted I said “hmmm we haven’t seen a leopard. Eagle eye said “ok, we will find one”. Within 10 minutes we were following a fine looking male leopard. He put on a show in and out of two trees. The first is where he stored his half eaten kill. So dinner was waiting, when he needed it.
After a morning of male cats we found another mom cheetah with two little cutie kitties.
Tonight a walking safari! Hamna shida, I have armed guides.
Another beautiful morning but just enough time to get to the airport for my late morning flight. As I was leaving a representative from our camp’s pride of lions came to bid me farewell!
Thanks to Zwadi who’s humor and care were a gift!
Where in the world are you Diane? 