Olduvai Camp Serengeti National Park

... in the long grass somewhere but the mother clearly wasn't convinced and was starting to look extremely ****** off with the whole situation. She circled us again then stopped a metre away by the back window of the jeep. Crouching down she started to snarl and show her teeth. Looking like a coiled spring we were convinced the leopard was about to jump in on top of us, looking for her cub The roof can be a pain to close as it’s in three open sections, but with a ...

... Serengueti continued. <br><br>Arrival at Dik DIk campsite....THIS was more like it. Just a spot in the Serengueti. We dumped our stuff and set off for our first of two game drives and this was to blow Kruger out of the water. I will not detail this. The photos will hopefully speak for themselves. Absolutely awesome. <br><br>Back to camp we kerosene lamps lighting our second delicious dinner after an Inca Trail style bowl of popcorn, we were absolutely STUNNED by ...

... been told by Michael this was a baaaad year due to the crisis. That said, given that we might have been about 30 or 40 ogglers around the hippo pool with jeeps to be seen dotted around the landscape I say thank you for recessions which keep our numbers low.<br><br>So 3 hours later we left happy with our intro to our safari and headed back to camp for our first Damian meal....copious quantities, very tasty and Michael sat with us for a chat where he told us about ...

... by symptoms and whipping the patient into the back of the bus for a quick injection and handing out a few condoms. We saw loads of Malaria as no one uses mosquito nets, and brucellosis - from slaughtering cattle and the unpasteurised milk. The mind set was just to do the best we could, pick out the sick patients, do a bit of health education and de-worm everyone! We came back to Karatu knackered, dusty and completely sick of rice and beans. All in all ...

... remember, those humongous rock outcroppings featured in Lion King), expecting to find lions. We did not. We found some very interesting blue and red Agama Lizards, but no Simbas.<br><br>We moved on and were rewarded. A gorgeous cheetah was lying under a tree/bush, enjoying what little shade was available on the Serengeti. He was far away but I finally nabbed a fine shot.<br><br>We encountered a Secretary Bird which has a crown of ...

... as to how to judge the authenticity of that experience. Along the safari route, there are several villages that are part of Tanzania&#8217;s cultural tourist program. Apparently families decide to open their village to outsiders to educate them about the Maasai, although I have since learned that some of the villages are only open during the day then the Maasai retire to their real homes.<br><br>I was very curious about the true Maasai village and as Leah told Jackie and I ...

... and as we continued into the west I let the wind push the dry air into my lungs. Acacia trees dotted the horizon and I felt a peace that I haven't experienced in a very long time. <br><br>When I arrived in the center of the park, I was greeted by two lionesses. They were lounging around in a tree and I later learned (from a local guide) that one of these lionesses were pregnant. In that fleeting moment when one lioness descended from a nearby tree, I ...

... Maasai circumcision ceremony... thankfully the deed itself is done before the ceremony but we were able to see how the Maasai celebrate: the women in their ceremonial dress and jewellery while the young warriors perform their chanting and jumping. It's another amazing thing to see and we're lucky to see it happening outside of a performance staged for tourists! Well, I think that's about it for now.... Phew! Apologies in advance for the mammoth amount of pics and vids!

... I had to break out my sleeping bag as temperature at night went down to 7 degrees. No time to wallow though... at 7am we were picked up by a couple of land rovers and began the very steep descent into the crater. The crater was teaming with lots of wildlife, but the highlight of the whole day was when a big lion walked right past the land rover and didn't even care that we were there. It just ...