Suyan Camp Serengeti National Park

... up close was just fantastic! And seeing the
serengeti and how vast it is was awesome!!


On the way back from the serengeti we passed through the ngorogoro crater, a stunning volcano that imploded a long way back
and is now just a concentrated area full of game!! it was here that we finally completed the big 5 and saw the elusive black rhino, yay!!
lots of elephants, wildebees, zebra, jackals, hyenas, all against the backdrop of the lake that ...

... and numerous brown jumpy things. Still no leopard… but then, on the way back to camp, the jeep stopped abruptly and there, finally, about 50m off the road lazing in a tree we saw our first leopard! We headed back to camp happy, but knowing there were no black rhino in the Serengeti we did feel that the next day may be a damp squib in terms of new experiences. Little did we know then what was ahead of us!!

The following day after a morning drive we went ...

... that night at his "atelier", none other than "African Picasso" . The sequence of questioning is simple: Jambo! Where you from? Portugal? Ah, Ronaldo and Figo, yes yes! You are married? You come see me tonight? You stay in Tanzania. The last one is, actually, made as a statement.

Sigh. Back to camp, uber quick change as I'd drifted further than I thought, and off we set for the Serengueti.

Which was a 3 hour drive, passing Ngornongoro Crater after a ...

... the guides could even locate it. The leopard isn’t on the Big Five list, but it was still high on our list of animals to see. Exquisite.

We then encountered some animals from previous days … elephants, hippos, etc.

Late morning, it was time for a break at the Serengeti Visitors Center where there is a clever walk that introduces you to the game of Africa by way of outdoor metal sculptures. Quite fun to see and read ...

... the reduction in dust and in the number of people coughing.

We saw some black-faced vervet monkeys, and a lot more of our old friends: gazelles, zebras, giraffes, Cape buffalo and warthogs. At another oasis similar to yesterday’s, we found a lot of hippos and a lot of birds (esp. a lot of Marabou Storks). We finished our drive with an introduction to the dik dik, a gazelle that roams the hotel property.

We checked ...

... cheetahs that we have seen and we have talked to others on safari and they have yet to see one.

The Serengeti is also tse tse fly central, and our tented camp has many tse tse fly traps around its grounds. And yes, they are royal blue in the middle (to attract the fly) and black on the border (which is a sticky fly adhesive). They are buzzing all over and it is very annoying on the game drive.

The name of the tented camp, Mbuzi Mawe, means ...

... them. If they loose the challenge they spend the rest of thier life living and hunting alone. We saw one male lion sleeping on a rock who was all alone. It's a totally different reality than the Lion King :)

We slept in the park and were told that we need to be careful of scorpions because there were a lot in the Park.
Tomorrow morning we head for another game drive and then to the Ngorogoro Crater.
Brett and Robin

... Once an active volcano, the caldera of Ngorongoro has long since been dormant and is now inhabited by herds of zebras, wildebeests and their associated predators. The elevation of the crater keeps the vegetation plentiful, and the view from the crater top was simply stunning.


Once inside the crater, I came face to face with lions, leopards and giraffes. The roof of the truck opened up and we spent the morning game-driving through this picturesque ...

... stopped to take pictures. As we were all safari newbies, we initally took a lot of pictures of every zebra and wildebeast we encountered, not knowing how ubiquitous they really were. This is not to say the cast of supporting characters were not important, and want to mention some of these animals before moving onto the stars of the show. First, there were herds of graceful and relatively small gazelles ...

... a little nervous as I went for my middle of the night walk to the toilet with Clare! Safety in numbers or a larger target?! Monday 16th March - Day 26 Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater (150km), Serengeti morning game drive, Olduvai Gorge, rim of crater. Lions and a Leopard. ****** time in camp! Everyone did very well to be up and breakfasted even before the sun had risen. This meant we left at prime big game viewing time. We were not disappointed ...