Serengeti Sopa Lodge Serengeti National Park

... a very white cheetah that had taken down a gazelle and was trying to eat it, all the while watching for predators.

Next came a hyena, followed by a flock of birds … Secretary, hornbill, vultures, stilts and more. Another verdant pool area provided an abundance of wildlife.

Another lion, a lot of elephants, and finally a leopard I could photograph. Made me a happy camper.

We finished the day with Cape buffalo ...

From the crater we entered the Serengeti to our campsite for the evening. It was very rustic and we did not have a lot of amenities, but who cared? We were in the SERENGETI! The next day Noel (our driver) took us out for a couple of game drives.
In the morning, we got to see a couple of lionesses with a fresh kill. They had just taken out a Zebra when we got there. We also saw the ...

... remains have been found, and is not far from where fossilised footprints were unearthed of a family walking along through prehistory. Widely regarded as the birthplace of humankind, the curator of the museum welcomed us all back 'home'.

Serengeti means 'endless plains', and is a pretty apt description. Probably the biggest of the national parks we visited (sorry, can't be bothered to check if it is or not!) it certainly ...

... like a shot from a gun she darted forward at such great speed it was impossible to keep up with her (I was looking through binoculars)!!! She chased the gazelle that by now had seen the cheetah and darted to the other side. But the cheetah soon caught up and with a deft shot with her paw brought the gazelle down as the cubs ran up to enjoy their lunch. This whole episode lasted an hour and a half and ...

... observation I have made in Tanzania is that it often feels like the whole city is outside walking on the roadside and it can get pretty crowded out there. This surprised particularly surprising since it was the early morning of Good Friday, a national holiday. I suppose people get started a lot earlier here. After 2 hours and driving approximately 145km Northeast, we arrived at Ndabaka Gate, the Western ...

... the event whilst all the others were too busy either laughing or gagging! Tuesday 17th March - Day 27 Ngorongoro to Arusha (150km) Ngorongoro morning game drive Waking up early again we were chomping at the bit for another day of safari. Sophie held us up for a while after breakfast as the sun rose over the crater in a most beautiful way. Then we started our descent into the crater. It was steep and we were glad to be in 4x4's and not 'Songwe' the ...

... around and the older elephants were taking care of the little baby elephants. We all thought that it was incredible to see these animals in their natural habitat. The way that they moved and interacted with each other was entirely natural and quite unlike anything that I have seen in a zoo. After a short time we began to get hungry and so pulled into a picnic site to have some lunch. Abdullah had prepared some great little lunch boxes with sandwiches, sausage rolls and an assortment ...

... and used it instead. There was no way I was going out into the hyenas! Our days on this camping tour start early and with Military precision. Breakfast is at 6, we leave at 7 for the days events. A good sleep in happened on the last day in the Serengeti when we didn't have breakfast until 7:30. Like I said before, I will catch up on my sleep when I am 80. While in the Serengeti we went on numerous game drives. These involve driving ...

... entire trip so it was uneventful when we arrived today. The drive was approximately four hours long but was much more interesting than those prior as we took a non-park dirt road that wove through many local villages. This is the real Tanzania, not the tourism-laden forced environments that we had seen to date. We really saw how people lived, behaved and went about their daily lives. We passed villages that resembled what was once ...