Sunday 10 July 2011

Day 250 Tanzania 10/7/2011, Serengeti National Park. Safari Day 2

We slept well and avoided being eaten by anything during the night. By 7:45am we were out of the camp-site and exploring the park. Our day started with the sight of hyena fighting with vultures and jackals over a carcass and was soon followed up by a male lion guarding a zebra it had killed.

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Once again the amount of animals we saw was staggering. Highlights included: zebras drinking and bathing in a river watched on by a large crocodile; wildebeest making hilarious grunting sounds; a hippo out of the water; a cheetah with two young cubs being teased by Thompson gazelle and a herd of elephants defending their calves.

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Before heading back to the camp for lunch, we spotted some more leopards asleep in a tree and a lioness taking a nap.

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During lunch, one of three young American guys, who seemed disappointed that they hadn't seen anything killed and eaten yet, asked probably the stupidest question a guide has ever been asked. Enquiring of his guide he said 'if the lions ate too many gazelle in the Ngorongoro crater, do they have someone who feeds them in?' The guide looked slightly bemused and said a definite 'no'! Bearing in mind that later these same lads were talking about graduating from university, you have to worry about the safety of the hands we are leaving the world in!

After a very nice lunch and a bit of a rest we headed out again for an afternoon game drive. This time we were taken further afield and saw giraffes grazing by the road; elephants having a mud bath; a rare spotting of a serval cat; a dik dik antelope; a bat eared fox; a black backed jackal and a topi antelope.

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By the time we got back to the camp-site we were once again shattered, but it has been an amazing experience.

1 comment:

  1. What a fantastic experience with some excellent photos. Mum and Dad

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