Day 251 Tanzania 11/7/2011, Serengeti National Park & Ngorongoro crater. Safari day 3

This morning we woke at 6am, had a coffee and some biscuits and then set off for an early morning game drive. The morning was to prove perhaps the highlight of our entire safari. While the sun was rising giving everything a beautiful golden hue, a large male lion walked out beside a rocky outcrop.

If that wasn't enough, we rounded a corner and stopped beside some other vehicles watching a lioness. It soon became apparent she wasn't alone when we could hear a faint mewing. A cub, maybe a week old, set about running rings around its mother by constantly trying to climb up the hillside behind. Every time it got too far away the mother went to get it, bringing it back down the hill in her mouth. Clearly enjoying the game the cub, as soon as it had been brought back, set off again. Thomas our guide thought this was hilarious and we could hear people laughing in the other vehicles. It was a terrific sight to witness and one that we will not forget.

On the drive back to the camp-site for brunch we saw a pride of lions, more elephants and once again a cheetah and her cubs.

After a very nice meal it was time to pack up our tents and gear and then head towards the Ngorongoro crater, by way of another game drive. This time we came across a pride of thirteen lions, three of which were large males.

The remainder of the journey was largely free of any more animal sightings excepting the ubiquitous Thompson gazelle and we were soon climbing up the craters rim towards our next camp-site.

Arriving at the site, Thomas gave us the slightly ominous and somewhat amusing warning to not leave any food in the tents because of bush pigs. Apparently they will chew through a tent to get to food and while they won't hurt you, they will jump up and down on you. With that in mind we left our snacks in the vehicle!

Being at a higher altitude meant that the temperature on the crater rim was considerably colder than it had been on the plains. We were grateful when dinner arrived, as by now we were wearing everything we owned and had no intention of staying up too late. Another 6am start was suggested by Thomas, so an early night was definitely the order of the day.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Day 249 Tanzania 09/07/2011, Sakina Camp-site – Serengeti National Park The safari begins.

At just before 9am our vehicle, driven by our guide/driver Thomas, arrived to pick us up. Benjamin, the manager of 'Arunga Expeditions and Safaris', informed us that our co-passengers had cancelled late last night and we would be a party of two. It looked like we would be having our own private safari.

With our bags on board we set off and were quickly leaving Arusha behind. As we neared Lake Manyara we had our first wildlife spotting, a giraffe grazing near the edge of the road; we were off to a good start!

Near the lake we stopped at a camping and lodge site to pick up our cook Suweda and some supplies. Before too long we were once again under way and soon arrived at the Ngorongoro national park, where we had a lengthy wait while Thomas got our permits. From then on it was goodbye to the tarmac roads and hello potholed, corrugated dirt tracks. The dust kicked up by the vehicles meant that having a window open was impossible, so between the bumps and the heat it wasn't the most pleasant travelling experience.

With lunchtime approaching we stopped at a picnic site on the craters rim and settled down to eat our packed lunches. We hadn't expected to have our own little circle of life battle between Marabou storks, a bird clearly from the imaginings of George A Romero, and our sandwiches. Not to mention desperately trying to avoid loosing our chicken legs to swooping Kites. Eventually eating our food while standing and keeping the lunch boxes firmly closed appeared to be the best option.

Having eaten our lunch and survived the experience, we left the crater bound for Serengeti National park. Along the road we spotted zebra, camels, ostrich and gazelle.

At approximately 2:45pm we arrived at the national park entrance and climbed to the top of a nearby viewpoint while Thomas got our permits. From the top there were terrific views over the vast plains of the Serengeti and we got our first look at an Agama lizard.

Back at the truck Thomas had put the roof up and we were ready to depart for an afternoon game drive through the park bound for our camp-site for the night. By the time we had reached our base we had seen countless animals. Vast amounts of zebra and wildebeest roamed the open savannah, clearly some of the wildebeest had decided against going to the Masai Mara this year!

Of the notable sightings were three leopards in a tree asleep (a common occurrence), a tagged lioness, a cheetah, some hippopotamus and a herd of elephants.

Arriving at the camp-site at about 6pm we set up our tent, with some assistance, showered and waited for dinner. No one came rushing to say that dinner was ready so we whiled away the time watching buffalo grazing close to the camp site. The camp-sites are unfenced, so it is quite possible for animals to wander in amongst the tents. A flash-light for the evenings is essential.

Having not really been told what to do regarding dinner, we eventually found our table and sat down to wait. Dinner seemed to take an awfully long time to come, but when it did it was considerably better than we had been expecting. Soup was followed by a huge portion of pasta, vegetables and stew. To round off the meal was a large plate of fresh fruit.

It has been a busy and tiring first day, breakfast is at 7am so an early night is called for.