Safari Part III

On the final day of our safari, Arun and I commented that although we've saved the best for last- we weren't sure if the Serengeti would offer anything new. Afterall, we'd seen EVERY animal imaginable!

And of course, how wrong we were!

Every year, the wildebeest and zebra migrate from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya. And although we had seen wildebeest and zebra a-plenty, there are no words to describe the feeling of watching thousands upon thousands of these animals traversing through the Serengeti together. We learned that the zebra and the wildebeest make a great team. Apparently, the zebra's senses are very strong and with their binocular vision and excellent sense of smell; they can flee from predators readily. Wildebeest are rather dumb creatures and tend to panic easily- so they depend on the zebra for their quick senses. However, the wildebeest are good navigators and are able to lead zebras through their long journey together. They are not competitors for food because the zebra graze on rather poor-quality grass, while the wildebeest feast on longer plains' grasses.

At one point, we watched the wildebeest jumping over a stream and it was the most amazing sight!

Our most interesting story occurred when we happened upon a stalled jeep. Turns out the jeep was trying to make a u-turn and the wheel got stuck in a rut. Our driver, Samson, got out to help them and Arun joked, "Don't get eaten by any lions or anything!"

Well- would you believe it- all of a sudden the lady in the other jeep said, "Oh my gosh- there IS a lion over there!"

So there are our drivers, trying to lift the 4X4 out of the rut, and the lady starts video-taping the lion who clearly hoping that his lunch-dreams would come through! Luckily- they worked quickly and everyone came back safe and sound.... and their jeep was on their way!

Now, one of the things we clearly learned was that a safari experience truly depends on the skill of your driver/guide. They have to know the patterns and habits of the animals to know when and where they tend to 'hang out.' Samson was absolutely amazing at knowing what watering-hole and which acacia grove was frequented by animals... and he was also great at forecasting and predicting how the animals would move. That's why we were able to get such AMAZING close-up shots of the animals- because he was always one-step-ahead of other drivers and we would always be the ones that the elephants or lions would pass in front of! YAY us! But one of the things he wasn't exceptional at- was finding tree-leopards.

So wouldn't you know it- one good turn deserves another- because as we were driving along- the driver we had JUST helped waves us down. Turns out- he had found a tree-leopard! And they are VERY difficult to find. So we were really quite lucky to catch a glimpse of these rather un-social cats that hang about in trees.

After that sighting- we headed to a famed hippo- pool. They are not the most pleasant creatures- the water is pretty disgusting and they just roll and loll around in their own filth. They like being submerged most of the time, so it took a bit of patience to capture them coming out of the water-but I was able to capture a couple of lovely shots- so it was all well-worth it!

I should definitely talk about some of the absolutely amazing hotels we stayed in. We decided on the Serena Lodges. And let me tell you- WOW! Infinity pools that lead out into views of Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara... hotel rooms that look like traditional Masai huts... dinner buffets and evening dance shows... they just had it ALL! We definitely enjoyed the resort! And they choses such amazing locations that we always awoke and went to sleep to amazing sunrises and sunsets- a photographers dream!

With that- I'll end this entry on the shot I described earlier- Wildebeest and Zebra leaping over a stream in the Serengeti!