Our first stop of the day was Ngorogoro crater, home to the Massai tribe. This was the segment of the trip that supposedly provided our best opportunity to see both a leopard and a cheetah, a lot of pressure considering this was also our last!
NGorogoro crater was like a scene from the Lion King, a vast circular landscape surrounded by green hills. Descending into the crater we passed by several Massai, one of whom was stood in traditional dress but was also speaking on a mobile phone, it felt a little bit surreal. The Massai people are allowed to continue living in the crater due to the fact their culture should not impact the animals currently living there.
Upon entering the crater we almost immediately spotted a hyena crossing the road just infront of us, it was slightly disappointing to see the animal running away as we moved closer, obviously concerned about the vehicle. Moving on through the crater we visited a hippo pond, here we saw many hippo including some running across the land. It did not seem possible that these animal can reach up to 30kmph on land, their legs are so stumpy. (They also weigh the same as a rhino?!)
By the hippo pond there were more hyena including babies. These animals are definitely not the cutest but it was quite fun seeing them interacting with their young.
Our driver received a message about a rhino however once we arrived it was a few hundred metres away and lying down. Not ideal for viewing and we had our ambitions set on a leopard so we soon moved on to another location where a lion was walking amongst the cars. Obviously not remotely intimidated the male lion was walking amongst the cars every so often lying down in the shade. This provided some fantastic photo opportunities even if he lie down bum facing towards us!
Prior to leaving the crater we stopped for a spot of lunch. Given that this lunch spot had absolutely no security or fences, and that we had only driven about ten minutes away from the lion happily walking amongst the cars it would be reasonable to be worried about what was walking around. This was a mistake! We should instead have been looking at what was circling overhead. Within a minute of leaving the car a hawk had swooped down and grabbed a packet of biscuits out of Owen’s hand. Thankfully he didn’t get hurt, although it did remind us of a story Matt (our American guide) had told us of a tourist being told to be careful when eating outside, instead he went outside and put a piece of chicken on his head. The hawk came down and ripped open his scalp requiring 30+ stitches. Most people made a hasty retreat to eat inside their cars. Boldly I decided to remain outside stood near the car until I was attacked by birds the size of starlings, even these little critters were not remotely intimidated by humans.
Exiting the crater we drove past many giraffes and the weather took a turn for the worst.
Roughly two hours later we entered the Serengeti, this was without doubt the thing at the top of my bucket list for Africa. Entering the park we drove past many wildebeest and zebra that were starting their migration through the Serengeti. We were not here at the best time for the migration but just a week earlier we would likely have missed it entirely. A tick of the list even if it didn’t quite provide the awe I was looking for.
Arriving at the park entrance we took a quick walk up the nearby hill, as suggested by Matt. Here we found many Red and blue lizards on top of the rocks and also got a better view of the plains. It was clear there were many wildebeest but they all seemed quite dispersed.
Driving into the Serengeti the weather really started to pour, our 4x4s struggled to cope with the lack of traction on the floor and at one point we had to drive through a newly formed river. It was quite exciting but definitely didn’t provide much hope for finding a leopard. We did however see a lioness with four cubs who could not have been more than 3 weeks old. Seeing her licking their fur again brought back memories of the Lion King. One more pride of lions later and we arrived at our campsite.
Whilst walking around in the dark looking for hyenas the girls kept asking us to come back from the eyes in the trees. Little did they know that a snake was slithering by them. This was either a green mamba baby or another non-venomous snake we never were able to clarify.
During the night there were hyenas walking amongst out tents. We did not see them although other people did, and there were tell-tale signs such as the bins being tipped strewn across the ground.
Setting off in the morning our first spot was a three legged hyena carrying a dead jackal around in its mouth. It is interesting that due to the pack mentality of hyena this animal had been able to survive when other solitary hunters would definitely be dead. This was followed by a huge pride of lions some of whom were lazing around in trees. Although it was an amazing sight our impatience to see a leopard soon dragged us away.
Two hours later and our hopes were beginning to fail when all of a sudden our driver zoomed off towards a new location. It was a cheetah, lying down so close to the cars all his sports clearly visible (did you know that the saying a Leopard never changes it’s spots is actually a fallacy – Leopards have rosettes whilst cheetahs have spots). I took this opportunity to nip outside the car for a wee when all of a sudden all the other cars around us started driving off. After a lot of shouting from my fellow passengers and with freshly wet pants I was back in the car and we were driving off after the cheetah that had decied to run away. It felt a bit mean chasing this poor animal that obviously did not want us around. Happy that we had seen a cheetah and having toasted the cheetah with a glass of wine with Ruud, we set off again in search for a leopard.
A large crowd of cars drew us towards another location, here there were two cheetah together sat on a rock, there was also one solitary antelope grazing around 50m from the cheetah. Within minutes the cheetah got up and started to stalk the antelope. Sensing danger the antelope began walking away only to realise that the cars blocked its path. It then continued grazing. All of a sudden the cheetah opened up to a sprint and the antelope tried to jump away. The acceleration of the cheetah left the antelope with no chance and as Owen put it ‘the antelope jumped straight on the cheetah’s plate’, its vertical hop basically landing in the cheetah’s mouth. It would have been nice to see the cheetah open up to full speed but this way the entire chase and kill happened about 20 metres away from us. We never did see a leopard but this experience of nature definitely made up for it.
Leaving the Serengeti desires quenched we were greeted by another surprise. Wildebeest and Zebra absolutely filling your vision any direction that you looked. This was the migration as I had always imagined it and was a brilliant end to our safari experience.
Joe Dunleavy