The Serengeti: Our Last Day, February 2012

I had enjoyed my time ‘chilling’ with the lions on the first day of our visit to the Serengeti. However, these were by no means the only predators we got to see during our stay.

It was a particular hope of mine that we would get to catch at least a glimpse of a cheetah. I was not to be disappointed.

Our first encounter was with a lone cheetah weaving through the tall dry grass of the savannah.

On our final day, we were lucky enough to witness two fantastic cheetah sightings. Firstly, we spotted a mother with four beautiful young cubs. They could have been no more than a few weeks old.

We also came across a coalition of three cheetah brothers prowling across the plain.

In addition to the cheetah sightings, during one particular game drive, we experienced a real treat. Unexpectedly, we came upon one of Africa’s more elusive creatures – the Striped Hyena. These are nocturnal animals and it is rare to spot them. Not only did we find an adult female in broad daylight, but we were thrilled to discover that she had a sole cub with her.

We spent at least an hour with these intriguing animals before moving to explore some other wonders of the wilderness.

The beautiful savannah.

It was all too soon time for us to leave the Serengeti and return to ‘reality’.

Over the past few weeks, I have posted a number of blogs chronicling my experiences in Botswana and Tanzania. I would like to dedicate all of these journals to the many great men and women who work tirelessly to preserve these wonderful environments and to protect their magnificent inhabitants.

I publish this posting having just returned from my latest ‘pilgrimage’ to Africa. More on this to follow…

The Missus.

With our Masaai guide, Nboi.

The Serengeti: A Return to Ngorongoro Crater, February 2012

It was hot and dusty. I stood on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, surveying the spectacular landscape with its savannah stretching out below. The crater is in fact a large caldera, which has several ecosystems and contains various types of land mammals; including the densest population of large predators in Africa. It was formed by a huge earthquake millions of years ago and it lies in the midst of the Great Rift Valley, which runs for 3000km down the eastern side of Africa.

As we had been in the vicinity, we had decided to make another journey to the crater. This was my second visit - the first venture having taken place in 2009 during my maiden trip to Tanzania.

Anyway, here are some photos taken of the surroundings and the ‘local residents’.

The Serengeti: Lions, February 2012

Following our arduous journey from Singapore to the Serengeti, we eventually arrived at our camp in Ndutu.

Bill relaxing outside of our tent.

It was our first night sleeping on the savannah. It dawned on me that there was nothing between us and hundreds of Africa’s deadliest predators than the thin canvas walls of our tent.

The awe-inspiring African night was peaceful and quiet. I was fast asleep. Unexpectedly, my deep slumber was rudely interrupted by a deep, unworldly sound: “huh…huh…huh”. In my semi-conscious state, I instinctively shoved Bill and hissed, “Stop snoring!” The noise abated and I quickly drifted back to sleep.

***

We went for a particularly early morning drive, hoping to catch the African sunrise. Everyone was extremely quiet in the vehicle. I suspected that none of us were fully awake yet. Our guide broke the silence, “Did you hear the lions prowling near to our camp last night?” His words hit me like a ton of bricks. These apex predators, weighing an average of 200kg each, had been within earshot of our tent! I had mistaken the lions’ calls for Bill’s snoring! “Wow” was my immediate reaction. It took me a minute or two to digest the information, but I soon shrugged it off. After all, I was in Africa, trespassing upon their territory.

Within half an hour of setting off, we came across a pride of lions. If my memory served me right, there were five adult lionesses…

A lioness with one of her cubs.

Another lioness.

…a couple of juveniles…

...Oblivious to the world.

More cubs.

The young cubs were reaching for their mother's teats. 

A lone adult male.

As I watched these huge majestic beasts frolic around, I could not but help wonder whether these might be the same lions which were prowling around our camp the previous night. It was an interesting, if not chilling, thought.