Serengeti

July 29

This morning, John, Andrea and Spencer went on a chimpanzee trek and apparently got quite close to the chimps. The trek was 3 hours in duration and not particularly challenging. We all piled into Big Red at about 1:00 and set off for Kampala, another long adventure in bad roads, and arrived at 8:30 at the Kabira Country Club, an oasis with running water, electricity, and Internet. It was a welcome respite from the more primitive conditions elsewhere.


July 30

We flew from Entebbe across Lake Victoria to Mwanza, Tanzania, a 45-minute flight. In Mwanza, we rendezvoused with Monte, Ona, and Lukas, more friends from Bainbridge, who had just arrived from Amsterdam and were quite jetlagged. We piled into two Land Cruisers with our 4 drivers/guides led by Moses for another long drive to the Serengeti, stopping at a roadside outdoor market that in no way resembled a market in the developed world. It was chaotic and crowded but full of what we wanted to eat: large avocados and other fruits, peanuts, and fish, specifically Nile perch and talapia. When we arrived at the park gate to register, we were met by a troupe of baboons and many smaller monkeys. One of the latter touched Lily’s foot and another sneaked into one of cruisers and stole a banana. The kids were delighted by the simian encounters. On the drive from the western entrance to the central Serengeti we were amazed to view a wide assortment of animals (unfortunately at 50 mph) such as elephants, giraffes, various types of antelope, a hyena, Cape buffalo, zebras and an ostrich. After a few hours and after nightfall we finally arrived at our destination, a campground in the central Serengeti that we shared with about 30 other campers. An advance crew had set up a delightful camp with a large tent for eating that held a long table that was already set for dinner, and four smaller tents for sleeping. That night we were serenaded by a number of animals though we couldn’t identify most of them. We slept well.


July 31

Since we were awakened at an early hour by the noises created by the other campers, we decided to move to a private campground nearby. Before breaking camp, we went on our first safari and did a second after the tents and our belongings had been packed up and driven off. The safaris consisted of driving slowly with the roofs of the Land Cruisers popped off so we could have unobstructed views across the vast plains. The Serengeti is mostly grassland studded with over 100 species of acacia trees. There are many dirt roads crisscrossing the park and lots of tour groups. The cruisers cluster where interesting animals are discovered and the drivers radio their finds to the others. The sheer abundance of animals is staggering and they barely notice us. Therefore, there are many animals in close proximity to the roads. Some of the highlights of today’s excursions include 4 lounging lions, 15-20 feet away. One was lying on her back. The similarity of this pose to that of their dog, Sammy, led to strong desires by the Lucases to go over to stroke her belly. Fortunately, these urges were resisted. Other finds included a leopard stretched out on a log, a cheetah, at least 8 more lions, herds of elephants and zebras, hundreds of Thompson’s gazelles, impalas, topis, Hartebeests, wildebeests, giraffes, hippos, and crocodiles. John and Andrea, who have been on several previous trips to this region, informed us that it was their most fruitful experience with big cats ever. We settled in for cocktails at dusk and once it got dark we were treated to the wide African sky filled with stars. A perfect ending to the day.


August 1

Today’s safari was quite fruitful though relatively lacking in big cats. The highlights were being surrounded by a journey (a herd) of giraffes, including juveniles, and going to a stagnant body of the filthiest water imaginable, made that way by over a hundred hippos who live in and excrete into it. We were treated to the sight of a male and female kissing and necking for a long time but their attempts to consummate the relationship were half-hearted. A few large crocodiles lay motionless nearby on the shore. We all took the afternoon off and hung out at the campsite. Happy hour started early and we enjoyed another delicious dinner.


August 2

We broke camp at about 6:30 a.m. in order to travel to N’Goro N’Goro crater with stops in-between. Just after dawn broke, we came upon a large pride of lions consisting of females and 8 cubs near the road. Some even crossed the road nonchalantly right in front of us. Our guide, Pascal, suggested that they were using the parked vehicles to hide from some nearby gazelles that they planned to eventually make a meal of. We lingered for almost half an hour before moving on. Melinda, Peter, and Lily proceeded for 5 hours over more dusty and bumpy roads, stopping at the crater rim at 7000 feet to look out over the vast expanse of the crater itself, purportedly containing one of the most diverse and dense populations of mega-fauna in Africa. But the Lucases found a wonderful hotel nearby with which Melinda, longing for running water and electricity, was extremely pleased. The staff couldn’t be nicer and the food is excellent. We just hung out for the afternoon and evening enjoying the fruits of civilization. The rest of our party, including Spencer, plan to camp for 2 more days.