I’m going to be absolutely honest, and it might be slightly controversial but, going on safari was never high on my list of travel must do’s. I don’t know why but it just never pulled or grabbed me. Trekking to see gorillas did and that is what took me to Africa. But I figured you couldn’t go to Africa without going on safari. Safari in the Serengeti completely changed my mind! To see why join me on a photo journey through the Serengeti to see how incredible safari is.

The Serengeti is one of THE greatest wildernesses on the planet. Vast, endless plains of savannah in Tanzania’s north that is home to lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos and of so many more African animals. This is the Africa you picture and imagine. It’s no wonder the Serengeti is UNESCO world-heritage listed.

My photo journey of the Serengeti is on order of my actual safari so the incredibleness of it all can unfold for you like it did for me.   Oh, and I was in the Serengeti for three days so there are a LOT of photos!!

Day One

To reach the Serengeti National Park’s gates you first cross one of the roughest roads I’ve ever travelled on, which according to our driver was in better condition that it usually is!

Along the road stretched a long convoy of safari jeeps. I thought of it as the Serengeti highway.

First animal spotting – ostrich!!

I don’t know why but it had never occurred to me I’d see ostriches and whilst I’ve seen a few emus in my time being Aussie The ostriches were still amazing to see. That huge body of feathers and highlights of pink – wow!

Then beneath a tree amongst the grass…..

And then a little further into the park……can you see them?

And on the other side of the jeep…..

Then another of the big give is spotted!

Not long after our driver is on the radio and we take off at speed. Everyone in my jeep was buzzing with excitement as thought we must be trying to see something extra special.

Yay!! Leopard!! Knowing how elusive the leopard is, how beautiful they are and that they are one of the big five this was the animal I most wanted to see. Happy, happy, happy!!

As day one came to an end stunning light spilled across the endless plains. So beautiful and oh so amazing!

The day was finished with a typical African sunrise. What a day!!

Day Two

Day two started with a beautiful sunrise over our campsite.

The evening before, while we sat around our campfire, our guide asked us what animal each of us most wanted to see. Spotting a male lion was high on most of our lists, including mine.

As we bumped across the first road with the golden morning light falling across the vast grassy plains our excitement levels were high. We eagerly looked amongst the grass and odd tree or two for any kind of animal.

And then emerging from the long grass….

And nearby we heard some strange noises coming from the long dry grass.

Soon we were speeding across the dusty roads again. What would we see this time!!

OMG!! An endangered black rhino!! In fact rhinos are critically endangered and it’s unusual to see a black rhino in the Serengeti. This was seriously special and we were soon in for another treat.

Another leopard and this time quite a lot easier to see. And as the day continued we continued to see more incredible animals. Including a beautiful lioness who got so close her beautiful details.

Just a bit further down the road we were extremely lucky to come across a leopard on the ground! The beautiful leopard’s coat blending in seamlessly into the own grass.

And then……….another leopard!! Woah, that’s four in one day. Seriously lucky.

Day two was absolutely  amazing with a constant incredible animal spotting. I felt extremely lucky and the day ended with another beautiful African sunset. Perfect!!

Day Three

Day three started as a cracker! Two cheetah brothers making their way through the savannah.

And then the cheetahs stopped and looked back the way they’d come. The two cheetahs were on high alert and it turned out for good reason!

Following from where the two cheetahs had come from was a male lion. And his path and that of the cheetahs was to pass right by our jeep.

Soon the cheetahs had stopped and there was this insane stand-off between them and the male lion who had been following them. In the end it was all show but wow, what a show!

After the lion and cheetah stand-off we drove on the dusty, dry roads for quite a while without spotting anything. But after a lot of searching we got lucky near some waterholes First with some hippos!! I love how hippos family all clump together.

And a little further along the water hole we came across a group of young lions.

The lions were being tempted by a warthog who kept on trying to approach the waterhole but sensing danger kept backing off. But then the need for water would drive the warthog back towards the waterhole before he’d retreat again. This went on a few times and we wondered if the warthog would get close enough for the lions to try for a kill. But no, the warthog was smarter than we gave it credit for.

Seeing this huge pride of lions and the interaction with warthog was incredible way to finish safari in the Serengeti. But before we left for the day and for good we saw a huge number of buffalo. Wonderful.

And with that my safari was over. I hope you enjoyed coming along a photo journey through the Serengeti. I’d love to hear your comments and your experiences of safari.

Practical Information

I went on safari through the Serengeti with G Adventures at my own cost. For full details of the trip of the G Adventures trip I went on check out https://www.gadventures.com/trips/tanzania-camping-adventure/4372/itinerary/

I used the north Tanzanian town of Arusha as a base for the trip and stayed at Outpost Lodge, a comfortable place to stay in the leafy eastern part of Arusha.

For a lazy afternoon I enjoyed hanging out in the gardens of Blue Heron.

My experience was the internet was extremely poor in Arusha and when I returned from safari internet wasn’t working at all.

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