Andrea Camps in the Diverse Serengeti of Tanzania

As I mentioned in the previous post, I don’t always pay attention to the small details of each trip I go on. For this trip I knew there would be some camping. However, I wasn’t exactly aware that we would be camping for four nights in a row, two in the middle of the Serengeti. I was quite excited to see the animals but not excited for cold showers, shared washrooms, and the possibility of wild animals lingering around the tent or meeting one in the restroom in the middle of the night. However, that is what I signed up for!

We had a long drive to our campsite, but since we were in the Serengeti, it was as if we were doing a game drive and just ended up at the campsite. It’s incredible that our drivers were able to navigate the Serengeti as there aren’t a lot of landmarks. Our driver told us that when he first started driving in the Serengeti, it was difficult, but now it’s easy for him. Thank goodness!

Our group had two safari jeeps, which made for a comfortable ride as we had empty seats in our jeep which allowed us to stretch out. We were also lucky that the safari jeeps had outlets in them as there were no outlets at the campsite. There were four of us in our jeep, three of us were seasoned safari-ers, and one, well, this was her first time. It was exciting for her to see every animal as it was a first for her. It was always extra exciting to see a baby. There’s just something about seeing baby animals! It never gets old.

The animals that everyone wants to see are the big cats, lions and leopards. If you asked the group, it was the leopard that was at the top of the list. For some it would complete seeing The Big Five. The Big Five are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo. According to our guide, we had a pretty good chance of seeing a leopard. In addition to luck, the safari drivers are constantly talking to each other and telling each other where animals are. However, they use code words so the passengers don’t understand them in case the animal leaves or the driver doesn’t want to go. 

As we were driving along, we saw lots of sleeping lions. It can be difficult to get a good view of a lion when it’s sleeping. We also saw a lot of agama lizards, which are quite beautiful. At one point in our drive we got a call that a cheetah had been spotted nearby. We quickly drove in the direction of the cheetah. To my surprise, we actually drove off the road, which we never do. As we drove near where the other safari cars were (that’s how you can tell there is something big), we spotted a mother cheetah and her three cubs running behind her. We drove alongside them for a bit and then let them be.

While on our drive back to the road, we drove past a den in the ground with a sleeping hyena inside. We saw ostriches, which are quite common. But what isn’t common is seeing them run. I hear they are the fastest bird, but I’ve yet to see one actually run. We also saw a jackal and another hyena taking a nap. It wasn’t until towards the end of the drive that we spotted a herd of elephants in the distance. We arrived at our campsite shortly before 6pm. 

Upon arriving at the campsite, I was surprised to see a lot of tents. They were all put up like a grid. Luckily ours were on the perimeter so they were easy to find. I then attempted to shower, I’ll spare you those details. Afterwards I enjoyed the company and dinner with my group. It was then time for bed as the sun had set and there’s nothing else to do when you don’t have internet access. It was also the time when everyone used the restroom one last time as no one wants to get up in the middle of the night and walk to the restroom in the center of the Serengeti. I luckily fell asleep quite quickly.

I was awakened by a loud noise around 1:30 am. My first instinct was that it was an animal, but it was not an animal sound. The noise was then followed by the revving of a car engine. There was definitely something going on. When the noises stopped, you could hear the chattering of everyone in their tents. Everyone was now awake. I unzipped the tent and peaked out. I saw someone from our group standing outside and asked what was going on. Apparently, an elephant decided to visit the camp and attempted to take the roof off of the kitchen area. The guides scared it away by revving the engine of a truck. I’d like to point out that this elephant was wandering probably 15 feet from my tent! At this point, everyone in the camp took the opportunity to use the restroom again. Safety in numbers. 

We were up early for breakfast and soon on our way for our game drive. We were no more than 5 minutes from the camp when we came upon some lions relaxing. The thought of sleeping so close to lions is slightly frightening, but I’m writing this blog post, so you know I survived!

One of my highlights of the second game drive in the Serengeti was seeing zebras and giraffes. We not only saw a few zebras, but we saw zebras and wildebeest traveling together during the great migration. It was incredible to see the vast number of zebras and how well organized they are. They appeared more orderly than my 2nd grade students! However, at one point you have a group going one direction, and another group going the other. They apparently aren’t the smartest animals.

As we drove along, we saw some giraffes which were eating next to a field of zebras. 

While the jeep was stopped so we could enjoy the beauty of the giraffes and zebras, I decided to look around with my binoculars. You never know what you will see, though it’s usually just grass, or an African impala, which you are guaranteed to see. However, this time I spotted something and went for a closer look. To my surprise it was a lion. Usually when we see lions, they are sleeping or sitting, not doing anything exciting. However, this lion was stalking the nearby zebras. Not that I want to see any animal get attacked, but part of me thought it would be exciting! While I was rooting for some action, most of the others were rooting for the zebras. The zebras were able to sense the lion as it got closer, and they left the lion without dinner. 

On day two, we also saw a lot of elephants, hippos, baboons, and a dik-dik. I can honestly say that I had never heard of a dik-dik before. It is a tiny antelope, and it is very cute! Apparently dik-diks mate for life, and if one dies, the other will not survive. While I love to teach my students about new animals, for certain reasons, I will not be teaching them about a dik-dik. We also saw more sleeping lions and a serval, which is a beautiful wild cat. What we didn’t see, a leopard. 

Night two wasn’t so eventful, thankfully. We all got a good night’s sleep and woke up to see one of the Ugly Five, the marabou stork, wandering around the kitchen areas. While the bird is quite big and ugly, it’s no elephant!

We then packed up and got into the jeep to head out of the Serengeti. According to our guide, this would be our last opportunity to see a leopard. Everyone had their fingers crossed. But apparently crossing your fingers doesn’t work, because we did not see a leopard. We saw the usual zebras, wildebeests, elephants, and giraffes. I’m not complaining however. I didn’t mention this before, but I saw a leopard in Uganda, so I already had the big five covered! Everyone else, however, experienced disappoinment.

It took us a few hours to get back to the main entrance of the Serengeti. We then had a couple more hours of driving until we reached our next and final camping spot of the trip, Ngorongoro Crater. As we drove out of the Serengeti, we saw more of the Maasai tribe. The Maasai are an ethnic group that live off of the land in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya. They are known for their red shuka blankets that they wear. It was fascinating seeing the children wandering about herding goats and cattle. At one point we drove past a few giraffes with some children nearby herding their goats. I unfortunately didn’t get a picture, as we were driving by, but it was a sight to see.

When we finally reached the entrance of the Ngorongoro Crater, we had to stop and pay the entrance fee. It was then a long drive down to the bottom where we would stop at a picnic spot to have a late lunch and then spend the rest of the day driving around and enjoying one final safari. Stay tuned for my final blog post on my trip to Africa. Learn what I saw in the Ngorongoro Crater and which animal visited us on our final night of camping in the wilderness!