By Jed
Yes, they actually use that phrase in Tanzania, and apparently not just for tourists. I was constantly repeating it in my head when I arrived at the tiny "airport" in Arusha for our flight to the Serengeti. It was my first time on a small plane. I am a bit of a nervous flyer, so the 12-seater, single-engine propeller plane without a co-pilot made me uneasy. I felt even worse when the pilot began shooting pics outside the window with his iPad before we left. Then, right before we took off, he failed to mention our stop as part of the flight's itinerary! Risking a big eye roll from my significant other, I raised my hand and asked the pilot about the oversight. After some conversations with the ground crew and a double check of his schedule, he realized he was looking at the wrong date. Despite the precarious start, we made it to the Serengeti. These are the risks we take to see animals in one of the most famous parks in the world.
Fortunately, we arrived without a hitch and our stay in the Serengeti was quite a memorable event. We expected this experience would be different from the game reserve in South Africa. but we weren't sure how. In addition to seeing different animals that we had not seen at all during our first safari (e.g. leopards, zebras, elephants, hyenas, buffalo, alligators, hippos out of the water, etc.), the wildlife was just much more abundant here (we saw herds of 50 elephant, hundreds of buffalo and thousands of zebra). The wide-open plain of the Serengeti landscape was also vastly different from the thick brush in South Africa. This was both an advantage and disadvantage. As an advantage, we were able to spot much more wildlife and a lot quicker in the Serengeti due to the wide-open spaces, but sometimes it was nice in South Africa to be rewarded with a view of lions after a 3 hour, boring trek to find them instead of just stumbling upon a pride.
Highlights of our trip would include having giraffes stumble onto our campsite, rolling up to 5 ton elephants mating and then having others in the heard give us nasty looks and noises while they passed within feet of the car, a lion mother playing daycare leader for 11 cubs, giraffes fighting by lazily throwing their giant necks at each other and getting to check out a pair of cheetahs with some fresh kill. The variety of animals, density of the wildlife and giant herds I think truly sets the Serengeti apart from anywhere else in the world. Definitely an unforgettable experience.
And for the best part, some pictures! Let us know which is your favorite animal...we love receiving comments on our blog! (BTW, mine is probably the Zebra. I was amazed at how distinct and impressive they look in person).
Click here or on the picture below to see our full album!
And for the best part, some pictures! Let us know which is your favorite animal...we love receiving comments on our blog! (BTW, mine is probably the Zebra. I was amazed at how distinct and impressive they look in person).
Click here or on the picture below to see our full album!
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