Zanzibar and the Serengeti

Lions hunting in the morning

We had 5 relaxing nights on tropical Zanzibar.  A fast ferry shuttled us across in about 2 hours where we arrived at about 5.30pm and were met by a guide who showed us to our hotel for that night and later an outdoor foodmarket where you could buy and haggle for a smorgasbord of food which would be cooked on a BBQ in front of you.  The food was delicious and very affordable.  Up early the next day we went from Stone Town (the main town of Zanzibar) which is on the western side of the island to the eastern side of the island and the Sun and Seaview Bungalows.  Situated right on the beach front we spent 4 nights relaxing, reading and swimming in the tropical climate of Zanzibar.  

Before leaving the island we went on a spice tour to see the vines, trees and plants that produce the spices we are all familiar with.  It was an educational way to experience part of what makes Zanzibar so famous.

After leaving Zanzibar we spent two days making our way north to Arusha, gateway to the famous safari parks including the Serengeti.  We were picked up from our campsite for a three day tour of three famous gameparks, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and finally the Serengeti.  

Despite their (relative) proximity, the three parks had very different animal concentrations.  

Napping... 

Lake Manyara was almost overrun with monkey and baboons, which are highly entertaining to watch and very photogenic.  The baboons are almost always doing something, be it grooming one another, speaking amongst themselves or swinging between the branches.  The following day started at 5 am, and we were in the Ngorongoro Crater National Park by 6.30am.  Only shortly after entering the conservation area (and not even yet in the actual crater itself) we came across a pride of lions out hunting, two of the females were no more than 3 or 4 metres from the vehicle we were in.  It was thrilling to catch lions in the wild being so active.  Although we quickly lost sight of them as they headed back into the bush it was a great start to the day.

Danger

Zebra Crossing

Cheetah cubs playing together - Mum keeping guard (out of shot)

Into the actual crater itself (a collapsed, massive, volcano) we saw thousands of animals, from the frequently spotted zebras, wildebeest and gazelle to the commonly seen animals including buffalo, warthogs and hippos to many birds and of course cats.  We saw some 20 lions in total in the Ngorongoro Crater.  Aside from the 5 in the morning we spotted a group of 4 lazy lions sleeping, their bellies round indicating they had fed that night (or early morning), a solitary male lion (also incredibly lazy) and finally a big group of about 12 spread over two sides of a small stream.  

Leopard eating Gazelle with Hyena waiting

After lunch we departed the crater and headed towards the Serengeti.  We arrived at the Serengeti in the mid-afternoon, perfect timing for action (the cats sleep during the heat of the day, but tend to be much more active in the early mornings and late afternoon).  The Ngorongoro Crater is large, but nothing compared to the vast expanse of the Serengeti.  Huge expanses of plains in every direction as far as you could see, often with only a few trees in sight.  

We were all desperate to see a leopard to round off our sitings for the ‘big 5’ (Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Rhino and Leopard - we saw Rhinos in Etosha National Park).  Leopards are rare and very hard to find, so we were obviously thrilled when, late in the day with the light failing we came across a group of 3 in a tree.  As leopards are generally solitary animals, we were very lucky to have seen 3 at the same time.  Our guide suggested it was a mother with her two young.  And they were putting on a show for us, two of the cats were playing with one another whilst a third was chomping away on the remains of a kill from the previous night.  Two hyenas were prowling around underneath the tree waiting for bits of the meal to fall to the ground such that they might also feed.  It was a fascinating dynamic and great to see some activity rather than cats simply sleeping.

We both loved our time in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.  Between both game parks we counted a total of 42 lions (mostly lazing around although we spotted a mating pair on our final morning), 5 cheetahs (including a mother with her two young on our final morning playing near the road), 4 leopards (we saw another one on our final morning, solitary in a tree eating a small gazelle with another gazelle also up the tree for seconds! - once again a hyena prowling around underneath waiting for food to drop - also fantastic light for some great photos!), and a brief sighting of a Saville (?) cat before it disappeared into the grasses (kind of like a small leopard).

We are now in Nairobi, officially marking the half-way point of our African Expedition.  Next stop is Uganda and then onto Rwanda to see the mountain Gorillas.  

About 12 lions in the Serengeti - all looking at us as we drove up to them