Covering over 5,700 square miles of East African savanna, there is no other place in the world more synonymous with wildlife than that of the Serengeti (aside from perhaps your local Petco store). From herds of elephants seeking shade under the iconic acacia trees, to “towers” of giraffes grazing along the endless grassy plains, visitors to the Serengeti are almost guaranteed an unforgettable experience, especially when taking into account its role as host to the largest population of lions in all of Africa. Add to that an annual “visit” from the Great Migration, and the Serengeti is undoubtedly a safari goers ultimate dream destination.
If one were to peruse the overwhelming number of trip reports or blogs covering this once-in-a-lifetime destination, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that had a less-than-unforgettable experience. It is all-but-guaranteed. And I believe that’s our queue? After a relatively quick transit through the Naabi Hill entrance gate (hurray for functional credit card machines!), the expectations for our 2 days in the Serengeti reached previously aforementioned levels (i.e. high, very very high), after coming across a lone cheetah, perched high on a grassy outcropping, only 10 minutes into our drive. Fast forward over 24 hours later, and that cheetah would be the closest we had come to seeing any semblance of a “feline” while exploring the one park which boasts the greatest concentration of them in all the world. The world I tell you! It is akin to, well, any of the below exceptionally uncommon scenarios:
I digress, let’s rewind just a bit. After our brief encounter with the cheetah, we continued along the main road from the Serengeti entrance gate to our intended destination for the next 2 evenings – Tortilis Camp. A highly-rated “glamping-style” accommodation, that from initial research, appeared to be just over an hour away from the Serengeti entrance gate. A hop and a skip away, if you will. Three endless hours of searching later, and we were able to ascertain the following conclusions:
Arriving at Tortilis Camp, slightly “perturbed” to say the least, our moods were thankfully elevated when greeted by the friendly staff of a dozen Maasai tribesmen, who were overly-excited to inform us that we would be the ONLY guests at the camp for the next 2 nights. Two adults, two children, and over a dozen personal “helpers.” If you need help envisioning the level of "attentiveness" we received, here is a fairly accurate depiction (although the sponge bath was quite the tough sell if I must be honest). With our actual tent resembling more of a "canvas castle," our first foray into "glamping" unquestionably illuminated a different side to "outdoor sleeping." Of which shall forever remain unspoken, in fear of creating unrealistic expectations for future family camping excursions. We are campers, not glampers. I have spoken my peace and counted to three (hurray for the 2 people who get the reference!) Back to the safari. With our initial cheetah sighting over 24 hours in the past, and the sun starting to descend toward the horizon, we had spent the last 8 hours driving along god-awful roads with not a single lion to be seen. Yes we had passed multiple elephant herds, a pool teeming with hippos and countless giraffes stilettoing through the savannah. But, not a single lion. Again, in the park with more lions than anywhere else in the world. Hell, the Serengeti was the actual inspiration for Pride Rock in the Lion King, due to the countless number of kopjes (i.e. rocky outcroppings) that frequent this infamous game reserve (all of which were obviously abandoned during our visits). And while many of you may be quick to blame the “overconfident self-driver” for the lack of sightings, we encountered almost a dozen “professional” drivers, all with equally poor luck, declaring it “just one of those days.” And “just one of those days” it was ramping up to be, as the sun descended in the sky, and our emotions strayed from exhaustion to mild depression. To the point where we were no longer searching for animals in the vast plains that stretched endlessly from either side of the road. And instead, just focused on gritting our teeth after an unceasing day of bone-rattling roads. To the point where we were all-but-oblivious to a female lion, sleeping alongside the dusty road, just inches from the treads of our left tire. Thankfully the two did not meet, and instead, our first, and only, lion of the day was sighted. Success! I think? As we enjoyed another evening of pampering from our dedicated staff of Maasai, I decided that I would not leave the Serengeti without one last ditch effort to find, well, anything? Another lion? A rhino? Just something to help avoid the only memory of this safari mecca being that of utter disappointment (i.e. horrible roads + few sightings = utter disappointment). Thus, with less than an hour to spare the following morning, our last in the park, I decided to do an early solo drive around the relatively “quiet” area surrounding our campsite. A fruitless attempt to salvage our visit. Which, after 45 minutes, had fruitfully provided an elephant herd, a dozen or so buffalo, one leopard and a pride of 9 lion (3 males, 2 females & 4 cubs). Again, in a period of only 45 minutes. In a section of the park that NOBODY visits. This felt appropriate. And there you have it. The long-awaited conclusion to our 7-day self-drive journey along the northern circuit of Tanzania. A journey that was an experience of a lifetime, and at times, felt like it took a lifetime to experience. And while we will undoubtedly miss the sights, the people and of course the animals, we eagerly were anticipating what awaited at the next stop of our East African adventure – The Spice Island of Zanzibar – Home to pristine beaches, warm waters, and most importantly, smooth asphalt roads. Onto the pics:
2 Comments
Melisa
4/6/2022 08:43:01 am
#rememberwuhan
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Mark
4/7/2022 06:24:34 am
We will make sure to come equipped with a projector and 8,500 image slideshow!
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PRIOR BLOG POSTS: Year Abroad Intro: • Welcome to our Newest Blog! Again! • The Move - Dissected, Probed and Then Probed Some More • The Voyage (Part 1) - If At First You Don't Succeed, Trying Again Won't Work Either • The Voyage (Part 2) - The Layover to Rule All Other Layovers • A Personal Life Update - Establishing Our Shallow Roots A Guide to South Africa: • How to be an Expat When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 1 - Bank Accounts) • How to be an Expat, When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 2 - Health Insurance) • Load Shedding - Keeping the Lights Off in South Africa Since 2007 • 195 Ways to Fight a Pandemic - The South Africa Edition • Halloween in South Africa - Playing Catch-Up Since 2016 • SnapScan - South Africa's Glimpse into America's Future • Thanksgiving in South Africa - Where My Turkeys Be At? • Life at the Epicenter of Omicron - A Different Type of Cancel Culture • Playgrounds - The Starbucks of South Africa • Cost of Living in South Africa - An Exploratory Journey of Everyday Expenses Trips: • Namibia Roadtrip (1 of 3) - Driving a Shake Weight to Sossusvlei • Namibia Roadtrip (2 of 3) - Searching for Souls in Swakopmund • Namibia Roadtrip (3 of 3) - Getting our Safari on at Etosha National Park • Weekend Getaway in Robertson - A Trip Down Pleasantville Lane • Summer Holiday Trip (1 of 3) - Glamping Without the Glam in the Drakensberg Mountains • Summer Holiday Trip (2 of 3) - The Historical Chronicles of Kruger National Park • Summer Holiday Trip (3 of 3) - Searching for Whales and Spare Tires in the Overberg • Visitors Round 1 - The Woodmans - An Expedited Exploration of Everything • The Great Wildebeest Migration - 15 Years of Waiting Decided in 15 Minutes • Ngorongoro Crater - A Pre-Migration Layover Inside an Inverted Volcano • Ndutu - The Safari to Rule All Other Safaris • Serengeti National Park - Seeking Out Simba at an Abandoned Pride Rock • Zanzibar - The Island of Sugar, Spice and Most Things Nice • Visitors Round 2 - Let's Ignore Our Sanity & Do All The Things • Wild Coast - A Little Tatse of the O.G. South Africa Cape Towning: • Spring Break in September - Just as Strange as it Sounds • A Day in the Life of a South African Expat - The Visual Edition • A Wrinkle in Our Spare Time • Our Final Week in South Africa - A Bittersweet Symphony of Bucket Lists The Other Stuff: • This is 40: The South Africa Version |