The Stunning Serengeti

On a much lighter and happier note, on the way to Dar es Salaam for our end-of-service meeting with the rest of the teachers sent to Tanzania, Jacob and I were privileged to be able to stop in a little place called Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is only about two hours from our village in Kongoto, and on the way to the city we usually get to see Zebras and Wildebeests beside the road. However, this time we actually went into the park which opened up a new world of spectacular wildlife and terrain. It was a much needed visit to remove my thoughts from leaving and my defeated spirit.

Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, a world heritage site, and recently proclaimed a 7th worldwide wonder, the 5,700 sq mile Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains. During this migration, more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join over a million wildebeest to trek for fresh grazing flowing south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirling west and north after the long rains in April, May and June. So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or the Grumeti crocodile infested river can hold them back.

Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers exciting game viewing in Africa with great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

 The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park as golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. The kings and queens of the pride land are however not alone with solitary leopards haunting the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, a high density of cheetahs prowling the southeastern plains, and hyena always creeping around to steal a kill.  

Jacob and I fortunately got to see all these animals and more as the migration is starting now and as a result the predators are hanging around for some tasty, easy feasting. I managed to take a few good photographs with my little point and shoot digital camera that definitely was outshone by other visitors with their long extra-zoom lenses. As a matter of fact, I think I actually saw someone laughing at me and my camera. There are some really good photos of lions thought, as yes, I was really that close, but the leopard and cheetah were a little further away. It was an incredible experience that one day I would like to do again possibly with a little better camera and some binoculars to see the panthers, cheetahs, and lions lounging in the trees in the distance. All I can say is that God is so creative and his creation is a reflection of his majesty, power, and beauty. Enjoy that photos and think about going with me next time ;)  

Much love, Katie

Impala

Three crocs with their mouths open waiting for fish to swim inside. These are the crocs known for terrorizing the wildebeests and zebra as they cross the river during the migration.

So many baboons live in the Serengeti...they are literally everywhere you look!

The elegant giraffe

A buffalo...which is supposedly really dangerous and known for charging



Elephant herd gathering under a tree



This elephant seems old, but who knows as they all have so many wrinkles.

So many zebras



As much of the great migration my little camera could take in...
so many wildebeests and zebras!



The leopard. He jumped from a tree, but then was so hard to see in the tall grass.



The cheetah was the only animal we hadn't seen until we were leaving the Serengeti and one jumped across the road. However, by the time the car stopped he was already far away. It was exciting to watch him stealthily walk around.

The lazy lions who love to sleep in the day and hunt at night.

This lioness was perched on top of a huge rock. I felt like I was
watching Nala in the Lion King on top of Pride Rock :)

This lion was my favorite as he was so close to us. We were watching the migration of wildebeests in a couple pictures above and didn't even see this lion under a bush watching them as well. It was thrilling to watch the predator keep an eye on his prey.

This is our car stuck in the mud after it rained in the afternoon. We had to lift it up on a jack, and then find rocks and branches to place under the back tire. It was lots of fun in the mud...more for Jacob than me of course.