It was a good thing we couldn’t stay wake past 8:30 in our arrival day as we needed to be up at 5 for our next part of the trip: safari in Serengeti National Park. Our driver was being overly cautious though as our 6 am arrival at Arusha Airport was followed by 20 minutes of waiting for security to open and then another 40 minutes waiting for the check in desk to open for our 7:20 flight. We were the only passengers on the Cessna for the first part of the flight but we picked up 4 people at the first stop who got off at the second stop and then we were on our own again. Each of these stops was a dirt airstrip in the middle of nowhere- Lake Manyara and Seronera – the finally to Kogotende airstrip in Serengeti National park. We were met by our driver Chonjori who would look after us – and just us – for the next two days. Apparently this is one of the benefits of visiting during the low season. It turned out that there were only 3 out of 15 tents occupied at the lodge so we each had our own attendants for meals as well.
Although it’s only 30 minutes to Lamala Kuria Hills lodge, we took our first game drive along the way and spent 3 hours driving through the bush looking for animals. And we were not disappointed! Hippos in the Mara River, followed by elephants and a solo giraffe 🦒. The best part was the herd of elephants including a baby that was less than a year old! So adorable! Plus hundreds of different kinds of antelope and gazelles. Topi and impala are everywhere. We got to the lodge in time for a late lunch and a short rest in our tent villa. I took advantage of the private plunge pool while Frank just chilled. Then it was off for the evening game drive which was less successful. A lovely dinner and an early night rounded out the day.
Good thing we hit the hay early because the second day started with breakfast before dawn and then we headed out for nearly 11 hours of driving. We were greeted right outside the lodge by a family of giraffes! We proceeded to spot baboons, mongoose, a huge family of impalas and lots of other kinds of antelope. We spotted a lone female lioness in the grass. But the high point of the morning was finding a pride of lions resting in the shade of an acacia tree. Two male, four female and half a dozen cubs. We watched one mama play with a baby while another mother nursed two other cubs. Absolutely amazing! We followed that up with more hippos, crocodiles, and a family of zebras!
We stopped for a picnic lunch atop a hill just a few kilometres from the Kenyan border. Curried chicken and rice, salad and South African Chardonnay was the repast, all enjoyed under a tree with an amazing view. Once it was time to move on, we started the trek back to the lodge. And that’s when we hit the jackpot: rhinos! Three of them! At a distance of course but our guide told us it had been more than 6 months since he’d spotted a rhino so we were very lucky.
The drive back was less eventful- our search for a leopard or cheetah didn’t pay out but the day was amazing regardless. A lovely hot bath before a delicious dinner and the day was complete.
The challenge here was to find half a dozen or so photos to share out of the literal hundreds we snapped. Here’s the winners.
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