Safari Through Serengeti Tanzania

“Although we enter the park in the heat of the day – not the best time for game viewing – for those of us who have only been in Africa a few days, our eyes are glued to the open wide savanna. A lone zebra, a male impala, and a pair of wildebeest are all met with excited reactions and the clicks of camera shutters. Then, boom! Relaxing under a small tree on the side of the road, we see the king of the jungle himself. Within metres of our truck, it feels like we could reach out and touch him. And he’s not alone. The young male, yet to grow his full mane, is relaxing with a female; probably his sister, Julius tells us. We watch them breath, rest, snap at flies, and sleep away the heat of the day. We’re absolutely transfixed by these massive cats. They couldn’t care less about us and our excited whispers.”

“Texas is a world away from Tanzania, but the flight from Kilimanjaro seemed familiar as we passed over the Serengeti’s vast, dry plains. It was August, and I’d arrived during one of the dry periods when the Serengeti is hot, much of the flora is dead or on the verge, and controlled burns light up the night’s onyx horizon, filling the air with a haze reminiscent of an old sepia photo. Flying in among the clouds, though, Africa still felt like an exotic dream. The striking of the wheels on the rust-coloured dirt runway jolted me into reality. Eyes wide, I was ready to absorb every experience the Serengeti had to offer.”

“The next morning, with the sun peeking over the Lodge, I embarked on my first of two game drives into the Serengeti. As we rode through the plains, suddenly my guide, Priscus, stopped the sand-coloured Land Cruiser; silence and an early-morning chill filled the air. A seasoned guide and naturalist, Priscus had his eyes on a small group of Grant’s gazelles – Serengeti’s largest antelope.”