Safari recap

Where do you go for a "safari"?  To Kenya, of course.  It is just north of Tanzania in Eastern Africa, but is considered too dangerous to visit at this time.  South Africa ranks high as well - mainly because it is an English speaking country and safe to visit.  

But to do a one and only one safari in your lifetime?  The answer was unequivocally Tanzania.  

Top spots - the vast Serengeti "Endless Plains" and adjacent Ngorongoro Crater, home to the highest density of big game in Africa - a self contained microcosm - both in Northwest Tanzania.  On the way to Serengeti, we spent half a day at Lake Manyara, supposedly known for tree climbing lions, but there were none that day.  We saw lots of birds and other animals instead.  

Serengeti is an authentic African wilderness with unfenced parks, dirt roads and endless plains, as the name suggests.  This vast ecosystem located in northwest Tanzania extends into southwestern Kenya (Masai Mara.)  Because it's much larger than the Masai Mara, Serengeti is less densely populated with minibuses full of tourists.  Being much farther away from Arusha, it also gets only 1/5 of the visitors compared to Ngorongoro Crater.

Spanning 7,000 square miles of savanna with occasional rock outcroppings (kopje) and woodlands/Acacia trees, it makes a fantastic destination for spotting lion kills because you can see the whole spectacle clearly..  The region hosts the largest mammal migration (wildebeest, zebra and gazelle) in the world.  Altitudes in the Serengeti range from 3,020 feet to 6,070 feet - our Sopa Lodge was at 4,820 feet.

Ngorongoro is the largest intact caldera (a collapsed volcano) in the world, with a crater 100 square miles in area (12 miles across), and walls about 2000 feet in height - a natural enclosure for almost every species of wildlife found in East Africa.  Most animals within the crater never leave, though they can.  The bottom of the crater is at 2000 ft elevation, whereas our Sopa Lodge at the top was at 7800 feet.

Think of Lake Manyara as a mini Serengeti. The place is very small in size, and a majority of the area is covered by the lake itself, but it still hosts a vast and varied wildlife.  Tree-climbing lion sightings are difficult.  A close encounter with elephants is the next best thing. It does have hippos, buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes and more than 400 species of birds including flocks of pink flamingos.  Most tour itineraries stop at Lake Manyara for a night en route to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro (or on the way back to Arusha).

Although the best time to visit is the dry season (Winter - July-Aug) when animals are migrating and easier to spot, it is also crowded and more expensive.  Jan-Feb is Summer (temps in 90 degrees) and heavy rains are yet to start (Mar-May), but it is also baby season.  We saw babies of just about all animals, and that became one of the highlights of our trip.  

On a safari, you expect to see lots and lots of animals - everywhere, going about their business, unaware of your presence. Well, that's exactly what we got, and more. On the very first day, we gave our driver/guide our wish list - a laundry list of things we wanted to see/experience. Item #1 was lions. If you ever watched the movie Hatari (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjGx8sLrcc), the 1962 John Wayne Action Drama, we saw every animal shown in the movie.  If you prefer 

The Serengeti for a documentary version.

By the end of the second day, we had already crossed off most of the items from our list, and by the end of the week, we only wished we had seen a rhino up close, and a leopard/cheetah hunt - we saw them on the prowl but not the actual hunt.

That's a successful safari - and one long enough. Half a day in Manyara (3 1/2 hours), Two days in Serengeti (3 1/2 hours on the first day - not counting the drive in to the park, 8 1/2 hours on full day and 3 hours on the last day- not counting the drive out of the park), and one full day (7 1/4 hours) in Ngorongoro Crater - almost 26 hours of game drive*.

* Game drive is a term used by safari operators to mean driving around in high riding vehicles like our 4×4 Land Cruiser, for hours on end. Closed safari vehicles used in Tanzania typically accommodate up to 6 guests in 3 rows of seating with a pop-top roof hatch which is raised for wildlife viewing. When driving outside the park, roof hatch is closed for normal car comfort. If you opt for a road based safari in Tanzania, you will have the benefit of a private vehicle for yourself for the entire trip. In that case, you'd fly in to Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) and use guide/vehicle based in Arusha and drive the entire way West. (You could instead take a short flight from Arusha to Serengeti or Manyara, and start your safari there.) While driving, drivers/guides call each other by radio, or on their cell phones, for updates. Upon arrival at each safari camp or lodge, they will also check with resident guides about what is going on. It worked well for us.

Depending on the safety (i.e. the presence of dangerous predators), many reserves offer guided walking tours. This is the ideal way to get a true, African, wildlife experience. This option wasn't available to us. In fact, we were advised NOT to get out of our vehicle at any time except at designated lunch/rest stops, or walk outside the lodge boundaries. The night before we arrived at Serengeti Sopa Lodge, guests witnessed lions drink from the lodge swimming pool. Too close for comfort?

Why don’t wild lions attack human tourists in open vehicles? As much as we wanted to see lions - lots of lions, up close, in action, - we also wondered about how close can we get to them -or them to us- safely. The answer we got was: "A lion wouldn’t think twice about going after an individual human, but a motor vehicle is just so much larger than any animal that a lion would usually attack as prey (or perceive as a threat it could handle). In game reserves, wild lions do not associate humans with food. They are naturally fearful of humans (thanks to Masai natives), and, unless you try to run away, they will not see humans as prey. They also do not associate vehicles with humans or with food."

In fact, they see vehicles more like trees or rocks - a place for shade. Here is the proof.

Sure enough, lions (and all other animals, for that matter.) were so used to the "Jeeps" (4X4 land cruisers, really, but locals called them Jeeps.) zooming at 50 mph on those dirt roads, that they did not pay any attention to them - they are neither threat or prey for the most part. Jeeps stopped or slowed down ONLY for elephants - all other animals were quick enough to get out of the way (and small enough to not cause any damage to Jeeps.) We were told that prey animals (mainly, impalas, gazelles, zebras and wildebeests) see vehicles as a sort of protection from predators, and would spend time on or near the roads.

Gazelles feel safe on and near dirt roads

What did we see? Thousands each of zebra and wildebeest, 1000+ each of gazelles and impalas - also flamingos in the distance.

Flamingos in the distance

Southward migration was starting so we witnessed everyone marching in clockwise direction - wildebeest and zebras looking for green grass, and predators following them.

We also saw at least 100 each of elephants, hippos, buffaloes, baboons, blue monkeys, at least 50 lions, giraffes, warthogs, marabu Storks, and numerous other birds, as well as a smattering of camel, cheetah, crocodile, Dik Dik antelope, eagle, eland, geese, gold crowned crane, hyena, hyrax, jackal, leopard, mongoose, Monitor lizard, ostrich, pelican, rhino, Rock Iguana, Secretary bird, Serval, Topi, vulture, waterbuck, and so on. Most were at a close range - 50 feet or less.

Another way to group Serengeti's Animal Kingdom is by size - The Big Five are all mammals and herbivores.  Mammals from the Cat family (carnivores) are Lions, Leopard, Cheetah, Serval. Others would be Warthogs and Hyenas from Pig and Dog families, respectively.  Then, all others.

• The Big Five - Although the definition of the Big Five varies from one African country to another, by sheer size, they would be Elephant, Rhino, Hippo, Buffalo and Giraffe.  Large animals tend to be vegetarian for obvious reasons - they would have a tough time catching a moving prey, so they stick to what doesn't move - plants and grasses.  These animals though can move fast enough, rarely charge or attack unless provoked - and that too only as a defensive measure.
  - As we were driving around, we once noticed a large elephant facing us about 100 feet away.  We had stopped on the dirt road looking for lions, and were in no way threatening the elephant - so we thought.  Next, we saw it move toward us, first slowly and then picking up pace.  Our driver wisely drove away from the elephant.  No harm done!
  - Except for their young, the Big Five do not have to worry about predators - especially when sufficient other food is readily available for the predators.  Most at risk among the Big Five is buffalo, but it usually takes more than one lion to bring them down.
• Lions and other predators -  As large as the African Lion is - and reigns supreme as the King of the Jungle - it is tiny compared to an African Elephant (see below).

  

  Size difference between an Elephant and a Lion/Lioness

  Except for Lions, other predators are usually solitary.  But they were surviving here just fine like everyone else.  Most females raise the cubs alone - feed and protect them until they are old enough.  Among other predators: cheetah, crocodile, hyena, jackal, leopard, Serval, and vultures - some hunters, others scavengers.
• Other Animals of Tanzania - These include baboon, blue monkey, Dik Dik antelope, gazelle, hyrax, impala, mongoose, Monitor lizard, Rock Iguana, Topi, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra.

Best time to visit:  Short rains begin around early November. In late November and December, wildebeest herds begin arriving on the short-grass plains of East Serengeti.  In all, over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, migrate in a clockwise fashion over 1,800 miles each year.  It is a steady stream of animals on a constant march.   They graze and walk day and night, it seemed.  We rarely saw them sit down - let alone lie down - in Serengeti (different story in Ngorongoro crater only miles away.)  Mid-day, they'd congregate in shady areas under large acacia trees and sleep standing up, while some kept watch.   In March, wildebeest females (let's say some 700,000) give births within one week of each other. Those babies have mere months to grow and learn to run in order to keep up with the main migration during the dry season.

Tanzania has more: Of course, Tanzania offers much more than what we were able to experience in one week.  More than 25% of Tanzania is protected, and depending on your interests in chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants, hippos, etc., other parks may be more attractive to you.  Selous Game Reserve reserve is the largest in Tanzania, but densities of animals are lower than in the more regularly visited northern tourist circuit of Tanzania.