The African continent is the third largest in the world and to the east of it is Tanzania, a country that owes its fame to its vast plains where wild animals coexist. The shortest distance between my country Venezuela and Tanzania is 11,349 Km, which means a flight time of approximately 14 hours and 11 minutes.
In Tanzania is the Serengeti National Park, the most famous of the African continent, where it is possible to see zebras, gazelles, elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, crocodiles and rhinoceroses. Animals that in my country are very difficult to appreciate and I have only been able to see lions and leopards in zoos with very poor maintenance conditions. I know the elephant because many circuses used to visit us and they were generally part of the main attraction, there is a species of crocodile in Venezuela called caiman, a little smaller than a crocodile and it is in danger of extinction.
I want to know the environment in which these animals live and what their wild and free life is like, beyond what I have observed in some documentary. It is a fantasy fulfilled just to imagine visiting a place of 15,000 square kilometers observing predatory animals.
Arriving at the hotel our tour guide informs us that the next day, (a Saturday), we will participate in a Game Drive, which means to find and detect wild animals and wild birds mounted on a 4WD vehicle, in turn we will try to visualize mainly the Big Five, ie the 5 best animals to see on Safari (elephants, leopards, lions, rhinos and buffaloes). This Safari is a minimum of 6 people.
On Saturday we have breakfast very early and take lunch in a small lunch box as a picnic, in order to continue the Safari until the last hours of the day, before heading to the lodge for dinner and rest.
We get into the vehicle heading towards Naabi Hill, the most frequent entry point into the Serengeti National Park. We pass through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where we observe an extensive volcanic crater. Arriving at the Park, we begin the procedure to enter, making it through the gates of the Serengeti. Only upon entering before my eyes do I see the daily rhythm of animal life unfold. Our guide tells us that Serengeti means endless plains in Swahili.
I consider that I visited the Park at a very good time, as it coincided with the annual wildebeest migration. There are large herds willing to face predators and cross crocodile-infested rivers to reach the grasslands of southeastern Kenya.
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To the north of the park there is an area called Seronera where I was very excited to observe a pride of lions, and clearly they had just hunted a wildebeest, very close by was a fox that was stalking to get some leftovers. The lionesses chased him away, at first roaring, but this small animal was a bit daring so the females made him run many times.
A male lion was watching the scene without much concern, it was as if he was napping and he had a full stomach.
Suddenly 2 hyenas appeared, much more aggressive than the fox, and they were screeching very hard in an almost hysterical way, the lionesses managed to keep them at bay.
We kept on rolling and in large pools the hippos were soaking, there were monkeys in family jumping and jumping. Looking around we spotted a small family of elephants.
Approximately 10 km north of Seronera, there is a deep natural pool called Retina Hippo Pool. Here you will find a large number of hippos of all sizes submerged in the water. We were warned that although these animals seem harmless they are the main cause of attacks on humans in the park. Do not get too close to them.
On Sunday we leave very early in the morning from the lodge and move to the northwest of the park arriving at the Grumeti River, a spectacle worth seeing, there the wildebeest drink water, and are frightened by the crocodiles that sunbathe and are clearly seen floating. It is also possible to observe hippos, zebras and gazelles.
I noticed that the guide looks for and checks the behavior of the herds of wildebeest, which suddenly dare to cross with some zebras, it's like watching live and direct in one of the National Geographic documentaries. On the other side of the river, crocodiles are waiting for the wildebeest to pass, and there are hippos jumping into the river. This area north of the Serengeti is much greener and in addition to the animals mentioned above, it is possible to see antelopes, vultures, zebras and elephants.
On Sunday we leave very early in the morning from the lodge and move to the northwest of the park arriving at the Grumeti River, a spectacle worth seeing, there the wildebeest drink water, and are frightened by the crocodiles that sunbathe and are clearly seen floating. It is also possible to observe giraffes, hippos, zebras and gazelles.
I noticed that the guide looks and checks the behavior of the herds of wildebeest, which suddenly dare to cross with some zebras, it's like watching live and direct in one of the National Geographic documentaries. On the other side of the river, crocodiles are waiting for the wildebeest to pass, and there are hippos jumping into the river. This area north of the Serengeti is much greener and in addition to the animals mentioned above, it is possible to see antelopes, vultures, zebras and elephants.
The guide tells us that we will go to the Masai Mara River, which is called this way because the Masai tribe inhabits the area that is crossed by the Mara River. On the way we met a black rhino, this is a solitary and quite elusive animal.
A crocodile was eating a wildebeest, I was much more impressed than when the lion did it. It's all part of the rhythm of nature.
It stands out the fact that there were many 4x4 vehicles doing different Game Drives at the same time, the animals watched these vehicles with caution (especially the leopards), and in a way I felt that we were interrupting the normal cycle of their activities.
Two days is very little time to enjoy this gift of nature, it is not the same to enjoy this show in the place that in front of a screen, you can feel the life and nature, it is an experience that makes us feel alive and a unique opportunity to meet wild animals in their natural habitat.
I arrived at about 8 pm to our lodge, highlighting the kindness of the team that attended me within its facilities, and especially the guide of our Safari, who gave us talks and gave us a lot of advice during the tour.
When writing this post, I really felt as if I were in Tanzania in the Serengeti National Park, I put my imagination and some knowledge of previous readings related to adventures in Safaris.
This is my participation in the [Week 125] Weekend & Engagement Concept Link Here promoted by @galenkp.
This weekend you can choose to do any of the things below. What do you choose and why? Write at least 400 words.
Safari in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Greetings to all, hope you enjoyed reading, take care and Happy Weekend.
Sources used to elaborate the montage shown in the first image:
This photograph is my property, it was taken using my Iphone 4 cell phone.
For this purpose, use the Paint 3D application in Windows 10.