Serengeti National Park, Part 2

Day 3

Our alarm went off before the sun came up, but we wanted to make it to the Mara River in hopes of seeing the wildebeest cross.  We packed and took down our tent before having a quick bite to eat.  Sam, our guide from Sunny Safaris, drove like a madman over the gravel road to reach the Lobo campsite.  We passed a pack of hyenas tearing apart their leftovers from the night before, but it was mostly a ride to get to the northern section of the park.  

We were almost to the campsite, but needed to go up one last rocky incline to get there.  Even though we were in 4-wheel drive, it really only counted as 2-wheel drive since the back tires were not reliable.  We made it part of the way up and realized there was no way we’d make it to the top.  The tires were trying their hardest, but they only spun in circles.  With Marcel’s guidance, we backed down the hill and took the long way around.  

There were a few tents set up, but nothing in comparison to the previous night.  Most were actually taking down their tents as we were quite early.  We unloaded the things and while Tico and I were selecting a spot to set up the tent, baboons jumped into the truck behind Sam’s back.  They took one of our packed lunches as well as our personal Tupperware that had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in it for a snack.  There was no getting them back once they were gone as the baboons quickly disappeared with their loot.

 

We were ready for the game drive to the Mara River when Sam said we couldn’t make it with the current situation of the car.  He said a spare part for the axel was to arrive in Seronera and we needed to be there to receive it.  Neither of us were happy as we’d just rushed from that area of the park and if we’d had this information we would have stayed.  I was too frustrated to speak calmly so I walked away while Tico did the talking.  In the end, we got back in the car and drove straight back to where we’d just come from.  

As we drove, we looked for cell service as we needed to communicate with the man that had our spare part.  We were halfway to Seronera when we finally reached the driver, who happened to be the same guy who had our original car.  As he hadn’t been able to get in touch with us, he continued on his path to the border.  There wasn’t much else we could do at that point so we continued our game drive stopping along the way to see things.

Our first stop was to a small river that had an enormous amount of hippos.  There at least 75 of them together, literally laying on top of one another, so that they could sleep and still have their nose above water.  As we looked further down the river, there had to have been at least 150 hippos in total.  They grunted as they made themselves comfortable and flung poop everywhere to attract females and also to appease the dominant male.

 

 

 

It was nearing lunch time so we headed to the visitors center to eat our packed lunches.  Sam dropped us off and drove to the mechanics shop in hopes of getting the axel fixed.  We ate and then wandered around the exhibit that discussed the wildebeest migration while we waited for Sam to come back for us.  When he did, the axel had been welded to the wheel and we were ready to take whatever road we needed to.  

 

Almost immediately, we found several cars near a stream and searched with the binoculars to see what they saw.  We located a lioness hiding in the grass and went to the other side of the stream to try to get a better look.  From that angle, we could see the ears of another lioness.  We made ourselves comfortable as we assumed they would be hunting soon as they were crouched low. 

 

We kept scanning the area as we didn’t know where the rest of the pride were hiding.  On one occasion, Tico saw a hyena and jackal running across the field behind us.  We watched as they ran towards a dead newborn gazelle that was being eaten by a fish eagle.  And while the hyena was the last to reach the fresh meat, it was the largest.  That meant it got to steal the meat and ran off into the distance.  

After 1.5 hours of waiting to see the lions move, it happened.  A group of Thomson’s gazelles moved closer to the water and it was time.  One lunged forward in her attack while others made themselves visible at that time.  Within seconds, the first lioness to move jumped on the back on a gazelle and that was the end.  There were a total of 15 lions, including several cubs, even though we’d only managed to spot 2 of them before the hunt. 

 

 

The hyenas quickly smelled the blood and there were 3 in the vicinity in no time.  As the lions ate on the small kill, another opportunity arose.  One of the lionesses leaped at another gazelle, but this time came up empty handed.  As we tried to leave the scene, there was a traffic jam of cars as everyone wanted a close look of the lions.  We got our turn and as it was getting later and we had a long journey ahead of us, we started back to camp.  

 

The game drive didn’t end there as we continued to see things as we went.  Not too far from our destination, we saw a different pride of lions eating a carcass.  It was hard to tell what it was, but it was likely a buffalo due to the size.  Even with the car fixed, we took the long way in to see a few more animals before calling it a day.  Once we approached Lobo camp, we found 40 buffalos directly across the road.  Sam told us to be aware as we got out and then we watched them from the ‘safety’ of our camp.  As there are no fences, it really didn’t matter where we were, but we assumed that the animals understood that we shared this small space with them.  

 

 

We sat under a tree and watched the animals, which also included zebras and gazelles.  Dinner was served and once it was dark, we made sure to illuminate our surroundings to make sure the animals didn’t cross the road.  As we were going to bed, we saw eyes looking back at us from a ways behind the bathroom.  Whatever animal they were, they minded their own business and we did the same.  

Halfway through the night, Tico needed to go to the toilet.  He unzipped the tent and shined his light around.  There was a buffalo behind our tent and another standing between us and the toilet.  Going outside was not an option so we started to come up with ideas.  Thankfully, we had an empty water bottle in the tent that would solve the problem.  

Day 4

The next morning when we woke up there were buffalos in the field past the bathroom.  More than likely, they were the same ones we’d seen before we went to bed and those that kept Tico from using the toilet in the middle of the night.  They watched us as we did the same to them and continued on our way.  We ate breakfast before getting into the truck and heading to the Mara River.

 

It was a 2 hour ride, but it was a game drive along the way.  We passed buffalo as well as gazelles and hartebeests.  There was a buffalo calf on the side of the road that appeared to have been hit by a car.  It was unable to use its hind legs and called out to its mother yet the rest of the herd had moved away.  We wondered what would happen although we knew the final outcome.  

 

We continued on and when we passed a ranger station, we stopped for a toilet break.  As we were walking back to the car, the wife of the ranger said, ‘simba’ and pointed towards the nearby stream.  Sure enough, a lion was walking out of the trees and past the ranger post.  It was a far enough away that we weren’t concerned, but it still gives you a thrill to be out of the vehicle and see such an animal walking by. 

After the stop, they landscape changed.  There were rolling hills of green, which confused us as the wildebeest were supposedly moving to green pastures.  Then, the yellow dead grass started appearing.  At first it was mixed with the green grass, but then it was yellow as far as we could see.  We passed wildebeest carcasses as we drove and Sam explained that they likely died of natural causes as they couldn’t make the journey.  Suddenly, there were wildebeest everywhere we looked.  The hillsides were covered in black dots and there were herds on both sides of the road.  Zebras were sprinkled in amongst them and there were the occasional gazelle and hartebeest, but the majority of the animals were wildebeest.

 

 

 

We reached the Mara River and couldn’t believe that a large herd was waiting the cross.  There was a group of cars parked away from the river as they didn’t want to scare the wildebeest out of crossing.  It was apparent that the animals were already anxious and humans wouldn’t have helped the process.  We kept our distance, but watched through the binoculars.  The wildebeest in the lead would walk back and forth along the edge and would take a few steps down only to come back up again.  Every time we thought they were making a move, we told Sam to go, but he told us to wait.  

 

After 20 minutes, one of the herds decided to leave, but there were still hundreds lining the edge.  Their leader made a move and several gathered at the water’s edge below.  A few crossed while others came back up to safety.  One of the safari vehicles started its engine and everyone else followed in suit.  Sam had warned us about ‘go time’ and it was all true.  He hit the gas as hard as he could and we all raced for a good viewing spot.  It was impossible to not have adrenaline racing from the excitement of the crossing, but our speedy approach added to it.

 

We watched as one-by-one they jumped into the river and made their way to the other side.  Some made it across with greater ease than others, but they all succeeded.  There were no crocodiles in sight even though we’d morbidly hoped to see a kill.  It lasted a matter of minutes, but it felt like so much longer.  

 

 

As we didn’t mind waiting to see if more crossed, we moved alongside the river and watched the hippos and crocodiles.  They weren’t that far from where the action had just happened, but didn’t seem to be bothered by what had just occurred.  The hippos fought each other and made plenty of noises.  We watched as a crocodile ate off a dead wildebeest that was floating in the water.  It wasn’t as lucky as the ones that we had watched moments earlier.  

 

There was another crocodile that was swimming up river and managed to catch a fish.  We watched as it snapped, swung its head and then threw the fish into the air to swallow it whole.  While not a wildebeest kill, it was the next best thing.  We ate our lunch in the car while parked next to the river.  A small herd of wildebeest came to where we were sitting and started looking at the river below.  As we didn’t want to scare them into not crossing, we moved away.

 

 

We didn’t think they would cross so we took our time making a loop and by the time we got back, they were already on the other side.  There was one last group near the edge so we watched and waited.  Once they all sat down, we decided it was time to see other things and drove back in the direction of camp.  

 

 

We saw several cars along a stream away from the road so we drove down to see what they were looking at.  It was 2 lionesses with 2 cubs each.  The cubs played with each other while the females rested.  Sam spotted a lion behind a tree to the side and as we pulled up close it didn’t move.  I couldn’t see it breathing and didn’t believe that it was alive, but Sam reassured me that it was.  I continued to argue with him until his way of proving he was right was to pull forward even more.  The lion sat up to look at us and confirmed Sam’s theory.  

 

 

We passed the injured buffalo calf again and it was in the same situation.  All of us agreed that it probably wouldn’t survive the night.  As we neared camp, we saw newborn Coke’s gazelle still being cleaned by its mother.  It stumbled along trying to learn how to walk, but it was camouflaged quickly amongst the others as if we were predators.  We made it back to camp and enjoyed seeing the zebras and giraffes in the field across from us.  Once it was dark, we had dinner and then crawled in for the night.

 

It had been a very eventful couple of days and we couldn’t believe we still had more time. Having the opportunity to see the wildebeest cross the river in their yearly cycle was unbelievable and we’d been so lucky that we didn’t have to wait long. Serengeti National Park was passing our expectations and we looked forward to the coming days.