African Safari - Day 4 - BalasBroadcast

Our last day in Serengeti before moving back to higher ground, the rim of the Ngorongoro crater for the night halt. Decided to start by 6 AM after a cup of coffee, do a game safari, return by 11.30, have a shower, brunch and then leave by 12.30 PM. The target was to reach the Naabi Gate or exit Serengeti area before 2 PM to avoid payment of a full additional day’s fee.

Up at the crack of dawn and it appeared to be a bright, sunny day in store. Coffee, fruits, biscuits and we were out on the trail. Rains had stopped, sky was clear but the road conditions had deteriorated further and the walkie-talkies crackled with news of many routes getting cut-off including the shortest one to the Serengeti Gate , which we were supposed to take. We passed this tall boy bending down for his breakfast and headed straight to the place where we had found the fresh carcass of a zebra, the previous evening.

Reached the spot where the zebra met its end– wonder of wonders, no trace of the carcass, no cats, no scavengers, nothing. Possibly a midnight feast had taken place with NIL leftovers. Nature at its very best. Even as we moved on could not help but silently admire the grandeur of Nature which I canned.

Roads were pretty bad and quite a few times we had to move to 4-wheel drive to come out of thick, deep mud. The water-bodies were full ( fresh water) and we could see hippos frolicking happily baring their jaws at one another..

While the hippos were happy, some tourists were not, as their car had stalled in the water and were waiting for the car to be towed by another jeep. Silently murmured a prayer of thanks to our sturdy old Land Cruiser.

As we were heading back to camp, who would cross our paths but two female lions with two naughty cubs. The cubs kept running ahead of the adults in a keen bid to explore the world, even as the mothers kept a close watch. Another aspect of the Animal world observed– parenting..They soon disappeared into the tall grass and we reached our campsite. An ostrich foraging for food was a bonus.

A quick shower, hearty brunch and now time to pack-up kitchen stuff, personal luggage and also dismantle the tents. Even as packing-up was on, I was busy admiring the weaver bird nests in the camp and yellow weaver birds themselves on the ground.

12.30PM : Goodbye to Seronera campsite and we raced towards the Serengeti main gate following a circuitous rote. We were racing against time as 2 PM was the deadline at the gate. Not to worry, said Godson as we stopped to look at a Nile crocodile basking in the sun.

Passing hordes of zebras and wildebeest, we reached the Naabi Hill gate around 10 minutes before 2 PM. Usual verification of documents, bio-break and we were free to leave Serengeti, but not before I clicked one of those bright blue Superb Starlings.

We were largely quiet on the drive up to Simba Camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater, but in my heart I was convinced “Serengeti shall never die”. It was growing colder now, Maasais on the road again and one interesting plant noticed– Whispering Acacia, so named, I was told because when the wind passes through it, a whistling sound ensues. That is not all, the nodes at the bottom are filled with ants( who get food inside) and when herbivores attempt to feed on these plants, the two lines of defence are the thorns and the ants.

4 PM: We were at the Simba campsite, which was the best of the three we had seen so far. A slight drizzle, nip in the air and a rainbow. A few shots of the camp, then scurried inside my tent which was quickly pitched awaiting my evening tea and snacks.