My clients Donald and Juliana were very excited to begin their safari when I met them at the Ndutu airstrip in the South Serengeti on February 15, 2014. They had arrived into Tanzania the night before and were happy to be beginning their adventure. It was great to start the safari in the South Serengeti as there were good concentrations of wildlife in the immediate vicinity. The Serengeti is beautiful this time of year. The open plains are green, vibrant and full of animals and wildflowers.

(A large male giraffe is seen here bending down for a drink at a waterhole in the Ndutu Woodlands of the South Serengeti)

The weather is really nice at the moment and the main wildlife viewing highlight is undoubtedly the wildebeest migration. It is the calving season now and there are thousands of baby wildebeest being born.
The sightings of predators including lions and cheetahs were best down in the South Serengeti. There was a a pride of female lions feeding on a fresh wildebeest kill, while the cubs were trying to chase a lonely wildebeest calf that was probably about 1 day old. It was sad to watch, but it was also a good moment to witness how the tiny calf managed to escape from the lion cub’s mouth. The cubs were also learning valuable hunting techniques.

Around the Makao plains just south of the Serengeti border we witnessed massive numbers of zebras and wildebeest roaming around. We also found many cheetahs and lions here due to this abundance of food. For example, a mother cheetah and male cub of almost 1 year were feeding on a Grant’s gazelle at Makao and two male cheetahs were feasting on a young male wildebeest around Miti Mitatu also called twin hills.

The Ngorongoro crater was also very green and it is one of the best places to see the endangered black rhino. We saw about 15 rhinos during our two days down in the crater. Our safari ended on February 22nd after having enjoyed a productive 7 nights in the bush together. We had 3 nights in the South Serengeti at Ndutu Camp, 2 nights in the Central Serengeti at the Four Seasons Lodge and 2 nights on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater at Lion’s Paw Camp. It was a very nice itinerary.

The following are some pictures I took while on safari:

– Mother cheetah with her cub of almost 1 year old feeding on a male Grant’s Gazelle on the Kusini plains, Southwest Serengeti.

– Spectacular Tawny Eagle on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater.

– A pair of Black Rhinos with the beautiful background of the Ngorongoro Crater

– One of the lion cubs of about 7 months old that was stalking a wildebeest cub near Lake Masek in the South Serengeti.

– A lion cub of about 5 months old and a lioness are happy after having eaten their fill. This was on the Ndutu Plains in the South Serengeti.

– Spotted hyena feeding on a wildebeest carcass in the South Serengeti.

– Two brother cheetahs feeding on a wildebeest kill at Miti Mitatu in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

– A Male Koribustard displaying his feathers to attract a mate. In the background is a cape buffalo and zebra with Lake Magadi off in the distance. This was in the Crater.