I just arrived back in Arusha after completing another successful safari to the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Areas. We had a well planned safari itinerary for my two guests named Robert and Deborah, a lovely and friendly couple from Arizona, USA. Our first three nights in the bush were at Sametu Camp in the Central Serengeti. We had a fantastic time here and although most of the migration had already passed Seronera and the Central Serengeti we still had great sightings of all the big cat species (lion, leopard and cheetah) along with some of the larger herbivores including elephants, giraffes and hippos.

On one of our days we decided to conduct a full day adventure drive to the Gol Kopjes in the Eastern Serengeti and we found large herd of zebras but only a few scattered herds of wildebeest. Accordingly, we decided to explore further east to the very remote Nasera Rock area just outside the Serengeti and in the Eastern Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here we found the larger herds of the wildebeest migration. It was breathtaking. Some of the herds looked to be content in this area grazing while some were forming long lines and heading southwest to the Ndutu area of the Serengeti.

After departing Sametu Camp, we headed for Ndutu Lodge and the South Serengeti where we had three wonderful nights. The wildlife viewing was more diverse in this area. One of the highlights was watching a mother cheetah with five cubs that we spotted drinking from one of the inlets to Lake Ndutu.

We moved on to the famous Crater and to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for two nights. Our early morning game drive in the crater was superb. The weather was pleasant and most of the animals were scattered over the western half of the crater flow as it was much greener. We had great photo opportunities with two black rhinos and four huge male lions walking in front of our vehicle with the morning sunlight. Perfection!

Our last two nights on safari were spent at Kikoti Camp in Tarangire National Park before heading back to Arusha and Kilimanjaro Airport for my guests flight back home to the USA. The highlight in Tarangire National Park were the spectacular herds of elephants, one of the herds was almost 300 individuals. We also were lucky to spot a leopard who was in the tree away from the road. Eventually she came down from the tree, had a drink in front of our vehicle and afterwards came right up next to our vehicle! Such an amazing sight to watch from a distance and then to experience within a hand’s reach away.

The below are some of the photos I took on safari that I would like to share with you.

– A fantastic view of a yawning lioness in Seronera – Central Serengeti.

– Mother cheetah with her five cubs of about 1 month old drinking water in Lake Ndutu, South Serengeti.

– Leopard in Tarangire National Park

– Warthogs in the Central Serengeti.

– Four mane lions majestically walking in Ngorongoro Crater.

This is driver-guide Claude Shitindi and I would like to extend a warm greetings to the ADS community. In the last seven days I was in the bush with a couple from Ohio named Mark and Alice. We started our safari together on September 30, 2013 when I met them at the Kogatende Airstrip in the North Serengeti after they had flown in from Arusha. Our itinerary included 3 nights in the North Serengeti, 2 nights in the Central Serengeti and 1 night at the Ngorongoro Crater.

We had a fantastic time and all the places we explored had good game viewing. The North Serengeti at Kuria Hills Camp was stunning and the game was incredible. We had good sightings of lions with kills, a cheetah with an oribi antelope kill, a mother cheetah with two little cubs, crocodiles, wildebeests and other many other herbivores species.

Down in the Central Serengeti it had just gotten very green after a couple weeks of black ash from the controlled burning. Large herds of elephants, zebras and gazelles were seen in most places. At the Seronera valley we tried to search for leopard for almost one hour and fortunately we got to spot three of them (mother plus two young). They had a kill that one of them was eating on the ground as there was troop of baboons nearby. Baboons can sometimes steal a kill from a leopard. Eventually the baboons were able to spot the leopard eating and one male came and chased the leopard which had to drop the kill.

At Sametu Kopjes in the Central Serengeti we found four cheetahs and the Sametu lion pride with 16 individuals including the big resident male. It was so nice to watch in the quiet of early the morning light and we were lucky to be the only vehicle at the sighting.

Our morning in the crater was beautiful as we spotted a rhino, pride of lions and hyenas hunting a young buffalo. The ambush took more than one hour because the mother and other buffaloes were really trying to protect the baby by chasing the hyenas. However, eventually the buffaloes  finally came to give up from being too exhausted.

I hope you enjoy the following pictures from my safari with Mark and Alice from Ohio, USA.

A cheetah feeding on an Oribi antelope in the Nyamalumbwa Plains, North Serengeti.

A mother cheetah with two young cubs in the Wogakuria area, North Serengeti.

An elephant feeding in the Seronera Valley, Central Serengeti

Mother and calf rhino in Olakira, North Serengeti.

Lions with a wildebeest kill in Olakira, North Serengeti.

Leopard feeding on a gazelle in the Seronera valley, Central Serengeti.

Cheetah in the Nyamalumbwa Plains, North Serengeti.

Lilac breasted roller near the Maasai Kopjes, Central Serengeti.

Grey Crowned Crane in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Thanks,

Claude Shitindi
ADS Guide

Hello to all my friends out there! It’s me Claude here with just a quick report before I head back out into the bush for another safari. On September 11th we started our safari with my two new friends (Don & Judy) from Boston. We began our adventure in the Northern Serengeti. We had great and fantastic sightings of the wildebeest crossings, cats and other herbivores species from circuit to circuit in the Northern Serengeti.

Afterwards we moved on to Lobo Valley where there were more large herds of the migratory wildebeests and zebras and also amazing landscapes (valleys), lions, cheetahs, elephants, elands, and many more. The Central Serengeti was still dry and the good game viewing was along the Seronera river as it is one of few areas with running water and marshes.

On our last day in Tarangire National Park, we set up and watched a lioness stalking, crouching and finally making a sprint forward to catch a reedbuck right in front of us! Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch it on my small camera because the action was just too quick! It was amazing to witness such an action especially on our last day. It was a great way to end our adventure!

I hope you enjoy a few of my pictures from this trip:

– Male Impala at Kogatende.
– A leopard – Wogakuria Kopjes.
– Kogatende sunset.
– Vultures on carcass – Kuria hills.
– Baby zebra suckling – Nyamalumbwa.
– Retima hippo pool.
– Grazing zebras – Ngorongoro.
– Buffalo in the crater.
– Brown snake eagle – Tarangire.

Cheers,
Claude Shitindi
ADS Guide

On August 26, 2013 at the Kogatende Mara River Airstrip in the Northern Serengeti I met my clients (a lovely couple from Colorado named Jim and Cheryl ) for the beginning of their safari. Right from the airstrip our safari started and within in a few minutes we had seen several species of herbivores. We had a half day at Kogatende before heading down to buffalo camp.

It was such an unbelievable and amazing day as we were lucky to watch hundreds and thousands of wildebeest and zebras crossing the Mara river. It is not always easy to witness the crossings as sometimes the wildebeest will march right up the bank of the river and then for no apparent reason will turn right around.

My guests and I decided that after watching the crossings we will go somewhere and have a picnic lunch before heading down to buffalo camp. Our drive to the camp kept going great with some amazing sights including lions, giraffes, elephants and several species of antelopes.

The Maasai village near buffalo camp was fascinating. There is so much to learn and experience in that community. We enjoyed 2 nights at buffalo camp in the North Serengeti and departed on August 28, 2013 for 2 nights at Sametu camp in the Central Serengeti. I always look forward to a stay at Sametu camp. This camp along with the similar lions paw camp are my favorite camps in the serengeti/ngorongoro ecosystem.

On our way to Sametu camp we went through the lower grumeti woodlands and lobo valley. The landscape there was unusually green and lush for this time of year. Also, the game was incredible. We saw a lion with a buffalo kill, cheetahs, giraffes and elephants. It was a great day!

The Seronera valley was so cool. We got lucky with a cheetah hunt and she made a kill in front of us and we also saw a pride of lions killing a buffalo at Moru Kopjes. It was such an amazing and lucky day to see all these kills. It does not happen that easy during our safaris! Our two nights at lion’s paw (August 30th and 31st) went good too. In Ngorongoro Crater we saw rhinos and a big pride of lions (four males and three females) with one couple mating about ten meters from our vehicle.

On September 1, 2013 we departed for Kikoti camp in Tarangire National Park. We had such a great time with loads of elephants drinking, wallowing and splashing at Silale Swamp. Silale swamp is one of the best places in Tarangire for game viewing during the dry season. We tried for the extremely rare Oryx antelopes around Larmakao but unfortunately we did not find them. Instead, we spotted a very wild leopard that looked like it had never seen a vehicle before! We finished our trip on September 3rd and it truly had become a dream come true for my guests Jim and Cheryl.

Below are some of the photos to share with you.

– A mother cheetah with her two juveniles at Kogatende, North Serengeti.
– Wildebeests crossing Mara river.
– Maasai giraffe at lobo in the morning.
– Brousing elephant bull at Seronera valley.
– Giraffe at Moru.
– A mating lion at crater.
– After mating the lioness walking away.
– Silvery cheeked hornbill at Lake Manyara.
– Splashing and funny young Elephants.

Regards,
Claude Shitindi.
ADS Guide

Habari (Howdy)! This is ADS driver-guide Claude. I have just finished a wonderful trip that we started with the most diverse and active circuit of the Serengeti (Kogatende and Mara river). The Northern Serengeti was great with large herds of migration, crocodiles, big cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) and other species of large game were seen in abundance.

We went to Lobo Valley (North East Serengeti) which was a little scattered with game but the sightings we found were amazing. Beautiful leopards, elephants etc.

The central Serengeti (Seronera valley) including Moru Kopjes and  Sametu Kopjes was stunning. It is very dry now in the central Serengeti especially to the south, but along the streams and marshes and around the kopjes we had great wildlife viewing.

After the Serengeti, we visited Ngorongoro and Tarangire with beautiful sights of elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and  greater Kudu…fantastic! In all the circuits in Northern Tanzania, Tarangire National Park is the only place one can spot a greater Kudu.

I hope you enjoy my pictures below. I certainly enjoyed taking them!

Regards,

Claude Shitindi.
ADS Guide.

The Great Migration at the Sand River, North Serengeti.

Giraffes browsing in the Central Serengeti.

This is a klipspringer seen here grazing.

Elephants going for a drink near Lobo hill (shown in the background)

At Lobo valley in the North Serengeti, we came across these leopards (mother and cub).

A nervous black rhino crossing behind our vehicle on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater.

Elephant in the Mara River.

Hello I am Claude, one of the Africa Dream Safari guides, and have just got back from a safari. We started in the Northern Serengeti (Kogatende Airstrip) where I met and picked up my guests including Bill and Jane (grandparents) along with their two granddaughters named Haley and Morgan. It was great to be on safari with this family and it was nice to see the whole family participating in such an adventure together.

The trip started off with a bang so to speak as just on our first day we spotted three cheetah brothers on the Lamai plains, a pride of lions and dozens of hippos and giraffes. To top things off, there were huge herds of the wildebeest migration around Nyamalumbwa. What a way to begin a safari!

Afterwards,  we went to Buffalo Luxury Camp where we had chance to visit the local people who are the Maasai tribe. We also did a night game drive which was a different experience for the guests. Since Buffalo Camp is in a game concession, we can can conduct night game drives which are prohibited inside the Serengeti National Park.

Our next place was Mbalageti Tented Camp in the Western Serengeti where we had one night and then moved on to Seronera Sametu Camp in the Central Serengeti. Here the camp was nice plus the wildlife viewing was exceptional and close by. We had three good sightings of leopards, saw lions in a tree and also lions hunting and killing right in front of us, about ten feet away. We could watched them feed for some time. The following day we departed the Serengeti and drove to Ngorongoro to visit the famous Crater for one night and then we finished in Tarangire National Park at Tarangire Tree Tops Camp. It was a very nice itinerary. The elephant sightings in Tarangire were fantastic especially the huge bull elephants we call the big tuskers!

The whole trip was fantastic and areas visited were stunning and worthy, to combine in such a way. The following are the pictures I would like to share with you including:

– A cute lion cub less than one month old at Samtu Kopjes in the Central Serengeti
– At Seronera Valley in the Serengeti, I captured a lioness jumping off a tree
– Giraffes under the umbrella acacia tree getting some shade from the warm mid-day sun
– Lionesses in the sausage tree looking up for Zebras passing in the distance

With best regards,
Claude Shitindi

Hello, it’s me Claude here with my latest safari report for my trip that finished on 04th July 2013. I was with four lovely people that I took on safari i.e Erick, Anna, Alec and Adrian. It was wonderful up in the Northern Serengeti as we had thousands of wildebeests everywhere all over the Nyamalumbwa plains in the direction to the Mara River.

We had one night in Lobo Valley and then we were off to Mbalageti and the West Serengeti where we found more of the migration and also other species including the big cats. This area was very productive.

At the Central part of the Serengeti the wildlife was a little scattered. Seronera Valley, Moru Kopjes, Sametu Kopjes, and the Marshes of Maasai Kopjes were the best places in the Central Serengeti for wildlife viewing.

At Ngorongoro Crater on our early morning game drive we had a rhino crossing the road twice very close to our vehicle. It was just us alone and I heard that was the only sighting on the entire day making it even more special. Here are just few of my pics to share…

 

Black rhino crossing the road in the early morning – Ngorongoro Crater

A freezing dik dik antelope in  Seronera Valley 

Zebras resting in the middle of the day but still alert for predators

Vevert monkey in Lerai Forest at Ngorongoro.

Curious little lion cubs near Sametu Kopjes in the Central Serengeti

Black rhino in the early morning coming towards our vehicle – Ngorongoro Crater

I have just gotten back from our seven day safari with my clients Bill and Nancy from New York. I picked up the guests at Seronera Airstrip in the Serengeti on April 23, 2013 and after 5 nights in the Serengeti and 1 final night at the Ngorongoro Crater we concluded the trip on April 29th. We had superb wildlife viewing for entire duration of our safari. For me the highlight of our trip happened during our last morning in the Serengeti when we watched a mother cheetah and her 4 one-year old cubs hunt and kill a wildebeest right in front of our eyes. It was amazing to watch!

As for the great migration, there are currently large herds of wildebeest and zebra on the Southern Serengeti Plains in the Triangle Area between Naabi Hill and Ndutu. There are smaller herds further south and west through Hidden Valley and Matiti Plains. We also saw a few scattered herds just beginning to arrive at Simba and Moru Kopjes. It looks like the northward migration is now starting. I believe that soon there should be more wildebeest beginning to migrate north through the Central Serengeti and West Serengeti.

Bat eared fox posing – Ndutu woodlands in the Southern Serengeti.

Curious little cub.

Scanning for prey at sunset.

Giraffe at sunset – Ndutu woodlands.

Male lion enjoying a meal – Seronera Valley.

A mother velvet monkey with her lovely baby – Seronera Valley.

Thank You!

Claude

Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania. My name is Claude Shitindi and I am a driver-guide with Africa Dream Safaris. I have just returned from a 10-night safari to the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater beginning February 6, 2013 and ending February 16, 2013. We enjoyed many different areas of the park and also a nice mixture of lodging and camping including Seronera Sametu Camp in the Central Serengeti Woodlands, Private Camping in the Southern Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Serena Lodge on the rim of the Crater and finally Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.

Included here are some of my favorite pictures I managed to take on the safari with my guests. We very much enjoyed our adventure together!

Lastly, here is the latest Migration Report:

Scattered herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle are currently ranging around Naabi Hill and the Triangle area of the Southern Serengeti. Medium sized herds were seen further south around the Matiti Plains. Immediately around the Ndutu Woodlands there is good viewing for giraffe, elephant, leopard and lion. To the west of Ndutu is currently the best area for cheetahs.  The Central Serengeti including Seronera Valley is also great for game viewing currently especially Maasai and Sametu Kopjes with fantastic sightings of lion, elephant, buffalo and giraffe. Lastly, around Moru Kopjes there are huge herds of zebras and wildebeest that were arricing from Kusini area and we got lucky with rhino sightings there too. I am not sure if these herds around Moru will stay or go back to southern plains and Ndutu when there is more rain.

Thank you,

Claude Shitindi
ADS Driver-Guide

Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania. My name is Claude Shitindi and I am a driver-guide with Africa Dream Safaris. I have just returned from a 7-night safari to the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater beginning January 28, 2013 and ending February 4, 2013. We enjoyed many different areas of the park and also a nice mixture of lodging and camping including Seronera Sametu Camp in the Central Serengeti Woodlands, Private Camping in the Southern Serengeti Plains and Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge on the rim of the Crater.

One of the highlights of the safari was on the day we drove from the Ndutu area of the South Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater. We decided to take a very remote drive along the way and detour through the Matiti Plains, which can be a great place to see cheetahs, and sure enough we came across this male cheetah that had just killed a year old wildebeest. It was such an amazing sight to witness.

Thank you,

Claude Shitindi
ADS Driver-Guide
February 18, 2013