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

Greetings from the bush! I am Anglebert Mrema guiding for Africa Dream Safaris. Having completed my safari with my clients Patty and Kevin, I would like to share some highlights from this trip with the ADS family. The safari started on August 4, 2013 and ended on August 11, 2013. We spent 4 nights in the Serengeti split between the North and Central Serengeti areas at Buffalo and Sametu Camps, 2 nights in Ngorongoro Crater at Lion’s Paw Camp and a final night in the Tarangire National Park at Kikoti Camp.

At Lobo Valley in the North Serengeti we had a great sight of a male leopard just by the road. This leopard was trying to stalk gazelles on the other side of the road.  However, the area was too open and it wasn’t easy for the leopard to get much closer for the strike. We moved to the Central Serengeti where we had a great sight of pride of lions at Sametu Kopjes. Although the Sametu Kopjes area was dry, the pride was very healthy and that is due to the presence of a big herd of Thomson gazelle in the area.

Ngorongoro Crater was great. We had a good sight of lions feasting on a zebra. The two females probably made the kill at night because just near there was another lion pride that came to realize that there was a kill around dawn.

Another interesting sight at the caldera was a black mane lion on honeymoon just by the road. It was interesting to see this big male lion immediately go behind to the back of the ADS vehicle and scent mark the logo printed on the tire covers.  Hope you will enjoy the pictures below.

This is driver-guide Raphael with ADS and I would like to wish the entire ADS family a warm greeting from Tanzania. Follows is my latest bush report for my recent safari concluding on September 1, 2013.

I had the pleasure of welcoming my two guests named Robert and Judy from Baltimore, Maryland to the Serengeti on August 25, 2013.  My guests landed into the North Serengeti via the Kogatende Airstrip (also known as the Mara River airstrip since it is located very close to the river and, in fact, a famous crossing point).

We immediately departed for our 1st game drive. We drove along the river and we saw three crossing on that first day! The second day we drove around Mawe ya Nature and we saw lionesses lying on those Kopjes (granite outcroppings). Around Lemala camp we saw a mother cheetah with her cubs and she was satiety. We saw also two crossing and one crocodile killed three wildebeests because the crossing was so massive. We enjoyed 2 nights in the Mara river area before departing for 2 more nights at Buffalo camp. On the way to Buffalo camp we came across a leopard which was not skirting at all and we had a good time there.

The Loliondo game controlled area around Buffalo camp was fabulous because we visited the Maasai village and it was gorgeous. They danced so nicely and we climbed the nearby mountain to look for a pack of critically endangered wild dogs that had been spotted in the area. Thankfully we successfully saw them.

After spending 4 nights in the North Serengeti split between Lemala Kuria/Mara camps and Buffalo camp, we departed for the Central Serengeti for 2 nights at Mbuzi Mawe. This would allow us ample time to explore the famous Seronera River Valley. In the Central Serengeti we saw a pride of lions numbering sixteen (16) individuals around Sametu Kopjes. The Ngorongoro Crater where we spent our last night was also amazing.  W saw a black rhino and several big male lions. We ended our safari in Lake Manyara National Park, which I think made a nice and peaceful conclusion to our adventure.

Please enjoy my photos below. The photos include:

011-Wildebeests crossing Mara river.
020/022-Captured picture when wildebeest jumping into the water.
026-I was holding a skull of a buffalo head.
035-Crossing of wildebeest.
057-A visible cheetah picture in a tree twig.
062-A crocodile getting a baby wildebeest.
065/067-Kogatende leopard cleaning himself.
072-Lion cubs drinking water.
076-A mother cheetah with her cub yawning.
084-Gong rock at Moru Kopjes.

Thanks,
Raphael Mollel,
ADS Guide.

Good morning from an unusually cool Arusha, Tanzania. This is ADS driver-guide David Chando with my latest bush report. It has been a little colder then normal in Tanzania the last couple of weeks though the weather reports show temperatures returning to normal shortly. The migratory wildebeest herds continue to be located at the extreme north of the Serengeti ecosystem with large groups both to the north and south of the Mara River. Hence, we have been enjoying lots of crossings. The wildebeest are crossing both northbound and southbound and in some cases two groups pass each other in the river going opposite directions!  It is interesting to note that the migratory zebra herds are located further south mainly in Lobo Valley area of North Serengeti.

Last week I went on safari with one client from New York by the name of William T. We started on 08 August 2013 and ended on 18 August 2013. The areas we visited included the North Serengeti, Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Tarangire National Park. We had a great time together. Sights admired are as follows:

Wildebeest migration crossing the Mara river in the North Serengeti.

These are the sights which Mr. William said he was waiting his whole lifetime to witness. We enjoyed several crossings during his stay in the North Serengeti.

Wildebeest migration in the Lamai Triangle of the North Serengeti. This is the area to the north of the Mara river. As long as we can cross the bridge at Kogatende, I usually try to game drive both the north and south sides of the Mara River.

Thirsty elephant at water hole – North Serengeti.

Lions resting under a bush tree.  This was about mid-day when the sun was hot and the lions were seeking shade.

Female lion eating a warthog.

Cheetahs  hunting at the Nyamalumbwa plains (North Serengeti) with wildebeest grazing in the background.

A nice set up of plain zebras at Lobo Valley in the North Serengeti. This is the area where we saw lots of zebras.

Black rhino inside the Ngorongoro Crater. It has been difficult these days to see black rhino’s at Ngorongoro as the weather has been cold, making the rhinos less active and causing them to lay close to the ground. It becomes difficult to see them among the high grass.

Young bulls of elephants fighting – Tarangire National Park.

Thanks once again. See you soon.

David Chando
ADS Driver-Guide
September 2, 2013

This is ADS Driver-Guide Godson with another safari report. My two guests named David and Eric H. arrived at Kogatende airstrip in northern Serengeti at 16th of August 2013 where we enjoyed two nights and two days in the Mara River circuit. On this day the weather was a little bit cool and the clouds were seen in a pattered sky travelling through low speed winds heading. This is the time of the short rainy season, which brings back home all the wildebeest that traveled to the Maasai Mara for a short visit.

Our game viewing took us straight to the crossing site called number seven along the Mara river’s bank. We enjoyed the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River heading southward. Here my clients were surprised for their first time to see the big herds of wildebeest crossing. We were lucky to see two separate crossings.

The second day we went hunting for the big cats at my client’s suggestion and we were found some unbelievable action. We observed male and female leopards mating on a big rock, which was out in the open and close to where we were parking our vehicle. This was an unusual sighting for the normally very secretive and elusive leopard. With much surprise David said Oooh Waoooo!!!!

Afterwards we decided to conduct a cultural tour in the Loliondo Controlled Area where we observed Maasai dancing, milking their cows, and also we we enjoyed a night game drive. This was on August 18th and 19th. On August 20th we departed to the Central Serengeti and Sametu Camp for 2 nights and believe it or not we witnessed another mating of cats not 5 meters from my vehicle. This time it involved lions, the king and queen of the jungle.

On August 22nd we departed the Central Serengeti and headed for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, for 2 nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge. Here were saw a big pride of lions with lots of lion cubs of about 2 weeks oldplaying with their mom. Also we saw the Caracal, a VERY rare cat.

Our last National Park was Tarangire after completing what I call the Primate Park or Lake Manyara National Park. Here we had 2 nights and ended our adventure with huge herds of elephants among the mighty Baobab trees. On August 26th after having our breakfast we went back to Arusha Town and the Mount Meru Hotel for a day room. After an early dinner my guests David and Erick were driven to Kilimanjaro Airport for their flight back home.

I have wonderful photos to share with the ADS community as follow:

– Mating leopards in North Serengeti.
– First day – big herds of wildebeest migration crossing Mara river.
– Second day – pride of lions with 3 males and seven females seen hunting.
– Klipspringer on a big rock at Kogatende.
– A laped faced vulture posing, waiting to scavenge.
– Male Agama lizard at buffalo spring.
– Crossing again on the first day.
–  Wildebeest were hesitating to cross because of the crocodiles.
– The lion cubs of about 2 weeks old while on morning game drive
– 2 bulls buffalo brothers in Ngorongoro.
– Type of Comodo species of agama lizard at Oldupai gorge.
– Lake magadi, down the crater seen with crowend cranes and flamingos.
– Very rare small cat, called the Caracal at Ngorongoro crater.
– Martial Eagle on top of a balanite tree at central Serengeti.
– A baboon holding her young.
– King and Queen on their honeymoon in the central Serengeti at Utafiti rock.
– Male Ostrich in the Serengeti.
– Cheetah scanning for antelopes in the Serengeti.
– Hippos seen out of the water.
– A young girl Maasai under the Maasai Boma at Loliondo area.

Thanks,

Godson Mbonye.
ADS Guide.