A mother elephant poses with her baby. She carried this baby for 24 months before giving birth!
We traveled for a while, soaking in the early morning misty plains of the Serengeti from our extended land cruiser safari vehicle. Our morning reverie was interrupted by a group of vultures fighting a hyena over a freshly killed wildebeest. It was the groups first fresh kill. Not everyone was into the gruesome action. You couldn't even see some of the heads of the vultures since they were neck deep into the carcass. But this is the circle of life. Pretty soon there won't be much more than bleached bones left, thanks to the vultures and hyena.
As the hyena finishes up, the vultures move in to join the feast.
We continued on after the vulture show, and quickly came upon two male lions and a female. As we hung out with them we were surprised to see a third male lion pop up, and then a little later a fourth male lion popped up! The mane male and female were the same mating pair we had spotted two days earlier. She now looked like she was pretty over it, and disengaged from the male every time he attempted anything. The mating pair, and two of brothers gave us some really nice close encounters, walking right past the vehicle several times.
I have had safaris in the past, where we search and search for one of these kingfishers, to no avail. And here we have it come to us when we aren't even moving. That is the way of safari luck sometimes.
One of my favorite birds, the malachite kingfisher, came and landed near the water hole where we were watching the lions. Like I said before, sometimes you just have to sit there and let the aimals come to you. As we were just about ready to leave and continue our search, we noticed a large family of elephants walking across the plains towards our area. We decided to wait and see what happens. I'm glad we did, because as the elephants saw the lions, they went into high alert. The elephant family gathered in a close line and started trumpeting as they charged the lions. It was clear to see that the lions wanted nothing to do with these aggressive elephants, and quickly scampered off.
Witnessing an incredible interaction between some lions, minding their own business, and a bunch of angry elephants kicking the lions out of the area.
During out bush breakfast, overlooking the plains, we got word that a herd of wildebeest had approached the river. Thinking this might be our best chance to see a river crossing, we finished up and all pitched in packing all the picnic supplies. Godliving tore off down the road towards the river. Unfortunately the herd had already crossed by the time we got there, but we knew we had given it our best shot. Then, on the way back, we pulled off where we saw a couple of vehicles and stumbled across a super close encounter with three cheetah!
The afternoon drive was spent searching for a leopard that proved too elusive, and a rhino that looked like a dot on the horizon. But for the most part, we were just enjoying the scenery, knowing that this was our last full day in the park. We had close ups with herds of zebra and elephants, and one last stellar sunset. Then, Godliving surprised us by driving us up into the boulder area, for a bush sundowner. Cocktails out in the wild... not too far from where we were searching for leopards and lions. What a great way to wrap up our time here at Serengeti Under Canvas.
The incredibly small, but equally beautiful Malachite Kingfisher.
Regal portrait of the king.
A sleepy cheetah, one of 3 brothers we found, raises his weary head and looks right at me.
Big cheetah yawn. Its not easy being a cheetah, but pretty cool being the fastest land animal in the world.
Not to be outdone, this lion shows off an impressive set of canines.
Taking in the wonderful views of the Serengeti, one last time.
Our last bit of light, on our last night in the Serengeti.
This hyena finished off half the wildebeest by himself...look at that belly!
I love being this close to the wildlife here in Tanzania. It is almost like the Galapagos, when the animals just don't mind you in close proximity.
This male has mating on his mind. He stays very close to the female for several days.
Dramatic skies and close proximity to the animals gives some great photo opportunities while here in Tanzania.
Watching the vultures fight each other is just as entertaining as finding a fresh kill on safari.
I really, really wanted this female lion to bend down and drink from the waterhole. But alas, I will take this picture with a bit of her reflection in the still pond.
Sundowner cocktail hour up in the kopjees. This is the special andBeyond touch.
Richard, butler extraordinaire, meeting us with his newest concoction.
Janet never missed an opportunity for a sunset picture.
The team, led by Godliving, singing 'Jambo, Jambo bwana' with drinks in hand.
Patty getting close, real close to the king of the jungle. All hands inside the vehicle!
Times like this I have to put down the big camera and just have some iphone selfie fun, and remind myself that this is real.
As always, keep traveling!
- Dai Mar
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It's beautifully scary to have an experimental and adventurous journey in Safari. I am loving all the clicks but the one with elephant is amazing. You are really close to king of jungle. Did it say anything to you 😉?
Hiya, @lauramica here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Travel Digest #2365.
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