Safari again in the Serengeti National Park, at Seronera

This morning we wake up when it is still dark, we are in the savannah, and more precisely in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania; waking up before dawn, feeling the fresh air that enters the tent, getting dressed and going for breakfast when it starts to dawn is one of the most beautiful things in our life.

We have breakfast, there's only us in the restaurant tent of the Acacia Tented Camp, the other guests are probably still sleeping; after breakfast we go out on the wooden terrace where there is a small table with a pile of boxes and a series of things to eat; we can practically create our own lunch box by ourselves, this is something that I really appreciate because everyone can take what they want and this also avoids waste.

We get into the car with our lunch boxes, our cameras, our binoculars and our books and leave for our second safari in the Seronera area, inside the Serengeti National Park.

We are a bit far from the Seronera River, but at this time of year the animals find water a bit everywhere and therefore do not focus on its banks, as instead it happens during the dry season.

As soon as we leave the camp, we drive for just 2 km of the track and we find a herd of lions, they are lionesses with puppies; they are beautiful, the puppies look at us curious while the lionesses are sitting and looking around, probably checking the situation to see if there is any prey around, even if they do not seem particularly willing to hunt.

We take some photos and then continue our safari.

Shortly after Safe stops and looks in one direction, we wonder what he is looking at, he takes the binoculars and tells us "Lions, there on the tree!"

It is not a common behavior, but the lions sometimes climb the trees and do so to have a better view of the surroundings and to spot the prey; obviously they can not climb as high as the leopards because they are heavier, they must also choose sufficiently large branches that can support them.

There are three lions, one is at the base of the tree, while the other two are on the branches, they are so still they look like statues, we wonder how Safe could see them because they are not so close to us, thank goodness we have our zoom to take pictures.

We continue our journey and shortly after we see a clan of hyenas with puppies just at the roadside; we stop to take pictures of them and the puppies, who are curious and approach our car; at the end we find ourselves surrounded by hyenas, adults and puppies, puppies play while most of the adult specimens look around and look at us a little suspicious.

When they go away a bit from the road we can leave and head towards the Seronera River.

While proceeding we meet some rats or tsessebes, an antelope that is often sighted in the Serengeti National Park and in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya; often these animals are positioned on small bumps of the ground, from which they scan the horizon, to understand if there are dangers coming.

Shortly thereafter we see stealthy movements in the tall grass, at first sight they might look like jackals, but it was clear they were not; we immediately took the binoculars to be able to observe them carefully and understand better: they are three aardwolves!

We are excited about this sighting, not only because, being crepuscular and nocturnal animals, they are difficult to spot during the day, but also because it is the first time we see them!

To tell the truth, we believe we have seen them in the twilight in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, but that time it was evening and it was dark, so we only saw a figure who had stealthily approached our lodge; today we saw them really well and we were able to take good pictures, we are happy!

When we arrive near the Seronera River we see several giraffes that are eating, how beautiful, their elegance is unmatched; when they hear us some of them stop and look at us motionless with their big eyes, it is difficult to stop taking pictures.

Along the river we meet a quite numerous herd of elephants, it is not common to see so many elephants in the Serengeti National Park since there are not many trees, especially in this area, but during the green season, there is more vegetation and therefore this has favored making this sighting; they are scattered throughout the territory and are busy eating, even if occasionally some specimens stop to stare at some cars that perhaps have approached too much.

We continue our journey, that follows the course of the Seronera River, our goal is to look for the cats, that in this area of the park are usually always present, especially leopards; during the dry season there are also cheetahs, but at this time of the year they followed the gazelles that moved to the Easternmost part of the park.

Soon after, in fact, on a branch of a Sausage tree, we spot a leopard, it is a bit hard to see it among the large fruits of this tree, that look like some big sausages.

How beautiful! The leopard is my favorite feline and I am always happy when I can see one, also because, unlike the lions, it is more shy and therefore more difficult to spot.

We go back, always following the course of the Seronera River and return to where the elephants are, we stop again to admire them; in the herd there are several puppies of all ages, some are really small; it is nice to see a family so numerous and with puppies, they are a hope for the survival of the species.

It's time to leave the Seronera River and start moving towards the exit gate at the Naabi Hills; along the way we see several herds of wildebeests and zebras, they are really everywhere at this time of year.

In this area there are also several kopjes, granite outcrops around which some trees grow; they are perfect sighting spots for the cats and in fact, on one of these, we see a marvelous leopard that scans the horizon; time is running, we have to get out of the park by the time of entry yesterday, otherwise we have to pay the entrance fee for one more day, we still stop to take pictures and to admire it, it is a leopard too beautiful not to dedicate it the time it deserves.

We have half an hour of time, but we are not far away; we arrive on time, we leave the park and then have lunch on the tables that are there at the gate; there is a marabou stork that wanders among the tables, even if it does not seem particularly aggressive, it instills a little fear to some travelers, also because it has a beak of a certain importance and, seen so closely, one realizes how high it is.

After lunch we leave the Serengeti National Park, we are always sorry to leave it, but we know it will be a "see you soon"!