{"id":8427,"date":"2017-11-03T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=8427"},"modified":"2017-11-03T16:10:29","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T20:10:29","slug":"the-endless-plains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=8427","title":{"rendered":"The Endless Plains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2017 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The Seregeti.<\/p>\n

Covering almost 30,000 square kilometers with its location in northern Tanzania and Kenya, the Serengeti’s wildlife and scenery is beyond anything imaginable. As far as the eye can see, the Serengeti spreads out…offering nature’s magnificence….the endless plains.<\/p>\n

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Disembarking from our aircraft, we stepped into the bright sunshine and were greeted by our safari guide, Fahad.\u00a0 This was the person that we would come to rely on for the next week as our driver, our guide, our teacher and more importantly, our friend.\u00a0 As he accompanied us to the front of the small terminal, our baggage was loaded and we were introduced to our safari vehicle, Mathilda.<\/p>\n

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Into Mathilda we climbed, the five of us taking one of the six seats in the back.\u00a0 The roof was raised and we were on our way, scanning the horizon and observing the Thompson’s gazelles that grazed just across the road.\u00a0 This was it!\u00a0 Our first sighting on the Serengeti!\u00a0 So, they weren’t one of the Big Five…but it was just the beginning!<\/p>\n

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\"\"Turning left onto one of the many roads that criss-crossed the park,\u00a0 we bumped along, spotting other vehicles in the distance.\u00a0 As we slowed, we noticed movement near a patch of acacia trees…a herd of elephants!\u00a0 Slowly they ambled along, two youngsters with four older females.\u00a0 We watched them slowly until continuing further down the road.\u00a0 Here, we encountered another herd, and this one came extremely close to Mathilda!<\/p>\n

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What a start!<\/p>\n

During the next few hours, we encountered warthogs, giraffes, lions, cape buffalo, monkeys, and hippos!\u00a0 We even spotted a cheetah holding court on a termite hill and a leopard resting on a large branch as well as countless birds flitting about and resting in the brush.<\/p>\n

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By the time we had reached the Serengeti Sopa Lodge, we had already spotted FOUR<\/em> of the Big Five!<\/p>\n

After checking into our accommodations, we enjoyed a delicious lunch and a small amount of time to unpack and freshen up.\u00a0 \u00a0Four o’clock rolled around and it was time for our evening game drive.\u00a0 Not having to venture extremely far from our lodge, we saw many more of the same animals as earlier, however, the highlight of the late afternoon was finally seeing a large dazzle of zebra!<\/p>\n

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The next two days were filled with game drives beginning early in the day.\u00a0 We spotted hyena, dik dik, baboons, ostriches, hartebeests, secretary birds, guinea fowl, impala and many other elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, cheetahs, zebras, and lions.\u00a0 In fact, the Serengeti should be named the land of the lion<\/em>…they are quite plentiful and we were excited to spot them on many occasions.<\/p>\n

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The Serengeti is not all about wildlife viewing, though, that is what most people come for.\u00a0 There are some other places of interest in the park which help to break up the day and give everyone some time to stretch their legs and enjoy a respite from the bumpy roads.<\/p>\n

The Serengeti Visitor’s Center, located in the heart of the Serengeti, is set in alluring natural rock formations (Kopjes).\u00a0 A guided or self-guided walk offers a wide range of up-to-date information on the Serengeti ecosystem.\u00a0 The beautiful trail is lined with exhibits on the Serengeti’s history, ecology, people and conservation and hundreds of rock hyrax resting on the walls.<\/p>\n

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The Michael Grzimek Memorial Rhino Post is a ranger post in the Moru Kopjes.\u00a0 It’s conservation project has a goal to protect and monitor the remaining Serengeti black rhinos, provide sound biological management to its population and\u00a0to secure the Moru area for the introduction of additional rhinos.\u00a0 While the Serengeti was once home to approximately 1000 black rhinos, poaching reduced the population dramatically.\u00a0 The Rhino Post, named after Michael Grzimek, who fought to protect the rhino, offers a small hut detailing information on its conservation efforts.<\/p>\n

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Another interesting stop is at the sound rocks of the Moru Kopjes.\u00a0 Here you can hike to the top of a rock mass where several ancient boulders produce mellow notes when tapped with smaller stones.\u00a0 Whether once used as instruments or a method of communication, it is now a interesting stop for visitors…and the views aren’t so bad either!<\/p>\n

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Some of the most memorable moments of our time in the Serengeti were watching a coalition of cheetah relaxing under a tree, a large male lion lounging near the roadway and who later joined his black maned brother in a search for their next meal, being charged by an enormous, tusked elephant, lunch in the middle of the Serengeti under a sausage tree and beautiful African sunsets.<\/p>\n

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Trying to explain to our family what we were seeing every day was extremely difficult.\u00a0 So surreal were our experiences, we were giddy with excitement even when exhausted from the long days.\u00a0 Absorbing all of the information that Fahad gave us was sometimes overwhelming, but always impressive…that man knew something about everything!\u00a0 Driving along, he never failed to miss things even far out in the distance!<\/p>\n

The most memorable times, however, were when Fahad received a call on his radio and began to drive extremely fast.\u00a0 We knew that something good was in store!<\/p>\n

Nicknaming him “Fishtail Freddy”, we joked that Fahad was on a mission…sometimes a “mission impossible”.\u00a0 After downloading the Mission Impossible theme song, we would play it for him to inspire him and\u00a0assist<\/em>\u00a0his driving skills!\u00a0 On our last day, shortly after the charging elephant, Fahad picked up the radio, listened and began to drive quickly.\u00a0 Turning on our theme song, it was just finishing as we pulled up to five other safari vehicles lining the side of the road.\u00a0 Here, we found out what the fast driving and fishtailing had brought us to.<\/p>\n

In the distance, there was not one…but two black rhino!\u00a0 The last of our Big Five!<\/p>\n

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We often joked that our wonderful Fahad, many times over, gave us Serengeti ice cream, Serengeti sauce, Serengeti nuts and, often, Serengeti whipped cream…now he had given us the Serengeti cherry!<\/p>\n

What a way to end our time in the Endless Plains!<\/p>\n

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For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.<\/p>\n

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Serengeti<\/strong><\/p>\n