As we entered Arusha national park we had our first sighting, and it was an exciting sighting, a beautiful creature. It flashed with thin white stripes and brown patches, from head to toe. It stood 16 feet tall. It was the tallest animal on Earth. The Masaai Giraffe. They grazed, pulling leaves off thorny acacia trees with their armored, blue tongue. Next to them, were three grazing Plains zebras. They fed on the short stubs of grass.
This was only the start.
The jeep started, driving down the bumpy road. It was 30 degrees Celsius, meaning it was hot. I took a deep breath. Our trip had just started. I knew it. We only drove a few meters before we saw a brown patch grazing in a bush. It was a waterbuck. Quickly, it ran away into the undergrowth, only allowing a few pictures.
After a few minutes, we came across a great plain. The grass was green, unlike the grasses in the other national parks. Grazing on the grass were hundreds of zebras, as far as the eyes can see. Then, there was movement in the grass. "Pumba" our guide said. We watched as a common warthog scattered past us. We also spotted a black patch in the distance. I zoomed in with my camera. It was our first member of the Big 5. It was a Cape Buffalo. They grazed far away in a tightly packed herd. We continued again down the bumpy road, and through the dense jungle. After about half-an hour, our jeep came to a halt. Our driver told us it was a blue monkey. I looked around, trying to spot it. Then, suddenly, the bushes rustled. A blue monkey emerged on to the branch above, and walked up it. Finally, it sat behind another branch. We waited for a few minutes, watching it fidget around until it jumped back into the dense shrubbery.
We continued for a few more minutes down the road, and across a stream. Then the jeep stopped unexpectedly. The tires screeched as I turned my camera on. I looked around, trying to find the creature. "It's right here" somebody said. Then I almost jumped. It sat in the tree, eating the juicy leaves. It was a Black and White Colobus Monkey, only found in Tanzania in Arusha National Park. It plucked on the juicy leaves of the tree, just meters away from us. Then, with one final leaf, the monkey walked away from us, and into the dense foliage and up into the trees. We went a few meters, to see three more Colobus' in the tree, their bushy tails hanging down.
We drove to a visitor center and did a small hike, where we saw giraffes from very close, and then went back to our resort. On the way back, we saw an Olive Baboon sitting on the side of the road for a few seconds, which ran away.
The next day, we set off early to get to Lake Manyara National Park, which was two hours away. Lake Manyara was also called home of the tree-climbing lions. We hoped to see the lions today. We reached at 11:00 and were greeted by a few troops of Olive Baboons. We checked into the park, and while we were waiting saw a few butterflies. Then we started our safari. For the first hour we didn't see anything. Our hopes were down until we saw a congregation of jeeps. We went closer. Our driver maneuvered around the other jeeps, trying to find a good spot. There was a clearing. We saw a hot dusty, plain, and there was our second member of the Big 5. It was the largest land mammal on Earth. The African Savannah Elephant. It was a group of five adults and one baby, led by a matriarch. They blew dust on to themselves as they watched out for predators. They stood under an acacia tree, probably for shade. The elephants didn't budge, and after ten minutes we set off again.
Our next stop came suddenly and unexpectedly. I looked around. It wasn't a mammal. I looked straight. It was a woodland kingfisher, perched on a small branch at eye-level, meters away from us. It was blue, with a bright red beak, and it perched, still on the branch. It was posing for us. We took pictures for a few minutes until it flew away. We were happy and decided to continue to look for lions. We set off towards Lake Manyara, hoping to see a few lesser flamingos. We had almost reached when our jeep stopped next to some bushes. I looked and immediately saw it. It was a whole herd of Impalas. They fed on the dry bushes. Most of them were female, but there was also a male hidden in a bush at the back. Only the long horns of the male gave away its presence. The impalas stood around, but on the corner of my eye I spotted something. I looked behind me, seeing a family of black-faced vervet monkeys lounging around. They just sat and slept and relaxed. We took a few photos and headed towards the lake.
Finally, I saw the glimmer of the lake. Our jeep went up a dry path as we saw the lake. It glimmered, barren of life. No flamingos, no birds. No birds except one. "Wildebeest" our guide said. I looked to my left. One lone blue wildebeest stood in the heat. It wandered around, probably left behind. We also saw a plover, and after taking a few pictures we headed for lunch.
Lunch was a bird bonanza, with superb starlings, weaver birds and babblers as our lunch guests. They chirped and stole food, pecking around and making nests. There were hooded weavers, superb and Hilderbrandt's starlings, and another bird that might have been a thrush or a babbler in a fight-to-the-death with a butterfly half its size. We had fun with the birds, and set out again.
Our next stop was because we saw a movement on the side of the road. It was a dik-dik, the smallest antelope on Earth. It peed on the side of the road, then quickly ran across. We looked to our left, at a group of three cinnamon-chested bee-eaters perched. My mother and driver argued about what species of bee-eater it was but we concluded finally that it was a cinnamon-chested bee eater. We suddenly stopped under a huge tree, with a few fidgety red-billed hornbills. We took photos as more joined and jumped from branch to branch on the big tree. We headed back, after a long day, but, just at the exit, a silver-cheeked hornbill popped up for a few seconds, allowing a few pictures. Then, we exited and made our way to our hotel.
The sun rose, as we headed off to the Serengeti National Park. We would go drive around the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, and pass through Ndutu (South Serengeti) and reach our camp in Central Serengeti. The Ngorongoro Crater was half-an-hour away from our inn. We drove around the crater. It was barren. We were descending a slope when I spotted something. We thought it might have been a buffalo. We came closer to it to discover it was a pair of bushbucks. They walked past us and walked away. We drove for a long time.
We started seeing herds of wildebeest and zebra. We looked down. There was a lake, full of flamingos. They were very far away. We drove forward, and running on the side of the road, was a female ostrich. It trotted down the side of the road, become increasingly quick. Finally, it sprinted away. We exited the crater rim, and watched as the herd sizes increased. There were herds of zebras and wildebeest, and a few giraffes in the distance. Their herds seemed to have carried on forever. Finally, we stopped at one spot to get a few pictures. We saw as they grazed on the grass. A few even crossed the road. Then, more did. We just ignored, until a large group crossed, closely followed another. Then it started. Groups ran across the road. This was the Great Migration. Thousands sprinted across the road, in great herds, some females with babies. They sprinted across the road. Then, in the distance, giraffes started to appear. They formed a line. The waited at the back, waiting for the zebra and wildebeests to cross. The final zebras sprinted across. We waited for a few seconds. Then, the giraffes crossed. They walked in an elegant line, trotting across the road, flaunting their patterns. They walked across, a long line, and then a small group of males in the back. They all walked across, and so, ended our first sighting of the great migration.
We spent a few minutes there and then continued to the Serengeti. We passed the site where the first human (Zinzinthropus erectus) fossils were found. We had lunch over the great Serengeti plains, where I spotted the Northern white-crowned shrike, or rather, many of them. We started again after lunch, driving on the hot, flat grasslands of the Serengeti. We drove down a long path, until we came across a group of jeeps. We crept up, trying to get a good angle. We saw it. The African Lion. There was a group of three lionesses basking in the sun, licking themselves. They watched over the grasslands. They were the queens of the Savannah. They basked in the sun. They were unchallenged. Next to them, hidden in a bush, a king watched over his pride. A lion. They looked out, as we took photos. We stayed for a while, and then, we continued on.
I slept as we continued on a long journey. "Roller!" my mother yelled. I woke up. I spotted a Lilac-breasted roller perched on a branch. We took photos of it against the blue sky. Then, came the surprise. A serval. It crossed the road in front of us, and it was very shy. It ran away. We continued on. Our next sighting was a Helmeted guineafowl, on a tree, although we only took a few photos as we were heading to a destination where a leopard had been sighted. We raced there and saw it sitting on a tree. We waited for a long time, where I got really, really bored. Finally, it moved. It climbed down the tree and descended into the long grass. We looked around but couldn't spot it. Then, we spotted it right next to us. It allowed a few photos then vanished back into the grass. We waited for a while, but didn't see anything. We headed back for camp, and on the way saw buffalo weavers and lovebirds. We reached the camp and slept.
The next day we woke up very excited, as we had a full day in the Serengeti. We left and drove for a long time, during which the only creatures we saw were two lappet-faced vultures perched on a tree. We were driving down a dirt path when we saw a group of jeeps. We drove up to them. I spotted a head poking out of the grass. It was a female cheetah, and it also had three cubs. We watched for a while as they played around, and finally, it crossed the road and set off, maybe for a hunt or maybe because it was getting annoyed of the jeeps. We had a fun time, and headed off to look for lions. We also spotted a few Coke's Hartebeests and Topis. "Cheetahs" our guide said. We couldn't see anything, but he knew what he was doing. We went over a few rocks, and it was a bumpy ride. We came upon three cheetahs. They were just meters away from us. They lazed around, and one almost looked like it was going to come into our jeep. A few times they got up and looked like they were going to hunt, but they just laid down after a few seconds. It was amazing, and we were alone. Soon we had to leave.
We drove for a few minutes when came across a river. Sitting on the other bank were two lionesses. They sat in the sun, and we photographed them one-by-one. We then directed our attention to a shy male who was sitting a bush. It kept walking away because our driver tried to get a few feet away, but in the end we stopped about ten meters away. We took a few photos and also saw a white-bellied bustard. The lion suddenly growled, startling us. We decided to leave. Our next stop was for a Kori Bustard. We watched for some time. We headed for lunch. Our stop for lunch was right next to a zebra giving birth. We watched for a while as it rolled around in the ground, but after a really long time, we decided to leave. We headed for a group of rocks where other jeeps had stopped and watched as a cheetah drank water. It eventually walked away. We also saw a male lion walking away quickly, and also another one sitting close to us. After that, we drove through the whole afternoon without seeing anything. We spotted a few banded mongooses, a secretary bird and after that, we reached our camp.
The next day, we set out, looking for some crocodiles and maribou storks. We soon saw some maribous on a tree, and a Nile monitor lizard basking on a rock. We stayed for a few minutes and took a few photos and went towards a hippo pool. We stopped there to see a hippo out of the water. It was scary but we went to the hippo pool. We watched them for a while, but finally, we ran to our jeep when the hippo went back to the water. After that we looked for owls, but instead we spotted two secretary birds that didn't want to move out of the road, and a group of ostriches. We then decided to have lunch and head to Ngorongoro. We headed down a long road, and I slept. Suddenly, the jeep rushed to a halt. We looked forward. A serval. We followed it for a while, taking good photos. Finally, it walked into the long grass on the side of the road. After that, we didn't see anything, and reached our camp. There, we spotted a pin-tailed wydah.
We drove around, looking for the migration. After we drove for a while, we finally spotted a herd of wildebeest and zebra. We drove through the herds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest, watching as they grazed. After a while, we spotted a tree of vultures. We saw griffon vultures, lappet-faced vultures and hooded vultures. We also saw a black-backed jackal foraging and looked for a cheetah that was spotted in the area. We spotted a group of vultures, and spotted a Grant's Gazelle carcass. We looked and spotted the cheetah. We took photos, and decided to leave. We drove back when we spotted a hyena. I spotted something red. We drove there. We saw a pregnant wildebeest, still alive, with a few chunks eaten out of it. We watched it squirm, and drove back, trying to hide. We waited for a while, hoping that the hyena would come eat it, but to no avail. Finally, we gave up and went back to our camp.
The next day we set out looking for some birds. We went to the lake where we spotted a huge flock of whiskered terns. They flew and sat and flew and moved in huge flocks. We watched them for a while, and also spotted a yellow-billed stork and African spoonbills. We decided to look for flamingos, and left that place after a while. On the way, we spotted a lioness lounging around a tree from about twenty meters away. We watched it lounge for a while, and took many pictures. Eventually, we decided to leave, and drove through a marsh, where we spotted a group of flamingos. We maneuvered and eventually reached a whole flock of lesser flamingos feeding and walking in the water. We watched them until they swam away, swimming deeper into the lake. After that, we went to the crater, where we didn't see anything. We decided to go to our lodge.
The next day, I got sick, and we could only leave in the afternoon. We set out in the afternoon, and didn't see much except for a black rhino from far away. After that, we saw every species of the Big five in the crater. We spotted a male lion in the grass, a leopard run across our path, and herds of elephant, buffalo and one rhino. All that in the Ngorongoro Crater. We had very little time and then headed back.
The next day, which was our final day, we headed out early, hoping to see the black rhino from close. Our first sighting was a small creature on the side of the road. It happened to be the rare bat-eared fox. We got a few photos, but it ran away, which let us spot a group of forty hyenas. They ran around in a huge group, which was rare. We watched as they ran around, and took a few pictures, but eventually we left. We also saw an Amur Falcon on the side of the road. We drove around for a while, looking for lions and rhinos. We had breakfast next to a hippo pool with starlings for company. We drove around a lot more but did not see any rhinos from close but ended the trip with a lioness lounging near a lake. It was an incredible trip of 4 national parks, and 9 days of safari and more than 170 species of mammals, reptiles and birds including the big 5 and the ugly 5 (wildebeest, vulture, maribou stork, warthog and hyenas) and memories to last a lifetime (entire species checklist below).
Species Checklist:
Common fiscal
African desert tortoise
Masai giraffe
Plains zebra
African Paradise Monarch
Stonechat
Scarlett chested sunbird
Yellow chested sunbird
Waterbuck
Warthog
Black and white colobus
Olive baboon
Blue monkey
Weaver bird
Maribou stork
Cape buffalo
Yellow vented bulbul
Common shrike
Eurasian swallow
African lion
African leopard
Cheetah
Serval
Impala
Thompson's gazelle
Grant's gazelle
Dik-dik
Waterbuck
Bushbuck
Coke's hartebeest
Eland
Topi
Masaai Giraffe
Elephant
Hippo
Cape buffalo
Plains zebra
Blue wildebeest
Spotted hyena
Black back jackal
Golden jackal
Dwarf mongoose
Banded mongoose
Mouse
Warthog
Colobus
Olive baboon
Blue monkey
Vervet monkey
Ostrich
Admins stork
Marabou stork
White stork
Yellow billed stork
Black headed heron
Cattle egret
Little egret
Lesser flamingo
African spoonbill
Egyptian goose
Common moorhen
Eurasian Avocet
Spotted thick-knee
Whiskered tern
Two banded courser
Three banded courser
Caspian plover
Three banded plover
Blacksmith lapwing
Crowned lapwing
Common sandpiper
Gray crowned crane
Secretary bird
Bateleur eagle
Tawny eagle
Martial eagle
Brown snake eagle
Hooded vulture
Lappet faced vulture
Griffon vulture
Pale chanting goshawk
Augur buzzard
Common kestrel
Lesser kestrel
Black kite
Black shouldered kite
Francolin
Red necked spurfowl
Yellow fronted spurfowl
Helmeted guineafowl
Kori bustard
White bellied bustard
Sandgrouse
Morning dove
Laughing dove
Ring necked dove
Yellow collared lovebird
Bare faced go away bird
Pallid Cuckoo
White browed coucal
Speckled mousebird
Blue naped mousebird
Woodland kingfisher
Cinnamon chested bee eater
Swallow tailed bee eater
Eurasian roller
Lilac breasted roller
African hoopoe
African grey Hornbill
Silvery cheecked Hornbill
Red billed Hornbill
Von Der Decken's Hornbill
D'Araund's barbet
Bearded woodpecker
Rufous naped lark
Richard's pipit
Barn swallow
Common bulbul
Capped wheatear
Common stonechat
Mocking chiff chat
Cape robin chat
Rattling cisticola
Tawny flanked prinia
Pallid flycatcher
Spotted flycatcher
Silverbird
African paradise monarch
African hill babbler
Scarlett chested sunbird
Black crowned chiagra
Common fiscal
Grey backed fiscal
Northern White- crowned shrike
Magpie shrike
Pied crow
Cape rook
White naped raven
Superb starling
Greater blue-eared starling
Hildebrand's starling
Wattled starling
African drongo
Red billed oxpecker
Malachite sunbird
White headed buffalo weaver
Masked weaver
Speckled weaver
Riechenow's weaver
Village weaver
White winged widowbird
Pin tailed Wydah
Gray-headed bush-shrike
Long-tailed fiscal shrike
Straw tailed Wydah
Southern red bishop
Yellow bishop
Southern cordon blue
Red billed firefinch
Namaqua dove
Emerald spotted wood dove
Baaza
Rock agama
Nile monitor
Leopard tortoise
Serrated terrapin
Bat eared fox
Lanner falcon
Black rhino
Sacred Ibis
Dendrick cuckoo
