‘Good vibes’ on safari in Tanzania

Witnessing animals in their natural habitat adds that extra dimension to justify the trip to East Africa: a high wow factor coupled with adrenaline and expansive landscapes. Our teenagers can think of only one explanation why so many animals cross our path: “We just spread good vibes”.

Surrounded by jungle sounds while camping out under a starry sky as the bone-dry wood crackles in the glow of the campfire: the setting is mesmerising but in truth we’re exhausted. Trekking around in the open air of Tanzania all day takes its toll. So we hit the sack early - until things go bump in the night. The following morning when we ask about the night’s events we are told we had a visit from hyenas. “They were out scavenging for scraps. We chased them off”, our guides tell us.

Central part of the Serengeti

The incident is soon forgotten as our safari adventure continues. We focus on the central part of the Serengeti because that is where the lion’s share of the wildlife is concentrated. And apparently we did bring good vibes because two lionesses have been spotted in the tall grass. Suddenly the duo becomes a column as four mothers and a bunch of cubs make their way between the minibuses towards the open savannah. Moments later the procession is lost from view. The oohs and aahs have hardly died down when we spot a herd of hippos at the watering hole. The stench of their ‘emissions’ is all but unbearable. When one of the hippos yawns wide my trigger finger greedily taps the shutter button: those teeth! A lone bull elephant doesn’t care too much for our photographic ambitions though: it shows its displeasure by trumpeting up a storm as it chases our jeep. Our driver floors the pedal with a broad smile.

Where to look first?

All that driving around and spotting animals doesn’t get old. On the contrary, as your animal spotting list grows shorter you start to really appreciate other life forms as well: birds great and small and even insects illustrate the true wealth of the animal kingdom. Nevertheless it’s the large quadrupeds and predators that truly capture the imagination. A leopard that drapes itself over a low-hanging branch like a pasha, paws swinging freely, really makes my day. Talk about a textbook example!

On the way back to camp we strike up a conversation with one of the locals. Her daughter, Queen Elisabeth, comments on my pictures: “Toto simba! Kiboko! Simba” – or lion cub, hippo and lion in Swahili.

Ngorongoro

The gigantic former volcanic crater of Ngorongoro is much cooler. It’s like a scene from ‘Gorillas in the Mist’: we hike to the crater’s edge engulfed by thick fog, and it’s chilly at the bottom as well. But we are soon stirred out of our reverie: a pack of hyenas is on the prowl. One has a hoof clamped between its teeth as its partner drags a carcass along by the horns. The wildebeest was probably brought down nearby and they managed to sneak off with a piece of the kill.

This reserve is also huge. You can drive around the plains for hours, from one watering hole to the next, looking for the one quadruped you haven’t spotted yet. Like a black rhino, for instance. Just 300 individuals of this endangered species survive in the wild, twenty of which are gathered here. And our good fortune holds: with our binoculars and telelens at the ready we can just make out the outline of a rhino in the distance. Mission accomplished!

Interested? Contact one of our UNIGLOBE agencies

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