Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Another transit day and game drive as we enter the Serengeti!

Today we woke up and said goodbye to the Neptune Lodge. This lodge was amazing. The service, the food, the accommodations, the amenities…incredible!!

After a goodbye breakfast, we met Francis and headed into the Serengeti. We actually wouldn’t be at the Serengeti for about three hours because we had to head back towards Ngorongoro crater, drive along the rim for a bit and then back down and onto the “main road towards Serengeti National Park.

Our first stop was back up at the viewpoint into the crater. This was awesome because mom didn’t get a chance to see any of the crater the day before. Francis and Aunt Rose filled her in on all that we saw and what she could see from the viewpoint.

And then we drove! Have I mentioned the bumpy roads? No pavement, even the main roads that connect Cape Town to Arusha and beyond, dirt roads! As we were descending, we were still in the Ngorongoro Conservation area and that is where we saw many Maasai tribe villages and communities.

We have already met some Maasai that work at the camps or lodges. Francis shared a lot of information with us about the Maasai and the more I learn, the more I feel so blessed to get to travel on this land and interact with these people. It’s a simpler life and one that they treasure. Community and family is very important to the Maasai and they live in very close communities with all of their relatives. The boys are in charge of the goats at a very young age, and many times we would see a 7-9 year old Maasai boy alone with 20 goats…far away from his village.

Every day we are here, I feel so deeply the true meaning of transformative travel. I will be coming home changed from this experience. Spending time talking with the people, seeing the land and animals, and witnessing things I have only read about is something I’ve only dreamed about.

I have realized that is why I became a travel coach, to help others have these kinds of experiences. You could book an African Safari, stay at Luxury Lodges and camps and take lots of pictures and then go home and tell everyone about your trip. Or..you could book an African Safari, stay at Luxury Lodges (for personal safety reasons) and experience the land, learn about the people, taste the food, make new friends and return better than you were before you left!

Now back to our adventures!! 😊

We then stopped at a “rest area,” after descending the crater walls.

We continued to see so many animals including a “giraffe parade.”

We finally ARRIVED!! Serengeti National Park!!

A couple miles inside the park, we had to stop (similar to US National Parks) and Francis paid the fees and provided the documentation for us to enter.

We all couldn’t believe that we were driving in the Serengeti in Africa!

We continued on and saw wild Ostriches, zebras, wildebeest, and so many elephants. After our experiences in US national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, we weren't used to the animals being EVERYWHERE. In the US we were lucky if we could find a bison or a moose. In Tanzania, the animals roam freely and there are so many of them!

We also learned a lot about the predator/prey relationships of these animals, as well as who are good neighbors to each other.

Zebras and wildebeest are two animals that are friendly with each other. We very frequently saw them together or near each other.

From my research:
Zebras and wildebeest have a symbiotic relationship, migrating together and benefiting from each other's unique traits for survival. They avoid food competition by grazing on different grass heights: zebras eat the taller, coarser grass, which prepares the ground for the wildebeest to feed on the shorter, more nutritious grass. They also provide mutual protection; zebras use their sharp eyesight to spot predators from a distance, while wildebeest have a better sense of hearing and flee quickly, alerting the herd to danger.

After about an hour, we arrived at our next stop (stop 3) the Siringit Serengeti Camp, in the middle of Serengeti National Park. This camp is a sister property of Siringit Villa, where we stayed the first 2 nights.

We were greeted by some of the staff and immediately felt right at home. We were then shown to our tents, given some time to freshen up, and told that at 6:30 pm there would be a bonfire and time for beverages and snacks before dinner.

After lunch, we went back out with Francis to explore more of the Serengeti and found these little guys! I think we sat there for an hour watching them!

There were 2-3 lionesses and their cubs just hanging out and resting or playing. The cubs were so adorable and as you can see from the pictures, they weren't scared of the vehicles. We could get as close as we wanted and they really didn't run away.

We returned before dark back to the camp and walked down to the “bush tv” as we were told when we arrived and the sun was starting to set.

It was the perfect way to end our day and our entrance into the Serengeti of Africa!

After a delicious dinner, we were escorted back to our tents by one of the camp guards. You are not allowed to walk without a guard with a spear after sunset and before sunrise because it is common for the large animals to wander through the camp. After all, it is their land!!

We got back to our tents and fell fast asleep to the sounds of lions roaring, hyenas talking to each other and a light breeze.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Today was a full day in the Serengeti. We requested a wake-up call, and the wakeup call includes your morning beverage of choice. Don and I got coffee delivered to our tent and were able to leisurely drink our coffee in bed and appreciate the view from our tent! It was like a dream!

our "wakeup call

buffet breakfast with eggs to order.

The three ladies were going to do a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti, and Don and I were having our own little game drive until we met up. I don’t have any pictures from their hot air balloon ride. ☹

Today was all about the animals.

We started with more giraffes and then learned about the great migration that is happening right now with zebras and wildebeest. I had seen the videos before we came and to see it in real life, amazing. Hundreds and hundreds of zebras and wildebeest cohabitating and moving/migrating to other parts of the Serengeti. These pictures and videos don’t do it justice! At times we were watching the wildebeest walking in straight lines, one in front of the other. All of this happening in the wild, in Serengeti National Park.

We also hung out with the hippos at the Hippo pool for a little bit.

A highlight of this day was a close encounter with a mama cheetah and her cubs. We sat and watched them for a while.