Wonders of the wild

We were all so excited at seeing the leopard, even though all we saw was his body. He must have shifted position once during the entire half hour or so we stayed there watching him. Mia was the happiest, she could tick off the Big 5 now 😆. We continued our drive deeper into the Serengeti. Suddenly Johnson slowed down then stopped altogether. Right next to us were these two juvenile cheetahs resting under a tree. They were dozing but every time they heard a sound, they would raise themselves up and look around, eyes darting all over. We stayed for over an hour watching them, waiting to see what these two brothers would get up to. We ate our lunch next to them. At some point we could see a gazelle straying close on the other side of the plains feeding. We watched and wondered if the brothers would smell his scent. We just sat there and watched, and waited and chatted softly. 

Always on the alert even when they look like they’re sleeping. 

A change of position and location, a short stroll out into the open to get some sun.

Lunching with the cheetahs. Thank goodness they’re not interested in teenage boys! 

After some time we reluctantly moved on. This was definitely a moment that will stay with us. I’m not sure if we will ever get another chance to be this close to any wild animal for such an extended time.

A family of elephants, the babies always being protected by their mother, aunts, sisters, cousins. 

Whenever we see a baby elephant, all of us would be reminded of our Amboseli baby.

The migration had already happened several weeks ago. While the main herds had already moved on, there were still some stragglers left behind. So we still got to see a mini migration. 

The slow movers, wildebeests and zebras.

If this is “mini”, I can only imagine the chaos that happens when the actual migration takes place.

Nature’s defence. Zebras naturally rest this way, with both facing the opposite direction so that they can see any oncoming danger. 

Loving our time out here in the wild. 

1

Such a beautiful sight. White and black patches dotted all over the hill.

Time to head back to our camp. A quick stop at the zebra crossing first 😜.

Nature’s umbrella. 

Serengeti

The Serengeti, meaning “endless plains” in Maasai language, truly lives up to its name. Everywhere you look, the land just continues far beyond what the eye can see. Finding the animals took a little more effort than what we were used to so far, which also made it more exciting. We’d so far seen three of the big 5, or four if we believe Mia and her rhino 😝. While rhinos are rarely seen here, there is a very high possibility that we will see a leopard but as Johnson reminded us, leopards are highly elusive animals and extremely different to spot so don’t get our hopes up.

We never tire of seeing these magnificent creatures. Each time we see them we learn something new. I never knew that female elephants had human-like breasts from which their babies feed on.

Mama and baby Topi, the largest specie of gazelles.

The buffalo, one of the member of the African big five game. Kids think he looks so funny with his wig on!

Mates. We were told that these lions only stay in pairs during the mating season. And it is true, they do sleep a lot. We saw them early in the morning and they were still in the same spot when we drove by on our way back to camp eight hours later!

Timon and Pumba!

Eyes that pierce right through you.

Vultures seeking shade from the searing morning sun.

Well camouflaged in the brownish green grass, it is easy to miss these scavengers.

Seeing this lion sleeping on the rock took our guide, Johnson by surprise. Just minutes prior he’d told us that this area of rocks was the domain of the leopards and that we will not see other big cats in the vicinity. Lions being highly territorial will not tolerate other big cats. So how is it that this lion is here where the leopards roam? Johnson: “Hah... the lion is king. They go wherever they want!”

So with this big guy here, there was no chance a leopard would be nearby.

 But just a little further down on another rock formation, there he was. All stretched out hidden in a little nook in the rocks fast asleep!