After learning of the price for a solo “budget” camping safari in the Serengeti I actually considered removing this adventure from my itinerary. After all, I had already been on quite a few amazing safaris. What could the Serengeti offer that the others hadn’t already provided? However, the thought of camping among the wild animals was also very appealing; even though my most resent camping experience in Lake Tahoe would not have earned me a badge from the Girl Scouts of America. My passion for Africa’s natural beauty and wildlife had grown too strong for me to pass up the opportunity to submerge myself into the Serengeti. As it turned out, removing the Serengeti from my itinerary would have been the biggest mistake of my journey.
The Land Rover from Safari Makers rolled up promptly at 7:00am to pick me up and begin our six hour journey from Arusha to the main gate entrance to Serengeti National Heritage Park. Stephan was my guide and Joseph the cook. They both had eagle eyes. Stephan was very informative and knew his wildlife and both were great fun. They took very good care of me. Stephen wanted to know what animal I most wanted to see in the Serengeti. I first explained that I simply wanted to experience the world famous Serengeti. I mentioned that I had already been on Safaris and have seen all of the Big 5 except for the leopard, and I would also like to see a Cheetah. Even my friend Maria who lived in the Okavango Delta for three months hadn’t seen a Cheetah. I quickly added that I know these are two of the hardest animals to spot and I will not be disappointed if we do not see them. He smirks and shakes his head as if he had heard this request a million times.
After two hours of driving, the tarmac disappears and the “road” turns to a path of rock, wholes and flying dust which sticks nicely to your sweaty skin given you the appearance of a tan. All I can think about for the next four hours is once again how I wish I would have packed a good sports bra. Before approaching the entrance gate, we drive through the Ngogora Crater National Park. Driving through the park we pass loads of zebra, giraffe, buffalo, and even a serval cat. When we pass through the gates to the Serengeti World Heritage Site all you see is an endless plain, nothing else as far as the eye can see. “Is this it?” I ask Stephen. “Whah, do you tink all da animals are gonna run to great madam Kelly?” Joseph howls with laughter from the back seat. “We have yust broken da skin. Wait until we reach da heart.” We pull to the side and he removes the roof of our Land Rover and tells me to “off your shoes”. I see nothing but miles and miles of bush. We drive for about thirty minutes before we see our first “island”. It’s a small mountain with rocks and trees. The perfect oasis for big cats. And there he was, the King of Beast. Free and in the wild. We shut the engine off and watched the beauty of his movement. With my shoes “offed” I was free to stand on the seat and hang my head out the roof of the truck. The King made eye contact but we were clearly not what he was looking for. However, he came prowling straight towards the truck, so close that at one point I could not even see him. Very quietly Stephen said, “Keep quiet and do not move… at all.” I remember this from my lion handling 101 training. Within a few seconds the King went on his way searching for whatever it was he was meant to be searching for… his mate? An impala? Either way he was a vision.
Not much further along we spot a whole den of Hyenas. I really liked these guys! It was a pack of about 12 or so that even included a few pups. They young were playing about and the adults were getting ready to hunt. As we head to our site to set-up camp we pass herds and herds of zebra and a sunset that melts behind the umbrella trees. It’s a race to construct three tents before dark once we reach camp. Once I return from the “restroom”, Stephen and Joseph have completed this task with ease. Stephen assures me that I will be safe in my little tent despite the fact that both lions and hyenas are both known to frequent the campsites. Then it hits me. What happens if I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? I begin to sweat as I envision myself running with my pants around my ankles being chased by a pack of hungry hyenas straight into the mouths of a pride of lions. My loyal guide pauses for only a moment before he makes a plan. He programs his cell number in my phone and instructs me to call him if the situation arises and he will provide me with an escort. Now that’s excellent customer service! The campsite has two buildings. Each building is about 10 feet wide and about 35 feet long. They have a two foot stone base, a tin roof and strong metal screens wrapped around the entire unit. The structures are used for cooking and dinning and are necessary so that you don’t have uninvited guests join you during meal time or come in and try to steal your food at other times. One building is used for the cooks to store their supplies and prepare each of the meals, and the other is where the campers take the meals. The cooks would actually sleep in the building with the food so if any predators would attempt to break-in to the building they would awake and scare them off. Chef Joseph had set up a table with a traditional Massai cloth, lantern, dishes and had tea prepared by the time I arrived to the dinning pavilion. He greeted me with his notorious smile and a “Karibu!” (You are welcome) What I love about Joseph is he is always smiling. I have never seen him without a smile on his face. Once, he fell asleep in the truck. He even had a smile on his face while he was sleeping. After I’m seated, Stephen joins me. This is one of the greatest things about my journey. If I were traveling with a friend or a spouse, we would be spending most of our time conversing together, since I am traveling on my own I have the ability to personally get to know the locals. This is what has made this journey the most rewarding. Joseph tells me about growing up in a large family in his village, why he wanted to become a guide, how he sends money to his family each month, his plan to build his own house and how is now looking for a wife and how he plans to find her. He is very easy to talk to and we share lots of laughs. It’s not long before Joseph returns with a beautifully prepared appetizer…. WHAT? An appetizer? Aren’t we on safari? This is incredible! I’m not talking a can of peanuts. Chef Joseph delivered something that could have graced the cover of Gourmet Cooking. For the first time Stephan and I was quite. While we were eating I could hear Joseph in the kitchen building talking away in Swahili while all of the other cooks were laughing. This went on until he brought out our meal. I wish I could have understood the story he was telling. Whatever it was, the other cooks sure enjoyed it. We ended having a four course meal. After the appetizer, Joseph brought out pumpkin soup, then a beef curry with rice and chapatti (flat bread), followed by bananas with a chocolate sauce. It was hard for me to believe I was on a camping safari. It sure beats hotdogs which is what I’m use to.
Stephan and I had made a plan to leave the camp by 6am. We would go on safari until about 8:30, then return for breakfast, then head back out again. Stephan’s motto is the earlier the better when it comes to viewing game. How right he was. We drive for about fifteen minutes in the dark. As the sun is just starting to rise we pull up to a larger cluster of rocks. There are three vehicles parked on top of each other which are a clear sign that there is something worth seeing. Stephen pulls up behind then and we see them. Two baby leopard cubs! One of the rarest animals in all Africa to see in the wild. Safari trucks start pulling in from everywhere. Then, as if making her red carpet debut, she comes out of her cave. The one and only, mama Leopard. You can hear the cameras from all of the safari trucks, “click, click, click, click, click”, trucks fighting to get the front position. The good thing is there is a very specific path where the trucks are allowed to be. They are not allowed to leave the path and they don’t. So, although they fight for “front row” position, they are still a good distance away from the mother and her cubs. After a brief pose, the leopard decides to climb to the top of the rocks and head to the far right. All the trucks race to follow her and gain the best position. Not Stephen. He explains to me that the cubs did not follow and she will come back for the cubs. He keeps his eye on the cubs and parks the truck between the two rock piles. The mother leopard disappears back into a cave and all of the other trucks leave except for us. It’s at this moment the cubs decide to emerge and run from the right rock pile to the left rock pile. Straight in front of our truck. Within minutes the mother emerges from the cave to check on them. Stephen and I gasp as we realize what is about to happen. She slowly slithers down the rocks right next to where we are parked and strolls in front of the truck. Without looking out me Stephen says, “Whatever you do just keep taking photos!”. I was so excited my hands were shaking. Once the leopard reached the front of the truck she laid down…. in front of our truck! The two cubs came over to join her. They were rubbing up against their mommy and suckling on her. It was the most precious thing I had ever seen…. And it was our own private show! As they say, all good things must come to an end. The mother stood up and gently held one of the cubs in her mouth and carried it off up the rocks while the other one followed. Even that was a beautiful scene. As we drove off I was in complete shock with what we had just seen. Not even ten minutes had past when I spotted something in the far distance and I asked Stephan, “What is that, a lion?” His reply, “cheetah.” With his Swahili accent I thought I may have misunderstood him. “Did you say, ‘cheetah’?” “Yes, cheetah.” “You have got to be kidding me?!” Although this is a slang-phrase often used in America, the Tanzanian’s take it very seriously. “No, I am not kidding. I am very serious. That is a cheetah.” As we drive along the road the cheetah walks closer and closer towards the road. She stops and waits for our arrival. Thank you Serengeti! She walks up onto a termite mound and literally poses for me, at one point looking straight into the camera. She steps down, slowly walking so that I can see every muscle in her body. Then she lies down and gives me a few more poses before she carries on. A leopard and her two cubs and a cheetah… the two animals I told my guide that I had yet to see. We had seen them both before 8am on our first full day of safari. Stephen then takes me to what looks like a garden oasis. It is a small jungle area filled with palms and a watering hole. Elephants are close by taking in the water, hippos pop up to see who is visiting their territory and tropical birds are zipping around. We head back for breakfast and I tell Stephen, “If we see nothing else for the rest of our time in the Serengeti, I will still have been completely satisfied.” Of course that is not to be the case. The Serengeti continues to fill me with her magic including an encore of a double rainbow. My camping safari in the Serengeti made me feel as if I were part of a children’s book, one that I didn’t what to end.
The Land Rover from Safari Makers rolled up promptly at 7:00am to pick me up and begin our six hour journey from Arusha to the main gate entrance to Serengeti National Heritage Park. Stephan was my guide and Joseph the cook. They both had eagle eyes. Stephan was very informative and knew his wildlife and both were great fun. They took very good care of me. Stephen wanted to know what animal I most wanted to see in the Serengeti. I first explained that I simply wanted to experience the world famous Serengeti. I mentioned that I had already been on Safaris and have seen all of the Big 5 except for the leopard, and I would also like to see a Cheetah. Even my friend Maria who lived in the Okavango Delta for three months hadn’t seen a Cheetah. I quickly added that I know these are two of the hardest animals to spot and I will not be disappointed if we do not see them. He smirks and shakes his head as if he had heard this request a million times.
After two hours of driving, the tarmac disappears and the “road” turns to a path of rock, wholes and flying dust which sticks nicely to your sweaty skin given you the appearance of a tan. All I can think about for the next four hours is once again how I wish I would have packed a good sports bra. Before approaching the entrance gate, we drive through the Ngogora Crater National Park. Driving through the park we pass loads of zebra, giraffe, buffalo, and even a serval cat. When we pass through the gates to the Serengeti World Heritage Site all you see is an endless plain, nothing else as far as the eye can see. “Is this it?” I ask Stephen. “Whah, do you tink all da animals are gonna run to great madam Kelly?” Joseph howls with laughter from the back seat. “We have yust broken da skin. Wait until we reach da heart.” We pull to the side and he removes the roof of our Land Rover and tells me to “off your shoes”. I see nothing but miles and miles of bush. We drive for about thirty minutes before we see our first “island”. It’s a small mountain with rocks and trees. The perfect oasis for big cats. And there he was, the King of Beast. Free and in the wild. We shut the engine off and watched the beauty of his movement. With my shoes “offed” I was free to stand on the seat and hang my head out the roof of the truck. The King made eye contact but we were clearly not what he was looking for. However, he came prowling straight towards the truck, so close that at one point I could not even see him. Very quietly Stephen said, “Keep quiet and do not move… at all.” I remember this from my lion handling 101 training. Within a few seconds the King went on his way searching for whatever it was he was meant to be searching for… his mate? An impala? Either way he was a vision.
Not much further along we spot a whole den of Hyenas. I really liked these guys! It was a pack of about 12 or so that even included a few pups. They young were playing about and the adults were getting ready to hunt. As we head to our site to set-up camp we pass herds and herds of zebra and a sunset that melts behind the umbrella trees. It’s a race to construct three tents before dark once we reach camp. Once I return from the “restroom”, Stephen and Joseph have completed this task with ease. Stephen assures me that I will be safe in my little tent despite the fact that both lions and hyenas are both known to frequent the campsites. Then it hits me. What happens if I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? I begin to sweat as I envision myself running with my pants around my ankles being chased by a pack of hungry hyenas straight into the mouths of a pride of lions. My loyal guide pauses for only a moment before he makes a plan. He programs his cell number in my phone and instructs me to call him if the situation arises and he will provide me with an escort. Now that’s excellent customer service! The campsite has two buildings. Each building is about 10 feet wide and about 35 feet long. They have a two foot stone base, a tin roof and strong metal screens wrapped around the entire unit. The structures are used for cooking and dinning and are necessary so that you don’t have uninvited guests join you during meal time or come in and try to steal your food at other times. One building is used for the cooks to store their supplies and prepare each of the meals, and the other is where the campers take the meals. The cooks would actually sleep in the building with the food so if any predators would attempt to break-in to the building they would awake and scare them off. Chef Joseph had set up a table with a traditional Massai cloth, lantern, dishes and had tea prepared by the time I arrived to the dinning pavilion. He greeted me with his notorious smile and a “Karibu!” (You are welcome) What I love about Joseph is he is always smiling. I have never seen him without a smile on his face. Once, he fell asleep in the truck. He even had a smile on his face while he was sleeping. After I’m seated, Stephen joins me. This is one of the greatest things about my journey. If I were traveling with a friend or a spouse, we would be spending most of our time conversing together, since I am traveling on my own I have the ability to personally get to know the locals. This is what has made this journey the most rewarding. Joseph tells me about growing up in a large family in his village, why he wanted to become a guide, how he sends money to his family each month, his plan to build his own house and how is now looking for a wife and how he plans to find her. He is very easy to talk to and we share lots of laughs. It’s not long before Joseph returns with a beautifully prepared appetizer…. WHAT? An appetizer? Aren’t we on safari? This is incredible! I’m not talking a can of peanuts. Chef Joseph delivered something that could have graced the cover of Gourmet Cooking. For the first time Stephan and I was quite. While we were eating I could hear Joseph in the kitchen building talking away in Swahili while all of the other cooks were laughing. This went on until he brought out our meal. I wish I could have understood the story he was telling. Whatever it was, the other cooks sure enjoyed it. We ended having a four course meal. After the appetizer, Joseph brought out pumpkin soup, then a beef curry with rice and chapatti (flat bread), followed by bananas with a chocolate sauce. It was hard for me to believe I was on a camping safari. It sure beats hotdogs which is what I’m use to.
Stephan and I had made a plan to leave the camp by 6am. We would go on safari until about 8:30, then return for breakfast, then head back out again. Stephan’s motto is the earlier the better when it comes to viewing game. How right he was. We drive for about fifteen minutes in the dark. As the sun is just starting to rise we pull up to a larger cluster of rocks. There are three vehicles parked on top of each other which are a clear sign that there is something worth seeing. Stephen pulls up behind then and we see them. Two baby leopard cubs! One of the rarest animals in all Africa to see in the wild. Safari trucks start pulling in from everywhere. Then, as if making her red carpet debut, she comes out of her cave. The one and only, mama Leopard. You can hear the cameras from all of the safari trucks, “click, click, click, click, click”, trucks fighting to get the front position. The good thing is there is a very specific path where the trucks are allowed to be. They are not allowed to leave the path and they don’t. So, although they fight for “front row” position, they are still a good distance away from the mother and her cubs. After a brief pose, the leopard decides to climb to the top of the rocks and head to the far right. All the trucks race to follow her and gain the best position. Not Stephen. He explains to me that the cubs did not follow and she will come back for the cubs. He keeps his eye on the cubs and parks the truck between the two rock piles. The mother leopard disappears back into a cave and all of the other trucks leave except for us. It’s at this moment the cubs decide to emerge and run from the right rock pile to the left rock pile. Straight in front of our truck. Within minutes the mother emerges from the cave to check on them. Stephen and I gasp as we realize what is about to happen. She slowly slithers down the rocks right next to where we are parked and strolls in front of the truck. Without looking out me Stephen says, “Whatever you do just keep taking photos!”. I was so excited my hands were shaking. Once the leopard reached the front of the truck she laid down…. in front of our truck! The two cubs came over to join her. They were rubbing up against their mommy and suckling on her. It was the most precious thing I had ever seen…. And it was our own private show! As they say, all good things must come to an end. The mother stood up and gently held one of the cubs in her mouth and carried it off up the rocks while the other one followed. Even that was a beautiful scene. As we drove off I was in complete shock with what we had just seen. Not even ten minutes had past when I spotted something in the far distance and I asked Stephan, “What is that, a lion?” His reply, “cheetah.” With his Swahili accent I thought I may have misunderstood him. “Did you say, ‘cheetah’?” “Yes, cheetah.” “You have got to be kidding me?!” Although this is a slang-phrase often used in America, the Tanzanian’s take it very seriously. “No, I am not kidding. I am very serious. That is a cheetah.” As we drive along the road the cheetah walks closer and closer towards the road. She stops and waits for our arrival. Thank you Serengeti! She walks up onto a termite mound and literally poses for me, at one point looking straight into the camera. She steps down, slowly walking so that I can see every muscle in her body. Then she lies down and gives me a few more poses before she carries on. A leopard and her two cubs and a cheetah… the two animals I told my guide that I had yet to see. We had seen them both before 8am on our first full day of safari. Stephen then takes me to what looks like a garden oasis. It is a small jungle area filled with palms and a watering hole. Elephants are close by taking in the water, hippos pop up to see who is visiting their territory and tropical birds are zipping around. We head back for breakfast and I tell Stephen, “If we see nothing else for the rest of our time in the Serengeti, I will still have been completely satisfied.” Of course that is not to be the case. The Serengeti continues to fill me with her magic including an encore of a double rainbow. My camping safari in the Serengeti made me feel as if I were part of a children’s book, one that I didn’t what to end.
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