First Day in Serengeti - Todd pisses off wildlife

We woke up very early this morning to leave, as we had a long drive to get to the north gate of Serengeti National Park.

We entered the north gate (Klein's Gate) entrance to Serengeti National Park. There were some cool red and violet lizards at the entrance, scampering around. The toilets were squatters, Tracy's first experience with them.

Well, talk about animals. Everywhere. Zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, warthogs, all kinds of antelopes (mainly gazelles and impalas), ostriches, elands, etc. The landscape just covered with them. It kinda blew my mind. For some reason I thought all of the animals congregated in smaller areas. Saw many elephants from a distance as well.

We did a game drive up to the Mara River, famous for the wildebeest crossing during the migration. On the way up, we came across two male lions lazing in the heat of the day beside the side of the road and got some great pictures. We missed the crossing by a short bit, they've all crossed now, but we went to see the crocodiles in the river. Also saw lots of hippos in the river. They're huge.

As we were returning from the Mara River, our guide stopped suddenly, and grabbed the binoculars, then immediately turned the truck around and raced off. We were all wondering what he saw. As we approached, we found out. A black rhino, which are very rare. He said we were very lucky, as the rhino is the hardest one to find. There are none in the central Serengeti, so if you don't find one in northern Serengeti, you have to try your luck in Ngorongoro National Park. So, it's only been a few hours and already we've seen 4 of the big 5 in Africa! Amazing stuff.

On the way back, one of the two male lions was now sprawled out across the only road leading over a small stream. Two other safari trucks were sitting there taking pictures and waiting for it to move. We pulled up and got some amazing pictures, then noticed the rest of the pride was just a few feet away, lots of females and about 10 cubs! Fabulous pictures. They also had a fresh kill there. At one point, the male lion got up and walked up to our truck and our cook freaked out and rolled up his window. It was kind of funny.

We game drove to the Lobo campground. When we pulled up, it was empty, nobody else there, except a bunch of baboons. We pulled in and started to unpack. The baboons were blocking the path to the bathroom, and Tracy wanted to go. Our guide aid the baboons would run away when we approached, so we started to walk towards them. They didn't back away. They started to slowly approach us. We were both a bit unnerved, then Tracy freaked out and turned around and started to walk away. I then did the same thing. This is where I learned my very first lesson. NEVER turn your back on a wild animal! As soon as my back as turned, they came at me. They shrieked and screamed and one of them hit the back of my leg. Tracy yelled "Oh shit" and started running. I turned my head back around to look at them, and they stopped baring their teeth and shrieking. I actually thought one of them cut my leg open, but looking down, it was all good. I slowly backed away, and our guide said "What did you do?" We said nothing, we were just trying to back away and they attacked! He started laughing. It ended up that someone had left a slingshot in the kitchen area. Our guide grabbed it and started showing it to the baboons and they started to back away. He started to shoot rocks with the slingshot and throw rocks at them, and they scattered up the rock face behind the camp. It was pretty scary anyway.

We had a supper and then went to bed early. The sun sets around 6:30 and it gets dark quick, and then you get tired and to to bed.

Posted via Blogaway