Serengeti National Park- the ultimate of wild life experience!

I have heard many a times about Serengeti National Park. This year I made up my mind that I will experience the ultimate of wildest adventures and observe the wild beauties from a close distance. From Arusha it took me six hours by road to reach the Serengeti plains via the Ngorongoro conservation area. It was an exciting experience. Rated by UNESCO as one of the best wild life conservation areas of the world it was a protected since 1942. We learnt that it was a vast area of 15,000 square kilometres dominated by wild herbivores and carnivores.



Various moments of a cheetah captured

 The first and foremost sight that caught my eyes was a cheetah family sitting on a rock. It appeared like a royal personality watching its prey from the watch tower. We came near and photographed. The guide told that the visitors need to be careful and should not come near 50 feet distance as it is a punishable offence.   We photographed it's moves from a distance inside the jeep.
    


Uncomparable hospitality

                

We landed up in a hotel in the jungle area. Amazingly these hotels have got all the amenities that a human need in his life. Most important was that you could see wild beauties like giraffe and impala grazing near the fence and hear the howling of hyena at night. That was a thrilling experience. The visitors opt for – game drive and balloon safari. The hotels give the detailed information and necessary arrangement. Adventure experts even prefer to go for walking safari and a photographic tour.  

                 


The wild grass eaters

 The next morning after having a wholesome breakfast proceeded on our way where our eyes caught a family of giraffes. These beauties crossed our vehicle and allowed us to photograph. Other creatures like impala, elephant and buffalo were available on the way. The road was a rough one and the open roof jeeps were suitable for viewing the animals. We were given a binocular which allowed us to see the creatures from quite a long distance. The buffaloes were strong creatures and I was amazingly watching them covered in mud. The reason was told as they want to get rid of the parasites on their body my mud arresting them and finally rubbing against some trees.

   


The King Lion

 

 



The Lion family

                         

      



                                                                                             

   
At about 11 am we came across a family of lions which was the most memorable experience of my life. There was about a group of 15 lion and lionesses resting against a marshy land. We photographed the king lion and the lioness too. The cubs were busy mudding each other.  With great vigour and pride the ' Lion king ' stared at us with welcoming eyes and allowed us to get his rare photographs and video clippage.
                      


Climbing Lion - a rare view

                   

We approached a bit further and saw another wonder. It was a lioness sitting on a branch of tree. Almost ten visitor vehicle gathered on the place and photographed this rare moment. We were told that climbing lions are seen in Lake Manyara but we were truly luck to see that in Serengeti.

                       


The leopard moves recorded

Approaching a bit further our eyes caught of a bright black and white stripe hiding in the bushes. Carefully observing with a binocular we found that it was a leopard. We recorded every step of it and as it approached near the tourist vehicles, carefully crossed the road and reached at the bottom of a tree where it was in the mood to rest.

                        


The Serengeti information centre and picnic site

The game drive has got beautiful picnic sites where you can park your car, relax and have your lunch packed by the hotel. The Serengeti information centre has a decent place to sit and enjoy lunch. The guides at the information centre will impart knowledge on the types of flora and fauna found in the area. Skeletons of various animals were found at the information centre. I was nice to watch the jungle and map and see where you are standing along with the vivid flora and fauna description.

                              


Eye soothing savannah grassland

Our eyes were accustomed to see the various flora in the plains. It was nice watching the savannah grassland vegetation. 

    


Migration of the wildebeest

The next day early in the morning we saw the wildebeests in a line which was denoted as the ‘line of migration’.  These herbivores form a line and follow each other blindly in search if the soft green grass. They were migrating from the Masai mara conservation area. Animals unknowingly cross the geographical border in search of grass. It’s a wonderful phenomenon. 

   


Serengeti- a home to the wild beauties!

 

With over 70 larger mammal and 500 avifauna species available, Serengeti boasts to be one of the greatest game reserves in this planet. I will say that it’s a scintillating experience watching this wild population, understanding their nature and life. The hospitality is incomparable, the management is efficient and facilitates tourist to have a pleasant ride.

My utmost request to any poacher reading this article is ‘Live and let live’ and say ‘no poaching’ and conserve the rarest of the wild beauties to restore the ecological balance of the world.