Day three of our Safari was our first full day in the Serengeti which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was selected because of its important ecosystem, the dense population of animals and the annual Great Migration.

Our day started early and we left camp at 7a.m.  We began to explore the south central Serengeti eventually we would arrive at a different camp for the night.  We drove along the Nyabogati River which provides lush brush and drinking water for many animals. 

Our jeep has a pop up roof which gave us perfect unimpeded 360º view. It felt like we were standing outside near the animals. 

As we drove along the river we came across quite a few hippopotamus. They are one of only two species in the Hippo family, the other is the pygmy hippopotamus. The name hippopotamus comes from the ancient Greek for “river horse”.

The hippos were quite boring to watch in the water. They simply stayed in the water as much as they could. However it was interesting to learn that the body of the Hippo is so dense that they can walk underwater. They can also hold their breath for up to five minutes. Hippos lose water rapidly through the skin and become dehydrated quickly. They must retreat in the water in order to hydrate and to keep cool, because they don’t sweat. They have an oil that releases from glands that serve as sunscreen. 

We left the river area and went more into the grasslands of Serengeti. It was not long until we came across some giraffes.   

Our guide informed us that  giraffes are the tallest of all land animals. That the Male giraffe can grow to a height of 5.5 metres (18 feet).  Their tongues are are very long and they use them to browse foliage high above the ground. 

We saw some elephants who were just walking along slowly enjoying the day. They decided to stop and have a drink in a puddle of water near our jeep.

We then drove on and encountered some lions. They were relaxing in the shade of a large tree. At first we could only see one lion but as we moved the jeep we saw the second one relaxing.

We saw a leopard laying in the shade with her cubs. Although we were fairly close to them, they did not seem to take any notice of us. 

After a short drive we came across a cheetah laying in a tree. It was enjoying the shade and watching the area below.

During the day we saw many zebras, giraffes and other animals all living in their natural habitat. We even saw some white-back vultures that were circling in the sky. 

It was getting late in the day and there were ominous clouds on the horizon. Our guide wanted to get us to the next camp before the rain started. So we headed to Sound of Silence. It is an eco friendly safari tented resort in the heart of Serengeti. We arrived at the new camp just as the sky opened up and torrential rains fell. 

We stayed in the common area and had our dinner while the rain poured. The meal was tasty and good. 

After the meal and the rain stopped we watched the sun set before heading to our tent for the night.

It was another great day and we were happy to have seen cheetahs and leopards today. We were looking forward to our next adventure tomorrow which starts extra early. We are set to get up at 4 a.m. 

“Ishi maisha kwa ukamilifu, wakati ni mfupi”