Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti - 22nd October to 3rd November 2017

[Julian]

 

Day 15: Fri 3^rd Nov – transfer to Seronera airstrip, then coastal aviation to Kilimanjaro airport, then onward to Addis Adaba and finally overnight flight to London

 

We had breakfast about 7.00am and at 8.00am the camp manager, Diana, and the three senior team staff were all there to say farewell.

 

 

 

The journey back to Seronera airstrip still had something to offer – even more wildebeest and zebra than when we arrived five days ago. However the Serengeti gave us a departing gift just a few minutes from the airstrip, as a leopard walked across the track disappearing into tall grass, but we could see exactly where it was walking as it held its tail vertically upright  - like a periscope appearing out of the grass.

 

 

 

 

The flight back to Kilimanjaro and all the rest of the journey home were fine and on schedule, although the six-hour late evening transfer slot at Addis Ababa airport was rather boring.

 

Reflection and Review

 

Over four months has now passed since we experienced this safari so it has given us time to reflect on this trip. However we still feel that this was the best of our six safaris, being marginally better than our southern Tanzania safari in 2015.

 

There was so much wildlife on this safari and we experienced far more interesting wildlife behaviour and better interaction than we have witnessed before. eg lions hunting , cheetahs hunting, lion clubs playing with parents and each other.

 

All three of the camps we stayed in were excellent - and the Asila staff at Ngorongoro Highlands and Namiri Plains were superb hosts, creating a wonderful atmosphere at those camps. The guiding was also first class at all three camps.

 

Lake Manyara NP – a beautiful location with masses of wildlife – so underrated but there is so much to see. It is such a pity that this park has a totally unjustified poor image.

 

Ngorongoro Crater – still gives the truly jaw-dropping awesome feeling upon seeing it. Did not feel crowded when we were there and two whole day visits were justified -deserves more than one day being spent there, which is the maximum time most people spend there. 

 

Serengeti NP, Namiri Plains – with those endless rolling plains and the stunningly scenic kopjes, it also has the truly deserved description as being a big cat paradise. The male lions are the most magnificent we have ever seen.

 

So, after 19000 words of text and over 1000 photos posted, this trip report has finally reached the end. Time now for us to put together photobooks of this safari and some new enlargement to go on the walls of our house.

 

Where to next?....................any safari will be wonderful !........... ..........................

 

 

 

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for taking the time to share @Julian I’ve really enjoyed following along.  You had some great sightings, and your somewhat unique itinerary really worked well.  Following along really helped me with my safari withdrawal symptoms. 

[mopsy]

Great report @Julian you had so many wonderful sightings. Thanks so much for sharing. Very jealous of the amount of predators you saw!

[Julian]

22 hours ago, Zubbie15 said:

Thanks for taking the time to share @Julian I’ve really enjoyed following along.  You had some great sightings, and your somewhat unique itinerary really worked well.  Following along really helped me with my safari withdrawal symptoms. 

 

@Zubbie15 Very pleased you really enjoyed it, it makes it seem more worthwhile producing such a detailed report when Safaritalk people comment. I'm pleased I've had so many 'viewings' of this report but it would be nice to get a few more comments from others. 

Hope you can go on safari again soon.  

[Julian]

3 hours ago, mopsy said:

Great report @Julian you had so many wonderful sightings. Thanks so much for sharing. Very jealous of the amount of predators you saw!

 

Thanks @mopsy pleased you liked the report. Yes, we did see a lot predators on this trip - more lions than we have seen at all but one location in the past. (When we went to Ruaha in Oct 2015 we saw 44 different lions there). We didnt see quite that many at Namiri Plains but the cubs were the youngest and most active we have ever seen and we have never seen so many adult male lions with such magnificent manes anywhere else.  

I hope this report encourages more people to visit Lake Manyara and stay there for a few days.

[vikramghanekar]

What a wonderful tip report! I was thinking about visiting namiri plains, now you have convinced me to put it on agenda for 2019.

Caracal, for me, takes the icing on cake.

Those Serengeti lions look amazing with huge manes as compared to their Southern African cousins.

Thank you for sharing this journey. It has been wonderful experiencing it vicariously!

Cheers

Vikram

[Julian]

On 8/6/2018 at 5:18 PM, vikramghanekar said:

What a wonderful tip report! I was thinking about visiting namiri plains, now you have convinced me to put it on agenda for 2019.

Caracal, for me, takes the icing on cake.

Those Serengeti lions look amazing with huge manes as compared to their Southern African cousins.

Thank you for sharing this journey. It has been wonderful experiencing it vicariously!

Cheers

Vikram

@Vikram Thanks for your very nice comments. 

Go to Namiri Plains - it will never be better than it is currently - no other vehicles about, so many lions and cheetahs - unique place.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Julian

 

What a wealth of predator images!

 

When I began reading this trip report I never imagined what a variety of images you'd have of predators in different settings.

 

The portraits of the camp manager and staff bidding you farewell was especially nice to see.

 

Thank you for preparing and posting this.

 

May 2019 be a year of especially happy travels for you!

 

Tom K.

[Julian]

4 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

~ @Julian

 

What a wealth of predator images!

 

When I began reading this trip report I never imagined what a variety of images you'd have of predators in different settings.

 

The portraits of the camp manager and staff bidding you farewell was especially nice to see.

 

Thank you for preparing and posting this.

 

May 2019 be a year of especially happy travels for you!

 

Tom K.

@Tom Kellie

Thank you Tom for all your comments. Yes it was an excellent safari for the predators. The lions with cubs , other lions and cheetahs at Namiri Plains were wonderful, and so was the caracal in the Crater. Since then we have been to Zambia - In July last year- currently doing the trip report on here for that safari.