Are drives are much more leisurely, since we have seen the big 5, the highlights of the park, lions in every park we have visited… all the must do and must see animals! But still, each drive has new things to see!
Of course Antony knew where the hyena den was located! We found a clan, having eaten well and resting.
On our way into our lodge, we saw this family worth a very young mother and her infant
Again Antony choose a perfrct location, as I requested, inside the park.
Our unit
And of course, the pool and it’s view
The monkeys play around the lodges
Our view as we went to breakfast
We left very early, 6 AM after a cup of coffee, for an early game drive. Antony again knew just where to go to see the elephants head for water after their nights rest.
On the way we spotted a lioness in the distance and some hippos sparing
Antony spotted a herd heading to the water and knew where to go to see them as they entered the Marsh! Instead of going directly toward them, he turned left and then right on a parallel road to just the right spot to see them cross the road. He put us in a perfect position to see an amazing sight! Quite a large family herd
Patience pays off
Chasing away the younger competitors and triumphantly walking on back to the water
There were other animals and water fowl too
And more elephants
Interesting elephant skull along the road. They remember and mourn their dead
Every game drive is different and every one rewards our patience
Known for its Elephant herds, marshy land and birds of every feather, our last destination is beautiful in a different way. It is in the shadow of Kilimonjaro and our lodge has a view of the elephants and other animals in the plains.
Animals and birds
We have stayed in several amazing places, but this afternoon and night we have a respite from camping! We are staying in the Acacia Farm Lodge, in style!
Dining area and yard
Our home for the night
Of course we enjoyed a tour of the grounds and the pool
We are at another Angata camp, even a more lovely setting than the last! Surrounded by much vegetation at an altitude of 7800 feet, perched on the room of the Crater! We see a bit of it in the distance but tomorrow we cross it, on our way to Kenya again. To have a quiet afternoon and evening, with such lush views and cool temperatures is refreshing!
This camp has a bucket shower! Boiling Hot water is added to the bucket at the back of the tent, over the shower. So, when it is filled, you shower quickly.
We may see and hear elephant and cape Buffalo tonight. They escort you after dark for security, but we are very close to the main tent where the dining room and lounge are located.
We did see a forest hog! Well, we heard him first, Buried in the brush, munching his way thru!
On our way to Ngorongoro we were once again amazed by the Marsh pride of lions!
3 handsome males, dad and a couple sons or a brother, 4 females, 9 cubs… the same price we saw walking beside the Marsh that laid down in the shade of our vehicle!
One was missing, even tho their times were bursting. They apparently had a cape Buffalo kill the night before.
We had several minutes alone with the pride to marvel at their features!
Tomorrow, we had for Ngorongoro Crater, and we may see a few animals on our drive our in the morning, but today we had our last 2 wonderful experiences. We have seen so many animals, especially the big cats, but we also saw some new ones each time we went out. There is so much to see, it is always new!
This elephant family crossed the road right in front of us, 13 in total, several very small little ones.
We saw our third leopard today, both the ones we have seen here were very far away in trees.
Several birds were new today
And of course lions!
Our last night in the tent camp we were serenaded by these animals and more! We recognized the laugh of the hyena as we were turning in. The male Gazelle has a little grunt to gather his harum. The early morning, I heard the muffled rumble of the lions around the camp. About 4 an elephant trumpeted very close behind our tent. We could hear the grasses crunch! Quite an evening!
Today our quest was a leopard and altho it took a few hours, our guides found one in a tree! It was sleeping, but we were able to get a view from both sides, but from a distance.
While visiting a hippo pond, Casey saw a monitor Lizard!
We also saw a few birds and other animals today
We found this family of Olive baboons, grooming by the road
And of course, there were cheetahs and several sightings of Lions
But I think the lions are Bored!
Another wonderful game drive.
Emmett took this video right after this lion rested in the shade, the cubs did too.
