Day 6 - 7 - Serengeti

23rd Aug'12 - Masai Mara to Serengeti - What started off as a dreaded journey to Serengeti turned out to be a thrill of a lifetime. That story is without pictures and so will be told another time.

We reach Lobo Wildlife resort around 21:00 hrs and they've kept the dining open (usually closes at 21:00 hrs) as we were reaching almost 4 hrs behind schedule.
The lodge is like a palace with rich decor and opulence personified in the middle of nowhere.

24th Aug'12 - Serengeti - We start our morning game drive around 09:00 hrs and its extremely hot. We're being driven around without spotting any major game and also being bothered by Tse Tse flies. These flies cause the dreaded disease Trypanosomiasis or Sleeping sickness.
After shooting a few birds - Superb Starling, Splendid Glossy Starling, Unidentified Eagle (?), Von der Deckens Hornbill - the flies and the weather gets to us and we decide to get back earlier than usual.

On our way back, we spot a Dik-Dik (the smallest antelope in the world) and a few Cliff Springers

Its kind of lackadaisical and after lunch, I decide to set off on the evening game drive on my own since TJ and the others decide to laze around after the morning fiasco.

I spot quite a few different birds and keep asking Ame to stop, ask their names and shoot pictures. Shoot! The flies are back again.
I shoot a Pygmy Falcon, a White - Headed Buffalo Weaver, a Crowned Plover, a Secretary bird on top of its nest on a tree, "Go - Away" birds. I keep shooing away Tse Tse flies in between.

As we are returning, Ame takes a different route and from the distance shows me a Pride of Lions. The male is feasting and I notice 2 cubs joining their father. There are probably 3 of them. To the left of the lion there is a lioness and to the right there are 3 more lionesses waiting for their turn to eat.

We are not allowed to wander off track in Serengeti like the way we did in Masai Mara and so not many good pictures.

I also see a herd of Eland (the largest Antelopes in the World) which are very shy Antelopes scared of any non-animal noise. They resemble a cow and you will see why!

The Masai people believe that the Eland are cows that have run away into the wild a long, long time back. They were hunted a lot for their meat and the milk as also their skin and so are very scared of humans.

As I near the resort, we suddenly stop to see a couple of "Topi" locking horns. The winner literally chased the loser. It was an entirely different experience to watch the fight.

And then its sunset time. I photograph one of my most memorable sunsets - a setting behind the trees! The sky's fiery!

As I reach the resort am bursting to tell the others about my sightings and boy! they will be jealous.

We also manage to catch the setting sun from the top of the hotel.

The hope of sighting a Leopard still continues....