Serengeti 3

Raja said that today’s goal was to see cats — and we did. We watched a lioness stalking something, ever so slowly, one paw forward, then waiting … moving soooo slowly. Finally, we saw a warthog run out from behind a rock … and the lioness gave up. Warthogs can sprint short distances and lions don’t typically chase down their prey. Later we saw two lionesses sleeping under an acacia tree. And still later, three cheetahs — which Raja referred to as a “coalition of cheetahs,” a group of 2-3 males who hunt and defend their territory together.

The best giraffe sighting was a big guy who walked right up to the truck and stared at us for a while. I think he won that contest! We encountered more babies today: an ostrich chick trying to keep up behind his dad … a group of warthogs with babies — who are so much cuter than the adults … and a small herd of topi antelope with several youngsters. We stopped next to a young leopard tortoise as he crawled off the track. They can grow to be 18” and he was only about 8”.

With an early return to camp, Jack got an in-room massage and I tried out the cool-tub just outside our deck. Tonight being our last night here, the lodge staff treated us to their Sundown ceremony — on a huge nearby rock, they built a fire and set out drinks and snacks for us to enjoy with the sunset.

Check out my pedometer photo: three days of game drives with Raja = 315 staircases and 16.3 miles of bouncing up and down!Read more