Entering Serengeti National Park

We had a toilet stop not far from Olduvai Gorge, one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, often called the ‘Cradle of Humankind’. We spent a few minutes reading the information boards.

Soon after, we crossed the ‘border’ between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park. The landscape changed immediately! There were no trees! We proceeded at speed along stony, bumpy tracks through wide open spaces. The 50 kilometre per hour speed limits in the park don’t seem to be enforced!

Established in 1940, the Serengeti (meaning ‘endless plains’ in Swahili) National Park stretches over 14,763 square kilometres. It contains over 1,500,000 hectares of virgin savanna. The Serengeti is well known for the largest annual animal migration in the world. Over 1.5 million blue wildebeest and 250,000 zebra, along with smaller herds of Thomson's gazelle and eland, migrate northwards. Unfortunately, we were about two weeks late to witness the spectacle! Perhaps we’ll catch the tail end of it in the Masai Mara next week.
The national park is also home to the largest lion population in Africa. Sadly, it is under threat from deforestation, population growth, and ranching.

Once we were in the heart of the Serengeti, we started spotting more wildlife. We saw:

• Ostriches
• Oryx
• Impalas
• Gazelles
• A superb starling that we photographed in a car park. We had stopped ostensibly to use the toilets, but we had to wait while the two members of our group who are doing the balloon ride tomorrow had their safety briefing.
• Some topi – this is a common African antelope, also known as a tsessebe or sassaby, with a glossy reddish-brown coat and purplish-black and yellow markings. It was another new species for us!
• ElephantsRead more