Today it is time to leave our accomodation near Seronera and Serengeti and drive back to Ngorongoro to the Ndutu area. We are sad that we didn’t have more time to explore but it is what it is really and a lot of the trip was planned around the Ndutu accomodation which has very limited availability. As usual leaving our lodge we see lots of birds and the giraffe herd that seems to loiter around the lodge.
There are a few interesting birds on this stretch including the impressive Abyssinian Scimitarbill that chants at us for some reason for quite some time.
Of course there aren’t only birds, there are also antelopes everywhere including impalas and dik-diks just enjoying the first non rainy day in a while.
We pass again through the water crossing today, with no rain the waters are down but still the river is higher than the previous day. And with no crocodile in sight today.
We continue to stop for birds as we pass through the central Seronera area as we have to exit from the park at a specific hour. And we still have lots of time left.
At the leopard spot there are lots of cars parked and some even see it but we have no luck and after yesterday we don’t really need to see it again. It seems however that the leopard is camped here quite often and this is a well known spot.
Soon we also see a rare elephant in the distance. In fact it is surprising how few elephants we see here after the huge numbers in Tarangire and Manyara.
Arriving at the main water crossing south we are happy to see that it is passable and stop for a while to look for birds and just watch safari vehicles cross the shallow stream.
This is the place where we have previously have seen hippos and they are still there. We are more excited about a Three-banded plover, a beautiful bird and a lifer for us.
From the river the savanna changes, gone are the trees and most of the high vegetation. There is grass everywhere and only grass. With significant herds of zebras and wildebeests from time to time of course.
The zebras are especially cute and we spend quite some time stopping and trying to get good photos of them.
The one detour we have planned is one towards Lake Magadi and Moru Kopjes. Here there are some petroglyphs to see and maybe rhino to watch. But the road while it starts in good shape suddenly splits into a spur dirt road and a decaying main road. We take the spur road which seems good for a while watching hyenas sleeping by the side of the road in the mud. This is not encouraging, it seems that not many cars are passing by.
And then about two thirds of the way in we encounter a large patch of mud. While we probably can make it through what happens if we get stuck? Or if it is only a harbinger of signs to come? With no other cars showing us the way we decide that discretion is the better part of valor and turn around. We really enjoyed this secluded drive so it is not time lost. And also we had the best views of hyenas in the daytime!
Returning we have a lot of roadblocks in form of zebras. That seem to enjoy to sit now on the road or follow it along without getting scared by our approaching behemoth. And we enjoy them quite a lot, but not the tsetse flies or the mosquitoes in these marshy lands that take every stop as an opportunity to bite us.
Just as we reach the main road we find a few more major bird attractions. High up a flock of birds are circling and while we assume they are vultures a closer look reveals they are White Storks, really not what we expected!! And on the ground we find our first Double-banded Courser, a lifer that we looked for here with really no great hopes.
And Serengeti is not done with us. While scanning kopjes for interesting mammals we see a group of cars parked on the side of the road. And wouldn’t you believe it, what they are looking at is a male lion carrying a kill. This is something out of the movies and not something we really hoped to see on a self guided drive. So we stop and decide to spend some time just watching what it does with the kill.
And what the lion does is to carry the kill towards the kopje. Really slowly, with a break after every few steps as the killed wildebeest seems to be quite heavy. So we have lots of opportunities for nice photos and also the cars can be a bit spread out as the lions passes by each of them.
Leaving the lion kill area we now enter the migration zone. Here there are wildebeests in large numbers getting spooked by everything that moves. For good reason as we just learned.
There is still time until we have to exit and we can already see Naabi gate in the distance so when we see a group of cars on a side road we decide to explore what they are seeing. Next to the cars is a small pond with Red-billed Teal, a nice find for birders but surely not what they are looking for?
And nope it is not the teals. There is actually a small group of cheetahs, a mother with two cubs that explore the savanna and doing their best to ignore the cars. We watch a bit but are uncomfortable how close the other cars are following the cheetahs so we decide to leave. As we return via the side road suddenly we notice all cars offroading towards us so we stop and look and surprise surprise the cheetahs actually are coming our way so for a few minutes we are the best placed car as they pass right next to us into the savanna. And then we move on so we don’t get blocked in, it is now getting late for our exit from Serengeti.
We are now experts in passing through Naabi Hill Gate and get all the needed stamps and approvals in record time and pass into Ngorongoro before our deadline. On the other side of the gate we park and decide to eat lunch and buy some souvenirs.
We use the souvenir shop here to buy the most items on the trip. It is both cheap and has a large selection of items. Outside, for some time, we enjoy the birds using the water features and then it is time to decide on which road to take to Ndutu. There is a shortcut but as we learn taking the shortcut means we have to pass through one more gate and nope we had enough of the gates. So the long way around it is.
Long is a relative thing though here. We have driven part of this before and we know how it goes and then when we turn towards Ndutu the road is still in good shape. Not as our previous guide told us, “Follow someone or you will get lost or stuck”. The road is if anything in better shape and we make good time arriving at Ndutu Lodge about one hour before sunset which is the usual cutoff time. Tomorrow we will explore the Ndutu area before finally exiting the National Parks.
