The endless plains of the Serengeti, and lots of babies in Ndutu. My first Tanzania Trip Report!

[pscrimshaw]

For the past few years, I've been trying to find a way to combine all of the major East African safari destinations into one mega trip. Budget usually torpedoed those plans in the planning stages, but this past March I finally decided to make it a priority and create the ultimate safari itinerary. I had previously gone gorilla trekking in Rwanda and visited the big tuskers in Kenya, (which you can read about in these previous trip reports), but now I had my sights set on Tanzania and the big one: the Serengeti.

 

Tanzania has somehow always escaped me when planning previous safaris, but I knew that I wanted to finally say that I've gone to the Serengeti. And after doing some research, I found out about this little place called Ndutu which turned in to arguably one of the best destinations for wildlife photographers in the world. 

I hope you all enjoy this trip report, and as always if reading and photos aren't quiet your thing, I've created a handful of YouTube videos so that you can enjoy some of the footage I shot as well. 
 

 

 

 

[pscrimshaw]

After saying goodbye to Amboseli, we headed to the border to cross into Tanzania. This was my first time in Tanzania, and I was excited to see how it compared to some other safari destinations that I'd been to.

 

The first stop on the trip was of course to the Ngorongoro Crater. It is a one of a kind type of place, and really felt like a Garden of Eden. An ancient volcanoes that erupted and collapsed into itself, forming a paradise for wildlife? Words can't even do it justice so pictures will have to do!

 

 

Early foggy mornings add to the atmosphere of the descent to the crater floor. You never know what you'll find

 

 

 

Any photo you take has the crater rim as a backdrop

 

 

 

Lake Magadi is a huge soda lake in the Crater, which makes it perfect for flamingoes

 

 

 

Most elephants here are bulls, which seemed small compared to the expanse of the Crater

 

 

 

One of the rarest animals to find here is the black rhino. Incredibly shy, but still amazing to see at a distance

 

 

 

A full day in the Crater was fantastic in my opinion. You can technically drive around the whole thing in about 2 hours, but every sighting you have has the giant rim in the background which really shows a sense of scale.

Edited September 8 by pscrimshaw

[pscrimshaw]

After our day in the Crater, it was time to visit the most famous of all parks: the Serengeti.

 

We made our way to the central Serengeti, where we would be exploring the famous Seronera area. Everyone has envisioned the Serengeti at one point: elephants and zebra and giraffe everywhere! With lions and cheetahs ready to pounce around every corner! But when we got there, it was like nobody was home. There might be a giraffe or two, maybe an odd elephant here and there, but otherwise the whole place was like a ghost town. We had to drive almost 2 hours away to find a cheetah that someone called on the radio, and on our last day we found a few lions, but otherwise it was probably the quietest safari I'd ever been on.

 

 

 

We would often come across crowded hippo pools, with some very angry residents

 

 

 

With wildlife hard to come by, I was able to play around with some landscape photography

 

 

 

The main highlight proved to be this cheetah that had hunted a gazelle. It was 2 hours away but worth the trip

 

 

 

Wildlife was very scare, and outside of a few elephants most game drives ended with few photos

 

 

 

This male lion on our last full day in the park made for a great portrait

 

Disappointing isn't quite the word to use, because being in the Serengeti is still such a beautiful and magical experience. Photographically though, I think maybe it didn't quite live up to expectations. It just means that I'll have to come back at some point, and hopefully have better luck then!

[pscrimshaw]

We decided to exit the Serengeti via the Gol Kopjes area. Historically this has been a research area for cheetahs, but it is open to visitors at an additional cost. And thank goodness that we did because this was what I had in mind when I was planning a trip to the Serengeti! Huge rock formations, endless short grass plains with wildlife everywhere! There were mega herds of wildebeest and zebra, and we were finding big cats with zero work. Lions on rocks, cheetahs just hanging out, quintessential Serengeti.

 

 

The day started with these two male lions which made their way to lay in the sun on some kopjes

 

 

 

Gol Kopjes is what people think of when they imagine the Serengeti

 

 

 

We also stumbled across tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra

 

 

 

This area has one of the highest density of cheetahs in all of Africa

 

 

 

Every kopje seemed to have lions on them

 

 

 

 

With fluffy clouds it made for some dramatic photos

[pscrimshaw]

After spending much of the day in Gol Kopjes, it was time for the finale of the trip in the Southern Serengeti area known as Ndutu. Ndutu is generally where the big herds of wildebeest come to give birth, and while we were probably a few weeks late to see that, it's still an incredibly productive game viewing area. With woodlands, marshes, and open plains, Ndutu is very different than the rest of the Serengeti. Plus the ability to off road makes it a photographers paradise. Every day we saw lions, and on the days when we ventured to the plains we always saw the big herds and several cheetah. It was a fantastic place to visit, and I'm glad that we saved the best for last.

 

 

The ability to off road in Ndutu allowed for perfect photographic positioning

 

 

 

The woodlands here was the perfect habitat for giraffes. Also for leopards but we never saw them

 

 

 

The smaller residents deserve love too. Like this chameleon who took forever to cross the road

 

 

 

I've seen secretary birds before, but never had any solid photos until now!

 

 

 

The Big Marsh area was perfect for finding lions in the morning

 

 

 

I got to practice some panning photography with the huge herds of wildebeest that were often run by

 

 

 

With the herds coming to give birth, there is also sometimes death. But that gives life for others like this tawny eagle

 

 

 

Endless herds of wildebeest as far as the eye can see

 

 

 

Ndutu is famous for some of the more rare African animals. Like this African wild cat which I had never seen before

 

 

 

The short grass plains are the perfect hunting grounds of cheetahs, which we saw several times

 

 

 

The resident lions here also know how to climb trees. You think you've seen a leopard when really it's a giant lion!

 

 

 

With plenty to eat, these cubs have lots of opportunities to play and enjoy themselves

 

What an adventure! 3 different countries, 5 or 6 national parks depending on who you ask, and several thousand photos later, I can honestly say that this was an ultimate East Africa trip. I'm so happy that I finally got to see gorillas, get my dream shots of elephants and Mt. Kilimanjaro, see the big cats of the Serengeti, and so much more. I know that I definitely need to come back, because there is a lot left to see in places like the Serengeti, but that's for another trip. For now though, I need a little break because that was exhausting! Until my next safari that is!

[Atravelynn]

Crater video--You did the Garden of Eden justice in your video.  The flamingos were especially gorgeous.  Your persistence with the rhinos did pay off, though it would have been nice if they were more cooperative for you.

[pscrimshaw]

@AtravelynnThank you so much for the kind words! I suppose I thought that since the rhinos in the crater are so much more used to vehicles that they'd be more confident approaching the roads. But nope! Still very shy!

[soleson]

@pscrimshawGlad you got to see the rhinos even if they weren't terribly close.  I have been to the Crater twice (2009 and 2021) and neither time did I see them even far off, so my luck is not so good either.  I had much better luck at Lake Nakuru and Nairobi NP in Kenya and various locations around South Africa.  

 

Love your videos and pictures.  Makes me want to visit Ndutu for sure next time.  

Edited September 9 by soleson

[ricmiles]

These are so good.

[pscrimshaw]

@solesonthank you so much! The crater is probably the most reliable place to see black rhinos in Tanzania, just hard to get them close. I hope I get luckier next time

[pscrimshaw]

@ricmilesthanks man! And to think we crossed paths in Ndutu and never knew it

[Miss Biscuit]

You still got a good shot of a rhino in the crater! We saw them there but from even further away. 

Your shots are gorgeous!