Tanzania safari report - day 5

Wow. What a day. Where do I begin? We left camp this morning, drove around the edge of Ngorongoro Crater and gradually lost elevation on our way to the Serengeti plains. We had some amazing giraffe sightings at the Malanja depression, as a family of 15 walked along side us for quite some time. Giraffe are my favorite animal to photograph, and this was one of those better sightings.

The acacias slowly turned into lush, green grasses as we passed Oldupai Gorge. There are tons of thompson gazelle and wildebeest as far as the eyes can see. We stopped for a herd of wildebeest to cross the road, and it took 30 minutes for them to cross the road one-by-one. Excellent video opportunity.

After Naabi Hill, we detoured off the main road towards vilima saba (7 hills). It is usually excellent territory for cheetahs, however today it was quite void of game. After getting close to Seronera, the central part of Serengeti NP, we came across a gorgeous female leopard crossing the road. She didn't stick around for long, but I am glad that my guests have already seen a leopard up close. Now I want one in a tree only a few feet away from my vehicle. :-)

We ended the day with 5 bat-eared foxes just outside of camp. Talk about playful and fearless. Typically they are very skiddish, however today was just the opposite. We have 4 giraffes here at camp, and we are taking photos from our tent porches. How lame, I know, but it has been a very long day. Tomorrow we are hot air ballooning, so we are up at 4:30. Time for bed. Until tomorrow.....