The famous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania covers almost 15,000kms of east African grassland and hillocks, and is probably the best game reserve in Africa. Every year, millions of migrating animals cross the Serengeti, watched by both predators and tourists alike.

 

The most popular game watching area in the Serengeti is within driving distance the town of Seronera, where most of the camps and lodges are based. At Seronera, the Big Five of African wildlife live almost within site of most camps, but the best (and safest) way to see them is on a game drive. Game drives on the Serengeti usually operate between 6am - 10am, and 2pm to 4.30pm.

 

As you leave your camp on an early morning game drive into the Serengeti National Park, the chill of the night air soon evaporates under the bright African sun. Your vehicle soon leaves the camp for dust, literally, and your skilled drivers and guides scan the landscape for the slightest sign of wildlife, from the rustle of grass as a cheetah passes through, to the twitch of a tail from a leopard lounging in a tree. Then, as your eyes adjust to the high contrast of sunshine and shade, you spot a pride of lions, the male relaxing, the lioness alert, as her cubs growl and tumble in the grass nearby.

 

From a distance, it's easy to think of these big cats as just that, larger versions of our domestic cats. Only when you get close to these supreme predators do you appreciate their sheer power, the ripple of muscle under fur, the teeth sharpened on bone, the massive claws designed to grip, climb and tear.

 

A low rumble and the crushing of undergrowth indicates the arrival of elephants, gentle giants of grey that amble gently through a landscape to a seasonal river swollen with rains. Then, ears flap forward and at the water's edge, a seemingly innocuous log suddenly snaps into tooth-filled action. The elephants have sensed the crocodile long before you see it, and suddenly you realise that surviving out here is about using your wits, your instincts, your senses - and your teeth...

 

And if you haven't got teeth, you'd better know how to run. As zebras graze like curious plump-bottomed ponies in fancy dress, their ears show they are alert for potential danger. Towering above are giraffes, their heads high above the plains, perhaps the best lookouts on the plains.

 

Breathless, you discover another camera memory card is full, the sun is much higher in the sky, and your driver is turning back to camp. And it's only 10am on day 1 in the Serengeti!

 

© 2009 Kirsty Young