 |
| Serengeti Wilderness camp |
 |
| This is where grass meets sky and Wildebeest does the introductions |
The vast grasslands that seem endless, but
you know it has to meet the sky somewhere, this is the Serengeti. If the Ngorongoro is a salad bowl, then the
Serenget is the buffet, and it operates like one as well. Meal times for the
Southern short grass plains in the Southern Serengeti and Ndutu is from
February through to April when the long rains would bring the huge herds who
are following the growing grass; who have responded to the rains.
 |
| This is surely the best place in the world to observe Cheetahs hunting. |
 |
| There is a great diversity of animals in these grass plains, even the aquatic Hippo |
 |
| In these parts Lions climb trees, so when looking for you mate ... tree are a good place too look. |
 |
| We had some great light. |
Serengeti Wilderness camp is located in the
central Serengeti , During our entrance to the park we noted a few small
herds of Wildebeests. Not taking much notice of this we
continued, before we knew it we were well within the largest congregation of
life that I had ever experienced. Not
just the hundreds of thousands of wildebeests but also the zebra, Thompsons and
Grants gazelles. With this huge number of prey moving through, there is a
population of predators that move with the herds and all the year round
inhabitants.
 |
| Lions seem to love rocky outcrops |
 |
| the ruff and tumble life of being a Lion cub |
 |
| where there is something to eat there will be something to eat it. |
We reached the camp very late in the
evening, upon our arrival we were met and escorted to our tents, which were
large and well equipped with proper beds, linens and en-suite bathrooms. . The Wilderness camp only moves every three
or four months and as such is able to offer these larger tents and other
wonderful comforts while still being a real bush experience.
The game viewing we experienced up to now
had been phenomenal and lady luck was not going to hold back for the last three
days of our trip, we saw cheetah and lions everyday, with our one leopard sight
for the trip happening on our second day. But these things you can see
typically on any safari, I wanted to see the wildebeest. I was not disappointed
with numerous herds that make up the greater migration being spread all over
this area of the Serengeti. They were just passing through with the third day
there being less than the day before. We could see and smell the rain further
south of us that is the driving force behind this annual migration.
 |
| Leopards in tree ... |
 |
| and Lions in tree's ... |
There were some highlight sightings, we
managed to get too see a cheetah in full stride, lion cubs playing at sunset and
great photographic opportunities with the migrating herds with storm clouds.
Serengeti National Park as a Photographic
destination
·
Again two camera bodies are a
must.
·
The Serengeti and Ngorongoro
are unique ecosystems where the surrounding landscapes are so different to any
other place on the continent that it would be a sin to photograph the animal
living here by cropping in close to only see their faces. This can be done in
Tarangire or Southern Africa where the bush is thick.
·
I shot as wide as possible
while still being able to see what the subject animal is, I wanted to show the
animals in their natural habitat.
·
So in this regard the 100-400
excelled as I could compose my images with this in mind. As you are not able to
move off the roads using a fixed focal lens would be tricky. (Although, by
prior arrangement off-road permits can be organized in some areas)
