As promised, we were up bright and early – well, maybe not bright for everyone – and departed camp in the dark after a very quick cup of coffee. The sky was crystal clear and the stars shone brightly overhead as we left though slowly disappeared against the waning darkness and the glow of arriving sunrise. Off in the distance, we could see the hot air balloons launching, perhaps 10 or more in all, taking their passengers aloft for a very scenic tour of the Central Serengeti and a lovely breakfast afterwards. Our plans were to head to the Eastern Serengeti, and the Gol Kopjes, where we would hopefully spot some of the big cats – leopards, lions, and cheetahs along with their prey.
The air was cool and dry as we traversed the low hills while continuing to head east, the Gol Kopjes far in the distant. Kopjes, meaning little heads in Dutch, are the hallmark geologic feature of the Central Serengeti, and are tall granite outcroppings that have taken billions of years to create from the erosion of softer rocks and soils and the gradual cracking of the dense rock caused by the intense sun of the daytime and the frigid cold of the African nights. Disney truly captured the character of these little “islands of life” with Lion King’s Pride Rock – wildlife throughout the Central Serengeti congregate around these many Kopjes that are scattered across the endless plain. From the air, they are connected by a crisscross network of numerous trails now used by safari vehicles to spot the leopards and lions that make the Kopjes their home, along with the little hyrax and the agama lizards covering the rocks during the day for their warmth.
Cheetahs occupy the land between the Kopjes, sitting atop the countless termite mounds for a better vantage point with which to spot their prey – primarily Thompson and Grant’s gazelles, though a baby wildebeest or zebra would also certainly suffice for them. Though cheetahs are typically found solitary or a mother with cubs, siblings of the same sex will often hunt together, and when they do, they are capable of bringing down a full-size wildebeest or larger antelope, though an adult zebra would be more of a challenge.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to see all types of cheetah kills, from a mother teaching her four nearly full grown cubs how to hunt, to several brothers hunting together, to the solitary cheetah and they have always been one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen in the Serengeti. The cheetah is like a guided missile, tracking its prey, locking onto a single animal it has identified as its meal, and then launching itself to make its kill. The cheetah has the consummate balance of speed and stamina to yield the highest success rate of the big cats – lions have power, but no stamina, and commonly fail in their attempts for this reason. African wild dogs have tremendous stamina and will continuously track their prey for as long as it takes to wear them out.
Our day was successful in spotting several cheetahs, one clearly hunting, though its prey were far in the distance and we were unable to track it. There were also plenty of lions, some with cubs nursing. We found two leopards in trees, one with it’s prey hanging from a nearby branch, though they were both from a distance. Their beautiful coats of dark rosettes (cheetahs have spots) were clearly visible as they leisurely lounged on their branches, occasionally repositioning for a more comfortable position. In addition to the appearance of their heads and necks, you can tell a male leopard from female by the fact that the male never straddles their branch for obvious reasons of comfort. Leopards are more solitary than even the cheetah – older siblings will never be found together, and a mother will keep her 1-3 cubs for a maximum of two years before they become independent.
One fun event we had was with the cheetah we had seen and who was hunting. We were one of a group of vehicles near the termite mound it was sitting on when it decided it needed to have a more strategic vantage point from which to monitor the surroundings. It promptly jumped up first on the spare tire of the vehicle next to us and then jumped up to the rear roof – the vehicle, of course, had it’s safari top up meaning that there was a very easy approach for the cheetah into the car. There was also an open safari vehicle sitting immediately next to the where the cheetah had hopped on the vehicle which would have been an easier entrance for it had it been at all interested in humans. That vehicle moved away immediately so as to prevent any further inadvertent meeting of species. The passengers in the car with the cheetah on top sat quietly inside so as not to entice it in any way and after eventually starting up the engine and nudging forward slightly, the cheetah decided it had seen enough and gingerly hopped down off the roof. Cheetahs would never attack a human in any situation – they are actually quite shy and even in situations where their kill is in jeopardy of being taken from them, they don’t put up a fight or defend themselves.
Breakfast was eaten along the trail in a very windy spot, though the views were amazing. The Eastern Serengeti was devoid of the huge herds of wildebeest that I had seen here in the past as they were up along the Mara River either making their way up in the Maasai Mara of Kenya or returning back in our direction. Either way, though, they weren’t to be seen here, and the majority of game were the Thompson and Grant’s gazelles along with the other assorted non-migrating antelopes – Topi, Cooke’s Hartebeest, and Elan. Dik diks were, as always scattered mostly in the wooded areas. Lunch was also eaten along the trail, but in a gorgeous spot under a big acacia.
At the end of the day, we drove into the Seronera area where most of the administrative offices for the park are along with some small shops, a visitor center, and a fuel station. We had traveled for two full days and still had some diesel in the tank, though would need to fill up before heading home so as not to risk getting stranded on our return journey. Excitingly, I had spoken with my good friend Jones, Leonard’s brother and someone who I have known for nearly sixteen years, who is a balloon pilot here in the Serengeti, and they had room for the four of us to fly the following morning. A balloon flight over the Central Serengeti is certainly a luxury and not something to miss if at all possible. Everyone was up for it, though there were some grumbles considering it was a sunrise flight and we’d have to leave our camp at 4:30 am in order to make it all the way to the launch pad in time.
Dinner at the camp was another lovely event with absolutely delicious selections not the least of which was a pork chop stuffed with bleu cheese. We all ate dinner and proceeded to bed given our early time to rise, though everyone was incredibly enthusiastic about the prospect of being airborne in the morning. I had flown three times before and though I had admittedly voiced that I was looking forward to skipping the flight and sleeping in that morning, it worked out best logistically that we would all participate as Vitalis would be driving us to the launch pad rather than them picking us up as is usually the case.
We were in Turtle and on our way shortly after 4:30 am, but in more than enough time to get to the launch pad – there was coffee and cookies to have before the flight and the pilots gave us a few words initially before we all headed out to the two balloon gondolas for our required pre-flight instructions. Each gondola would hold up to 16 passengers plus the pilot – ours was the less full gondola and they had weights in the empty seats for balance. Getting in and prepared for launch meant climbing in and lying on your back with your legs bent over a bolster below and your bottom sitting on it. As the balloon slowly inflates with bursts of hot air and huge fans blowing air into the balloon, the gondola begins to right itself as you drag a bit along the ground for a rather bumpy ride. Once in the air, the ride is smooth and silent, except for when the pilot ignites the gas jets to gain altitude.
Floating along the Serengeti is a magical feeling and provides the most spectacular panorama of the endless plains. With two balloons flying in tandem, as well as the other eight or so that have launched nearby from other companies, there are plenty of photo opportunities to be had of the other balloons as well as the scenery below. We didn’t see many animals for the first half of our flight, though the experience was still incredible, and once we crossed over the Seronera river, we could see herds of gazelle, wildebeest, and zebra in front of us along with a number of giraffes in the distance under trees.
It had been more windy than normal during our flight, so we would be coming in for our flight a bit under the typical duration of one hour, though I think it mattered little to most. We were landing on top of a large group animals, who were scattering at the site of our balloon as well as the enormous shadow we were producing. Our landing was a bit on the bumpy side, or more accurately, it was pounding as we touched down several times only to become immediately air born as the balloon continued on in the direction of the wind. We were finally down and it was now time to exit the basket (we were again lying on our side) – everyone climbed out safe and sound, though several lions were immediately spotted on the nearby hillside close to the wildebeest and zebras. They took little notice of us as we were not on their menu for the day, and we took our time getting back into our vehicles for our trip to their balloon center where we would all be served breakfast sitting out in the open at two long tables, one for each balloon.
Leaving the balloon camp, we headed in the direction of Boma Kopjes and slowly made our way back south by way of the Seven Hills in the direction of Naabi Gate where we would be exiting the park and re-entering the conservation area. It took some time for Vitalis to get us checked in again to the conservation area, though we were eventually through and on our way to Lake Ndutu or the Southern Serengeti. As we crossed the huge southern plains, typically filled with hundreds of thousands of wildebeest as part of the migration at another time of the year, there were only gazelle and few ostriches here and there. I’m sure there were cheetahs around, but we were unable to spot any despite all of us keeping our eyes peeled for them.
The high season for Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek is in March when the massive herds of the migration are here, most females having calved en route, and slowly making their way to the Central Serengeti, where they’ll remain for several months grazing on the grasses they thrive on. For now, though, we were on our way home in the direction of Endulen, avoiding the main road with all its rocks and dust as well as the ongoing construction along the crater rim that would be perfect to avoid. Though a longer route, I prefer this one for its sheer beauty as it represents some of the most fertile grazing in the conservation area with incredible views as you climb up and up to reach the rim of the crater while traveling through remarkable valleys filled with Maasai villages and bomas. For once, we were on schedule to make it out of the Loduare Gate on time without threat of having to spend the night somewhere inside the conservation area. Driving up to our house, there was smoke rising from the kuni boiler out front meaning that we’d have hot showers tonight. Everyone was beat and it’s a wonder that Colin actually made us a dinner of fried rice and everyone devoured it.