March 16, 2025

Olakira Migration Camp Ndutu, Serengeti National Park, Sinoni, Tanzania

Rain. Rain is nice for cooling things down. However, this morning we were getting up at 05:00 to Serengeti Balloon Safari. Balloons and rain don’t mix well. 05:00 came and the guide front he camp knocked on our door to wake us up. Yes, I was already awake. It was raining. I asked him if the balloon ride was still on. He responded as far as he knew.

Twenty-five minutes later he returned. It was still raining. He said the ride to the ballon wasn’t here and therefore the ride was probably cancelled. We asked if we should simply go back to bed. Good idea.

An hour later he and the balloon guy returned and asked if we were ready to go. It was now just a drizzle, but it is still rain. We said we would like to try tomorrow when the weather was better. The balloon guy was disappointed but said he couldn’t be positive that it would happen today. We went back to bed.

We finally got up about 07:30, got dressed and I headed to breakfast. Mary wasn’t at all interested in breakfast. I went and had coffee and a omelette with bacon and sausage. I then asked to have coffee and tea delivered to our tent. They were more than happy to do so.

The morning was spent just hanging out in the tent relaxing and enjoying the nature around the tent. I updated the blog with photos of the days I was unable to do so because of the poor wi-fi, but fortunately the wi-fi here is very good.

I sat on the deck looking out over the valley below and watching a yellow-breasted canary feed her/his chicks in the nest which is hanging just off the deck from an acacia tree. Very peaceful and relaxing morning just enjoying nature. Even nature girl was enjoying it.

At 13:00 we went to lunch. Lunch was beer battered fish, French fries, mango salad and a cucumber salad. The fish was tried with balsamic vinegar, very young, tarter sauce and lemon. It was best with the tarter sauce.

The, because we got up, sort of, so early we went back and took a nap. About 15:30 we woke up and got ready for the afternoon safari with Hasani. This afternoon we are still out looking for the Leopard. While we didn’t have any luck finding the elusive cat, we did see evidence of her being around. She drags her prey into the trees and you can occasionally see remnants of the prey hanging from the tree.

We drove west around Lake Ndutu. It was obvious because of the rain that the lake had grown substantially in size. My guess that the surface area of the lake had doubled over night. Round the northern top of the lake and down the eastern side and down to Lake Masek south of our camp.

Along the way we saw a Martial Engle. The Martial Eagle is the largest of the African eagles. It is incredibly powerful, so much so it could easily knock an adult male human off his feet. They said that it has enough strength in one foot to break a man’s arm. We were able to spot this one because of size of the nest.

The Martial Eagle’s nest is really big, about four or five feet in diameter and about two feet deep. This one, which has been in continuous use for over a decade, was probably six feet in diameter and four feet “tall”. The actual nesting are was still only probably about two feet deep. Hansani said that was a young juvenile bird due to its coloring.

On the lake we saw quite a few birds. Many of which we had seen previously. We did see a Little Grebe. This bird has a bright chestnut throat and cheeks with a place gape colored patch at the base of its bill. Really quite beautiful. The tail end of the bird looked fluffy. The interesting thing about the Little Grebe is that it can dive under the water and swim a good distance in order not to be seen.

We did get to see a couple pods of hippos in the lake and a pair of them standing on shore. Their behavior in the water looks playful, but they really don’t like to be disturbed.

It was starting to get dark so it was back to the barn for the night. We did get to see a beautiful sunset, although we didn’t get to see the leopard.

It is probably not politically correct to talk about Africa’s “Big Five” because it refers to the most difficult and dangerous animals to hunt on foot. However, finding and seeing all big five in now the sought after safari adventure. The big five are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and African buffalo. Even with four safaris under my belt I have yet to see the rhinoceros, black or white. Mary has three of the five, still missing the leopard and rhinoceros.

Can’t you just feel another safari coming on? So … looking at South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Private Reserves, Tanzania’s Ngoronogro Crater and possibile the Madikwe Game Reserve. The first two have a solid reputation for delivering all of these within a day or two.

There is also Africa’s “Ugly Five” – the spotted hyena, vultures, Marabou stork, blue wildebeest and warthog. Now the King of the Ugly Five is the spotted hyena; these guys are second only to the lion in the savannah’s pecking order. They are effective hunters, nevertheless is most often seen scavenging at the remains of kills. With one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom, its jaws crunch through hide, bone and gristle with ease. They really like bone marrow.

Vultures and Marabou Storks, work with the hyenas to keep the decaying remains in check. Vultures and Marabou storks like access to the hyena leftovers. Both birds are ‘bald’ in the sense of having no or few feathers on their head, an appearance exacerbated by their long, ungainly neck – vital adaptations for a life spent sticking your head inside their food.

When speaking of food, one of the biggest places in the food chain belongs to the Blue Wildebeest. The blue wildebeest is also known as a ‘gnu’ (because that’s what they say), is a slab-bodied, weedy-legged wildebeest who feeds great numbers to big cats, wild dogs and crocodiles.

Lastly, is the warthog. Despite their somewhat comical appearance, who doesn’t remember Pumba for Disney’s Lion King, gives these predators a difficult time. Warthogs are armed with pairs of curved tusks, which are kept razor-sharp and used for fighting and defense.

Grace, Mary and I all have all five of the Ugly Five. Then there is the small five ……. Oh, another safari …..

Sweet dreams,

Buonanotte e caio, Enrico e Maria