Day 7 – 10 – Exploring Western and Central Serengeti
We stayed at Lahia for three nights. During the days we headed out in different directions to look for wildlife. We saw many leopards, lions, hippos, giraffes, birds… On the last night staff treated us to a sundowner on the next hill over, where the owners house is located. They had enough alcohol and snacks for an army, but there were only three of us – Kathy, Michael and me, and, of course, the Maasai guard.
On day 9 we left Lahia for two nights at the Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge – owned by the same company. You will see the similarities in accommodations. Our lodge was almost the last one away from the main lodge. A guard was required for trips to the main lodge at night. There were many guests at Kubu Kubu and the Central Serengeti is much busier so you see many more safari trucks – and they are not all well behaved. Unfortunately on day 9, the travelers friend Montezuma hit me. That did make the drive back toward Arusha a bit dicey.
There are many photos in this album – accommodations up front, then animals. A few photos and animals surprised me – either I mis identified the animals initially or didn’t remember taking the photo at all!
While not as exciting as when they cross the river, on this part of the road to the western part of the Serengeti, there were wildebeest as far as you could see.
Same bird. With enough photos I hope to make a positive ID. Coloring on this eagle can vary and may be confused with the Wahlbergs eagle. Still waiting for ID on iNaturalist.
Maasai Giraffe butts. This type of giraffe is endangered and is the largest subspecies. Native to East Africa. It has distinctive, irregular, jagged, star-like blotches that extend to the hooves.
These two were mating. The lioness would roll on her tummy and the male would do his thing, roll off and wait for the next time. Apparently they do this many times for a couple days.