Today we were leaving the Serengeti and moving to Ndutu. We said goodbye to Otto and Glory and left the camp by soon after 8. Our first sighting is some waterbuck.
Our first stop was at the Seronera Air Strip where Alladini went and extended our permit for the Serengeti so we didn’t have to rush to get out the gate. We have a little walk around while we wait and notice a fire engine as well as one of the small planes.
This morning we see lots of giraffe as well as some birds. We really enjoy taking photos of the birds and then working with Alladini and the books to try and identify them. This often leads to some entertaining discussions that really enhance our trip. Alladini is very patient with us as this will happen frequently throughout the day.
Mid morning we come across a reasonably large group of elephants, who we watch as they walk past us. The last elephant in the group appears to be a juvenile male who seems to want to walk independently of the rest.
Now came some challenging driving for Alladini, through some wet muddy areas. However after a quick assessment of the area we drive through without incident.......it always pays to have a good driver on these trips!
We get our first sighting of dikdiks just before we arrive at the Rehema Hippo Pools where we spend a very enjoyable half an hour out of the car watching the hippos interact and play with each other.
After this it is time to leave the Serengeti. It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach Naabi Hill gate.
Alladini goes to the office to do the paperwork and then we all have lunch. We notice there is a lot of half finished building work here. This was started early last year to accommodate an increasing number of visitors but stopped in March when Covid meant that visitors stopped coming. I am guessing the work won’t start again until visitors start coming again.
So it was now an 18 km drive to the official entrance to Ndutu. We were able to use a new road that Alladini had not driven before.
On entering Ndutu we see lots of giraffe, they really seem to have been everywhere today. We also see our second leopard tortoise of the day.
We drive past Ndutu Lake which is very full. There were loads of herons here. As we drive on we start to see more zebra often with foals.
Around 4pm we see 2 male lions asleep on the ground and then further down the track a total of 9 more lions including some cubs, 8 asleep in several different trees and 1 on the ground. We stay for quite a while all on our own and only when we are leaving does another car appear.
Our final sightings of the day include a lone elephant, some crowned cranes, a large group of red knobbed coots, a group of eland and 2 hyenas. By now we are surrounded by large numbers of zebra and wildebeest with their young.
Just as we decide to head for our new camp the heavens open. Our next 4 nights will be spent at Ndutu Tanzania Bush Camp. On arrival we are met by Shahoza, the camp manager, given juice and a fresh towel whilst he gives us an introduction to the camp. We are then shown to our tent which is lovely, very large and well furnished and we enjoy a hot shower before dinner. At this camp Alladini will eat with us which we tease him about as we know he would prefer to eat the local food that is served to the camp staff. However here, he and all the other guides will eat with their guests......he does at least get to enjoy a beer with dinner which may be some compensation !!
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