Last week, several fellow partners of Ker & Downey and I visited the eastern boundary region of Tanzania’s famed Serengeti National Park. We camped in an area that has been closed to visitors for more than a decade, and enjoyed truly exclusive access to spectacular wildlife.
In five days we saw more than 100 different individual lions, 22 cheetahs, 5 leopards, 2 honey badgers, and an incredible number of herbivores. As this new camp is so distant from all other lodging in the Serengeti, we virtually had the area all to ourselves! Between December and May of each year, these short grass plains are saturated with the great herds of wildebeest and zebra that make up the celebrated migration. And it is here that several hundred thousand wildebeest calves are born each January/February, offering a windfall to the many resident carnivores that call this land home.
Surrounded by the quintessential safari landscape of endless plains dotted with acacia trees and granite kopjes, my time there reminded me of why it was the favored private camp destination of my company through the 1980s and ’90s. I am thrilled to now be able to take my guests to this secret corner of the Serengeti. We are privileged to be a part of the gentle reopening of this remote area to low-use tourism, and the next few years offer a special opportunity to join me on safari in a place I would describe as one of the final frontiers of East African wilderness.
The essence of our time in the Serengeti.
Watched as we are watching.
A stunning view of leopards out in the open.
A pair of very fit cheetahs.
A perfect place to rest and scout for the next meal.
A strong leader for a healthy pride.
These new cubs are doing very well.
The birds of prey are also fantastic in this region.
We had a rare sighting of two honey badgers.
King of the kopje.
Classic Serengeti in black and white.
Partner guides of The Original Ker & Downey Safaris.
We do not typically go on safari in the Masai Mara in May. It is often raining, the black cotton mud is horrible, the grass can be six feet tall, and the migration is still in the Serengeti. But this year we made a trip to fisi camp, and we are very glad we did!
Stephanie first spent a few days teaching the fundamentals of science writing to students participating in the Michigan State University study abroad course Behavioral Ecology of African Mammals and to a couple of the research assistants at The Mara Hyena Project, where she did the field work for her PhD. Fisi is the Swahili word for hyena, and we were lucky to spend some quality time with the Talek hyenas at their den and on a fresh kill. Steph even saw an old friend – Yogurt, daughter of Moonpie! Yogurt was the last cub born in the clan before Steph finished her field work in 2002, and the last cub she named. The Talek clan is now the largest it has been since research on these hyenas began in 1988, and we are looking forward to catching up with the hyena researchers to get the latest news this safari season.
We were amazed by how many wildebeest and zebra were there -unusual for this time of year. It turns out that the smaller, local “Loita” migration was already in the reserve. The larger migration from the Serengeti has also just started crossing into Kenya, making it an early year for the migration – and a fantastic time to be on safari! Of course, for the kids ANYTIME is a great time to be on safari….
Howard’s car amongst the Loita migration of wildebeest.
The next generation!
Lamu feeds on a freshly killed gnu….while the lower ranking members of the Talek clan wait for some scraps.
You can see just how strong a spotted hyena is when it carries a carcass with ease.
A young adult lioness of the Fig Tree pride, who was hiding a large cub in the grass of Horseshoe Lugga
An incredible group of ostriches.
Lots of fun on safari in the Mara – where Howard and Steph first met 14 years ago!
The Mara is one of our kids’ favorite places!
A sunset picnic dinner.
Another incredible Mara sunset.
