Every time I explore the vast Mara-Serengeti ecosystem I’m reminded that it truly does hold the greatest wildlife viewings on Earth. We’ve preserved some really fun and memorable moments of this magical place during a recent safari. Depending on the time of year, the Mara or the Serengeti is an absolute must for any inaugural safari, and perhaps even for a second or third safari as well! A few days under canvas in the heart of this region will be rewarded with outstanding big cat viewing, and always the chance of witnessing their mesmerizing predatory behavior.

Experiencing close up encounters with wild chimpanzees in an African forest alongside the deep blue waters of Lake Tanganyika rates for most as an ultimate safari activity. Very much the Tarzan storybook country, the forested slopes of these hillsides make for the most evocative of settings. Greystoke Camp itself is one of the most remote safari locations, keeping the romance of that real safari alive. Time spent out cruising on the lake complements the chimp trekking nicely to round out one of Africa’s best kept secrets.

Once in a while an experience is truly exceptional, even for a guide who’s been at it for twenty years. This July I had the privilege of traveling to the land of the Hadza people on the shores of Lake Eyasi, within Tanzania’s slice of the Great Rift Valley. This tribe of hunter-gatherers retains an incredible connection to the African bush and the wild lives found there. They continue a lifestyle that spans hundreds of thousands of years, and they were willing to share it with us.

Accessing this remote location by helicopter ensures we arrive when the fun starts, at dawn. We quickly set out towards the current hunting grounds, enthralled with the enthusiasm for the chase, and the precision of their tracking skills.  The men are soon tracking an eland, but it eludes us when the footprints disappear into the the rocky hills, where the animals spend time during the dry season. At the end of the session, the main spoils include tree squirrels and rock hyraxes, which are cooked over coals. If ever there was a time we could reconnect with that primeval drive to provide our own supper, this was it.

Land easements and conservation measures of the land the Hadza have traditionally lived on ensure a secure, core area for them to dwell in for now. However, there was a definite feeling amongst us that we were witnessing something special, and perhaps passing, from another time.

There are few destinations left where, upon arrival, we feel like we are immediately transported back in time, to a rich, tangled wilderness worthy of Tarzan himself.

One place that has endured the transition to the digital age but retains the feeling of wild Africa is the Mahale Mountains in western Tanzania. Here, the remote yet unparalleled Greystoke Camp is nestled into thick forest where it meets sandy beach along the shore of Africa’s longest and deepest lake, Tanganyika.

Greystoke Camp

A room with a view

Here we spend our time walking in the lush and beautiful forest of the foothills, up close and personal with our relatives, the chimpanzees. These chimps have been studied for more than fifty years, and we gain stunning insights into the lives and loves – as well as political dynamics – of these fascinating creatures. The local guides really bring it all to life for us with their energetic explanations and personal histories of individual chimps.

Meeting the locals

Walking along the river with the chimps

Looks like a place Tarzan could have called home

We also thoroughly enjoy our time on and in the lake itself. We paddle in kayaks, fish for native species of cichlids, and just cool off in the heat of the day.

We even get to know Big Bird, the orphaned pelican who has made himself a regular fixture around camp and particularly enjoys the afternoon boat rides on the lake.

Cruising the lake via wooden vessel offers views of hippos submerged beneath us in the clear waters, lots of fun diving contests off the top deck, and plenty of opportunities for sundowners ….with Big Bird participating in everything!

Cruising Lake Tanganyika

Hippos swimming under the boat

Paddling with Big Bird

Time for a swim and a sundowner!

Mahale after dark

Big Bird is famous on YouTube! You can see his GoPro video if you click here.

Ascending the peak of our iconic Mount Kilimanjaro is not for the faint hearted; low oxygen, freezing temperatures, and tough conditions keep many away. However for those who brave these forces, the rewards are as momentous as the massive mountain itself.

For a hike on Kilimanjaro is about so much more than summiting the roof of Africa. It is about being in touch with your body as it meets the challenges each day, bonding with fellow hikers who are enduring the same experiences, and savoring majestic vistas in every direction.

Our final push to the top required a midnight start with all the sense of adventure and expectation as we began the slow but steady ascent. Catching some incredibly memorable moments such as the first glow of sunrise and our first glimpse of Uhuru peak, the morning’s trek brought us to that point amidst the rarified air of 19,344 feet!

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.

Between January and March each year, the Serengeti produces some of the most dramatic wildlife scenes imaginable. This is when the vast herds of wildebeest camp out on the short-grass plains, and the females collectively give birth to hundreds of thousands of calves over a two-week period.

The wildebeest calving season in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

The synchronized birth of so many little gnus is a sight in and of itself, but it is just the beginning of an action-packed season full of baby antelopes: and fields flooded with prey allow the local carnivores to showcase their hunting skills out in the open.

Early one morning during a safari in the Serengeti this March, we found a female cheetah and her two large cubs out amongst the countless wildebeest near our camp in the Ndutu area. Over the next two hours we were privileged to witness a hunting lesson unfold as the mother cheetah flushed a young Thomson’s gazelle from its hiding spot and proceeded to allow her cubs to practice their hunting techniques, using the fawn as their toy. After letting the cubs repeatedly trip up and catch the fawn for what seemed like an endless hour, the mother finally instructed the cubs on the final blow and they devoured the kill. While we of course felt some sadness for the fawn, it was incredible to see young cheetahs learning behaviors that are critical for their survival.

A mother cheetah lets go of a Thomson’s gazelle fawn in order to give her cubs an opportunity to practice their hunting techniques.

Learning to catch a gazelle on the fly!

We finished the day with a spectacular Serengeti sundowner, which was made even more enjoyable by an impromptu visit from Ingela Janssen, one of the local lion researchers. Ingela told us about the new work she is doing with the Serengeti Lion Project, trying to understand the threats to lion movement throughout the greater ecosystem, especially between the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. You can learn more about lion research in Tanzania here.

The Mara-Serengeti ecosystem continues to deliver, in my opinion, the greatest wildlife viewing anywhere on earth. There are exciting scenes all year round, and biologists out in the field rain or shine. We maximize our chances of being in the right place at the right time for these experiences with our choices of location for camps, game drives, and walks. And we always enjoy reliving the stories in the comfort of our camp or lodge at the end of the day.

The view from the pool at Sayari Camp in the Lamai Wedge of the northern Serengeti.

My next update from the Mara-Serengeti will be in July or August, when we will be camped in the Kenyan part of the ecosystem for several safaris….along with more than a million gnus, zebras, and gazelles that will congregate there during the dry season.

Stephanie collects data on lion numbers in the Masai Mara in 2005.

Stephanie is one of more than 50 authors of a scientific paper on lion conservation that is published today in the journal Ecology Letters. “Conserving large carnivores: dollars and fence,” includes lion count data from more than 40 sites across Africa and analyses to test what management options will work best to conserve lions. Stephanie has also written a guest blog post about the paper for Scientific American, “From whisker spots to paradigm shifts: how to save the lions.” Have a look and let us know what you think. I’ll certainly be discussing the issues raised in the paper this week as I guide my guests on a safari through Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti – hopefully while we are enjoying observing some of the lions that were counted for the paper!

A new citizen science project has been launched by the folks at the Serengeti Lion Project and the University of Minnesota. Called “Snapshot Serengeti,” it calls on anyone with an internet connection to help identify wildlife in millions of images caught on hundreds of camera traps stationed throughout Serengeti National Park. Graduate student Ali Swanson teamed up with Zooniverse to create the project. The ultimate goal is to determine how species interact (and avoid each other) in space and time across the landscape, in order to answer fundamental questions about the community ecology of the Serengeti. More immediately, though, the project is all about getting YOU involved in some cool science by helping the researchers get through all of the images and record all of the data!

We have already spent some time on the site classifying the wildlife, and it is incredibly addictive! The website is very user-friendly and you can ask questions if you need to. You have no idea what could come up on the next image, and you feel like you are on a virtual safari in the Mara or Serengeti as you move from photo to photo. So far we have identified lions, hyenas, cheeetahs, porcupines, giraffes, gazelles, hartebeest, impalas, a zillion zebras and gnus, and even a hippo!

So wherever you are over the holidays, take a virtual trip to the Serengeti and start classifying! Who knows what you will find!

For more information, here are the links:

Snapshot Serengeti

Zooniverse

Lion Research Center

And here are a couple of news stories:

BBC Nature News (Dec 13)

Scientific American (Dec 12)