Safari Part 1 - Ndutu

 Day 1

This morning Alladin, our safari guide from eTrip Africa, arrived at 8am to pick us up. We had done a safari with Alladin before so it was lovely to see him again. We put our bags in the car and we’re quickly on our way.

We stopped in Arusha to pick up our lunch boxes and then continued on through Mto Wa Mbu to the gate for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here we had a quick break while Alladin did the paperwork. We then drove up on to the crater rim, stopping at the viewpoint before carrying on to the picnic area for lunch.

After lunch we carried onto Ndutu arriving at the Tanzania Bush Camp at around 5pm. We were greeted with juice, a samosa and a refreshing towel. After a brief introduction to the camp we were shown to our tent and left to settle in. The tent is lovely and spacious and we enjoyed a hot shower. At 7.30 we met Alladin for dinner. Tonight was a BBQ that was very tasty. After that we were off to bed as it had been a long day and we would start our safari properly tomorrow.

Day 2

We had an early breakfast and then headed out on a game drive. It was a very good morning. We had several sightings of lions including one group of 7. We also had 2 sightings of cheetah as well as plenty of birds, giraffe, hyena, and of course lots of wildebeest and zebra.

After a great morning we returned to camp for lunch and a siesta before heading out again at around 4pm.

This afternoon we had some great sightings. Firstly we saw a lioness chase, catch and kill a wildebeest. This was the first time we had ever seen a successful hunt despite having done many safaris. It was amazing and so quick and even better, we were the only car there to see it. I didn't get any good photos of the actual moment as it was so fast but we got the before and after shots.

Afterwards she dragged the carcass into a bush and walked off, presumably to return later.

After this we headed to Lake Ndutu. There were loads of flamingos and lots of other birds as well.

After this we saw a large group of lions, this time with cubs, all quite active. This was the first time we had really met more than the odd other car.

By now it was getting quite late so we needed to get back to camp. However on the way we saw our first elephants so of course we stopped again. It was quite a large group with some young ones which was nice to see.

So now it was straight back to camp arriving intime for a quick shower before dinner.