star55

As some of you know, after having been on safari in Tanzania and Kenya in January, I was able to go back to Tanzania for a week in March. I spent five nights in the Ndutu area and two nights in the Serengeti. Believe me, I know how lucky I was to do this! Raelond, we’re posting at the same time, so I hope I have titled this report so as not to be confusing. I’ll apologize in advance if I accidentally add to your report rather than my own!

I arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport March 10. I got to bypass the visa line and get in the Immigration line because the visa I purchased in January was still valid. That was fun! My luggage arrived with me this time and nice surprise - Tesha, my guide in January who I had requested for this trip, had made the airport run to pick me up. He couldn’t believe I had returned so quickly (me either!)

When we got to the Kibo Palace Hotel, I found they had put me in a suite. This is not something I would spend money on, so I got a kick out of it - I felt like a celebrity. The next morning, we went to the Roy Safaris office for a short briefing and then it was off to Ndutu. We stopped in Karatu for fuel and to buy rice for my camera beanbag. We bought the rice at the open air market. The transaction was in Swahili, so I couldn’t follow it, but I got the rice, we filled the beanbag and I walked through the market for a few minutes. Seeing the fruits and vegetables reminded me of local farmers’ markets, but the open bags of rice and grains were not something I would see at home. Next time, I'd like to spend time walking around Karatu - I like towns and cities and seeing them on foot.

We continued on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As before, I was amazed at how the scenery and temperature changes as you drive from the Lodware gate to Ndutu. It was green and noticeably cooler as we climbed towards the crater. After we drove down onto the plain and got closer to Ndutu, I noticed that it was drier and dustier than when I was there in January. There were grazing animals around, but the huge herds had moved south of where they were in January.

We got to Ndutu Safari Lodge in time for lunch and I had a chance to take a nap before the evening game drive. The evening game drive did not offer many photographic opportunities (as distinguished from seeing animals and birds), but there were some dramatic cloud formations near sunset. After dinner, I got out my tripod and took pictures of the campfire, then sat down to talk to a man who runs wildlife and bird tours all over the world. He told me about seeing the mother cheetah with three small cubs, which prompted me to review the viewing guidelines in the Cheetah Watch brochure in case I got to see cheetahs too.

The next morning, we started our game drive at 6:00. We weren’t seeing much in the area we were in, so Tesha drove to the other side of the plain, where we came across a pride of lions - one male and four females. They had a zebra carcass in a copse and a couple of them were still eating. As we watched, they all settled down to resting. One lioness was somewhat separate from the others and when she came over to join them, she started licking two other lionesses on their bellies. I hadn’t seen this behavior before - I’ve seen them groom each other’s faces and heads, but not give a full body bath. We had to leave eventually to get back for breakfast. After breakfast, I was leaving the dining area to go back to my room and saw an elephant walking through the brush between the lodge and the lake. That was so exciting - I love elephants!

After breakfast, we went out on another game drive. By this time, we had heard about the mother cheetah with six cubs, so we were on the lookout.
When we saw three other vehicles in the distance, we went to check it out and there they were! The cubs were playing in an open area in the grass and their paws and legs were muddy because there had been rain in that section. After awhile, the mother gathered up the cubs and started to move away from the vehicles. The other vehicles left, but we watched to see what she was doing. She didn’t appear to be hunting, but moving the cubs to an area where the grass was higher and thicker. When we saw them settle down again, we moved in that direction.

As we park several yards away the cheetahs, I’m thinking ‘wow, I have this cheetah family to myself - great photo op’. I did not anticipate what would happen next - after a few minutes, the cubs came scampering out of the grass towards us. I’m still thinking ‘great photo op - they’re out of the grass and visible.’ I’m clicking away as they get closer and closer, but since I’m looking through the viewfinder, I’m not aware of where they are in relation to me. All of a sudden they are so close, I can’t get a good angle. Then they disappear under the vehicle.

I’ve seen pictures of adult cheetahs on vehicles, but I didn’t know that cheetah cubs, especially such young ones, would approach a vehicle. We sat for several minutes, then Tesha started the motor. The cubs came scampering out, we counted to make sure they were all out from under, and then moved the vehicle a little further away.

Once we stopped, I started watching the cheetahs and after about five minutes, the cubs came scampering out of the brush and went back under the vehicle. Up to this point, the mother had been keeping watch - she would lie down for a few minutes, then get up and look around for a few minutes. When the cubs went under the vehicle the second time, she came over. She sniffed around the front bumper, peered under the driver’s side of the vehicle, then seemed satisfied that the cubs were okay and went back to her watching post.

After several minutes, another vehicle appeared. I didn’t want to yell and disturb the cheetahs, but we wanted the other guide and guests to know that there were cubs under the vehicle (I really did not want to become known as the guest who was involved in cheetah cubs being run over). The man was taking pictures, but I caught the woman’s eye and by making signs, was able to indicate that the six cubs were under our vehicle. When we finally had to leave, we started the vehicle, counted to make sure all the cubs were clear and drove off a little way. We stopped for a few minutes to watch the cubs, who headed under the other vehicle. I couldn’t resist - I had to take pictures of the cubs under the other vehicle. When we finally left, the other vehicle left with us and the cubs rejoined their mother.

We headed out for the evening game drive around 4:30. When we saw several vehicles around a tree, we knew it was probably a leopard. We joined them and there was a large, beautiful male in the tree. It was a bit crowded and while I had a good view of the leopard, I couldn’t get a good shot because there were branches across his face. We thought about leaving but by that time, there were vehicles behind us, so we stayed put. We passed the time by Tesha telling me about leopards.

Eventually, the leopard stood up and came down the tree. He headed our direction and disappeared into the brush somewhere to our left and behind us. After a few minutes, most of the vehicles departed - we and two other vehicles were the only ones left. We started to back out but saw the leopard in the brush. The people in the other vehicles had a good view for photos, but since there wasn’t room near them, Tesha positioned the vehicle at a right angle to the other vehicles. Since I couldn’t get an unobstructed shot, I was content to watch the leopard without taking photos - it was the first time I had seen one that wasn't up in a tree.

Eventually, the leopard stood up and started to move in our direction. Then the most incredible thing happened - the leopard walked out of the brush, up to my side of the vehicle, back to the rear tire and then went under the vehicle. We could not believe it. We looked all around the vehicle and there was no other place he could be. We kept watch but he did not reappear. Finally, since we had to be back at the lodge by 7:00, Tesha started the vehicle. We thought he would come out at the sound of the motor, but he didn’t. Tesha moved the vehicle slowly forward and finally he appeared. I was at the back with my camera and got the most close-up picture of a leopard I’ve ever gotten. As we drove back to the lodge, we could not stop smiling. It was just so incredible, we couldn’t believe it. When I told Marleen, one of the lodge managers, about it later, she asked what we had under the vehicle that was attracting all these animals!

There was a lot of excitement about the cheetahs at the lodge that evening. Several people had seen the six cubs and several others had seen the cheetah mother with the three younger cubs. There was a Japanese man and his daughter sitting in the lounge downloading their photos onto a laptop. They spoke little English and none of the other guests spoke Japanese, but we managed to communicate via the photos - they got some great ones of the three young cubs.

Leely

Cat lucky right from the start. How wonderful. Looking forward to your next chapter--and perhaps photos?

atravelynn

What did you smear under your vehicle before departing? I wonder if the leopard could smell the cheetah cubs that had been there.

How lucky to be back again.

star55

The next morning, we met at 6:00 again, but this time took a picnic breakfast with us. Tesha thought we might be able to see one of the cheetahs hunt, but said we’d have to be prepared to wait. Quite soon, we found the mother and six cubs. There were four or five other vehicles there and the cubs were playing on and around them. I got a cute picture of one of the cubs on a tire - it seemed to be just another object to climb as far as the cub was concerned. Eventually, the mother called the cubs to her and started off across the plain. So as not to interfere with a possible hunt, none of the vehicles moved. I was watching through my telephoto lens and could follow them mostly by the cubs’ movements - they were frolicsome and jumping and running. When the cheetahs were out of sight, the vehicles started up and we all moved closer, but still a distance away from the cheetahs.

Watching them now, I could see a change in the way they were moving. The mother would move stealthily a short distance, then stop, sit and look around. The cubs followed her, but they weren’t playing now - they were also moving stealthily and when they got up to her, would sit and look around too. The mother kept this up until she got within striking distance of her prey, which was a gazelle. We stayed in place and although I couldn’t get a good shot of it, I could see what was happening through the lens. She knocked down a gazelle and then strangled it. Once it was down, all the vehicles moved forward again.

The mother dragged the body towards the cubs as they went towards her. They gathered around and started to eat. The cubs are cute, but make no mistake, they are carnivores. It was a little disconcerting to see them with bright red mouths, since they went first for the blood. It looked like the mother was ripping open the carcass for them, but she did not eat herself - she was keeping watch. After several minutes, she did approach the body and that’s when I realized the gazelle might not be completely dead because it kicked at her. I thought it was just the body being moved by the eating motions of the cheetahs, but the mother grabbed the gazelle by the throat and held on for a few minutes.

Over the next 40 minutes, the mother and cubs ate, the mother rested and kept watch and the cubs played or went over to the mother at which point she would clean them. Eventually, she started to get uneasy because zebras were passing through. They weren’t close to her or the cubs, but I heard from Laura, the Cheetah Watch researcher, that a zebra stallion had chased her and the cubs some time previously. The mother dragged the carcass over to the wheel of the vehicle at the end of the semicircle. She continued to keep watch, but didn’t seem to worry about what was behind her since the vehicles formed a barrier. The cubs played and ate and ate and played, and she also ate occasionally.

We had our own breakfast and maybe it was just because of where we were, but it tasted great. The kitchen staff had included a thermos of hot water and tea bags, so I was able to have a cup of hot tea (essential in the morning) and watch the cheetahs too. How perfect!

About 30 minutes later, the zebras had moved on and the guides passed the word to the guide at the wheel of the end vehicle to move so that people could get pictures without the vehicle in them. The cubs took the opportunity to explore the undersides of a couple of the vehicles. The pattern of eating and playing continued for another hour. All the other vehicles left and we changed position so that I could get some pictures of the cheetahs eating. By this time, the carcass was disemboweled and there wasn’t much meat left. I came away impressed by the competence of the mother cheetah. I also felt good about how we humans as a group behaved - we didn’t interfere with the hunt. I had heard at the lodge that this cheetah mother had not been able to hunt for two or three days in February because she was being followed by so many vehicles.

Our evening game drive was quiet, but that was okay - I don’t know if I could have taken any more excitement! I did get pictures of a juvenile Verreaux’s eagle-owl, the first owl I’d seen in Africa. We also saw hordes of wildebeests moving on the horizon.

star55

Overnight, it poured rain from 1:30 - 5:30. When I met Tesha at 6:00, he told me the guides had been discussing what to do because the roads would still be wet and the animals would not be out and about. We agreed to meet again at 8:00, but a few people went out anyway in search of the cheetahs. Tesha told me later that one couple went out because they wanted to get a picture like mine of the cub on the tire. I said I had shown it on my PSD only to the couple with whom I ate dinner and two filmmakers I was talking to at the bar after dinner. Apparently, they had seen it from a table away in the dining room. I don’t know if they realized how much of that was luck - not just being there when it happened, but being in a position to get the shot. Up until the leopard went under our vehicle my second night there, it was the people in the other two vehicles who were getting the good shots of him in the brush.

Our morning started with seeing a lion and three lionesses. Two of the lionesses were grooming each other - licking each other’s faces and biting at each other’s ears. It looked like one of the lioness’ eyes was clouded, but when I enlarged the photo later, it appeared that there were huge ticks right at the lash line. We then found the mother cheetah with two young cubs - there had been three cubs 24 hours earlier, but circumstantial evidence was that a lion killed one. These cubs were younger than the group of six and still very fuzzy. Tesha told me that they look like honey badgers at that age and having seen Bill H’s pictures of a honey badger, I see what he means. Theoretically, this protects the cubs to some extent since other animals are intimidated by honey badgers. These cubs stayed close to their mother or under cover - either in the vegetation or between the mother’s legs. They were extremely cute.

Back at the lodge that afternoon, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Laura, one of the Cheetah Watch researchers. After my trip in January, I had sent photos to the Cheetah Watch Campaign of the two cheetah groups I had seen. Meeting Laura gave me an opportunity to find out what kind of photo was best suited to their purposes (the side of the cheetah and ideally, both sides). Good to know! I would probably discard that kind of photo as not interesting enough to keep.

When we went out in the evening, we saw a beautiful black-chested snake eagle perched in a tree. When it took flight, I amazingly got a couple of pictures (I say ‘amazingly’ because my reaction times aren’t that quick). Then we saw a jackal whose behavior reminded me of a domestic dog - it was curled up to sleep with its nose tucked into its rear legs. It occasionally lifted its head partway and opened its eyes, then went back to sleep.

As we drove, I noticed that plain looked very different than it had when we arrived. Due to the rain, the wildebeests and zebra had moved back into the area. There were sections that were literally black with wildebeests. Before we had to turn back towards the lodge, we encountered another group of cheetahs - a mother and three almost-grown cubs. They were beautiful, basking in the setting sun. We thought this might be a group we had spent time with in January, consisting of a mother and four cubs, which would have meant a cub had been killed. However, we found out later that group was still intact. In between taking pictures of the cheetahs, I continued my quest to get a decent picture of guinea fowl. They look so pretty when the sun hits their head feathers, but they move so fast, I have not been able to get the kind of shot I want (obsessive compulsive people like me should probably not take up photography as a hobby!).

Bill_H

Star, we are really enjoying reading your report, it brings back fond memories for us since we saw these same three cheetah families a week before your trip

Thanks for the detailed write-up.

Bill & Carolyn

Patty

Wow, you were certainly lucky with under the vehicle cat encounters!

atravelynn

Such cheetah action. You made a comment about the mother cheetah not seeming to worry about what was behind her because the vehicles formed a barrier. For all the intrusiveness of vehicles, this was one incident where the opposite was true.

doohickey

Star55:

I am just loving your report on cheetahs. I'm "seeing" them vicariously through your eyes. We searched and searched and searched when in the Ndutu area one day in March with no success. I'm so glad so many other folks were successful.

Keep up your reporting!

-doo

Leely

I too am loving all the cheetah news here and on the board in general. They are stunning! Thanks, star.

star55

Doo, it's cold and rainy where I am, so I'm enjoying your report on Zanzibar! More to come on cheetahs and Leely, I will post link to pictures soon.

star55

After the positive reaction to the cheetah stories, I almost hate to write this next section. However, it wouldn’t be an honest trip report if I didn’t and maybe it’s in the best interests of the cheetahs to talk about what happened on Day 4.

This was my last full day in the Ndutu area and we again took a picnic breakfast with us. We were on a ridge overlooking the lake, watching the sunrise, when we saw cheetahs below us. This was a mother and four almost full-size cubs, the ones we had seen in January (yeah!). Within minutes, four or five other vehicles joined us and we watched the slow approach of the mother to a group of gazelles. These older cubs had the stealth approach down - they were all slinking across the plain behind the mother. As they got closer to the gazelles, one of the cubs started a flanking maneuver - Tesha told me they were old enough to participate in the hunt. The mother accelerated into her run, but missed the gazelle.

Now the cheetahs started up the hill, skirting a belt of trees. Everyone moved to a new position, although it took some maneuvering to keep our distance. The cheetahs headed towards three gazelles near the trees. The mother was in the lead, but two cubs were coming up parallel with her, one on the right and one on the left. Before the mother could make her move, the cubs started running. They were too far away and the gazelles escaped. The cheetahs disappeared into the belt of trees.

Now everyone moved around to the other side of the trees. We couldn’t see the cheetahs but we knew roughly where they were. It seemed likely they would head our way since open plain was to our right. I figured the group of gazelles between us and the cheetahs was probably going to be the source of the cheetahs’ next meal. All of a sudden, five or six vehicles - all but one from the same company - that had joined the original group drove towards the trees and positioned themselves close to the thicket where the cheetahs had last been seen. We wondered what they were doing and we found out. As the cheetahs stalked out of the thicket, three of the vehicles drove towards us on our left, scattering the gazelles. I was appalled, but I thought that at least the gazelles were running in a line that would intersect that of the cheetahs. There was one gazelle that was limping and I thought it was probably a goner. Then the remaining three vehicles started up and drove alongside the mother cheetah as she ran. Not only did that alert the gazelle, it was able to run in front of the lead vehicle, which by virtue of its position cut off the cheetahs from the gazelle.

The vehicles then positioned themselves in such a way that the cubs were cut off from the mother and they blocked the view of almost all the other safari-goers. My view, however, was not blocked, and at this point I remembered that I had a camera and started taking pictures of the offending vehicles as well as writing down license plate numbers. The mother cheetah was pacing back and forth and finally gathered up the cubs and started towards another belt of trees. The vehicles started to follow her. When one was close to us, I shouted over to the clients to ask if they spoke English. When a woman replied ‘yes’, I told her that they had already interfered with the hunt, were now harassing the cheetahs and would they please stop. I know I shouldn’t have been shouting, but I just wanted them to stop what they were doing. The woman gave me a ‘huh’ look, but the group departed.

The rest of us settled down again to watch the cheetahs. The mother was moving slowly from bush to bush towards a couple of gazelles. I don’t want to anthropomorphize here, but it looked like the cubs had been given a message to stay out of the way! They were in brush near the mother, but they did not move when she did. Eventually, the gazelles moved into the trees and the quest for a meal seemed to be over for a time.

By this time, we had eaten breakfast and we left the cheetahs to see what else was happening. We came across a pride of lions. I'm not sure if this was the same group we saw the first day, but there was a male and four females. The male and a couple of other females were on top of a small hill. We drove to the top of the hill and so were in a position to see one of the females climb a tree. She looked very unsteady and she didn’t stay there long. I got a kick out of this because on one of the first evenings of my January trip, I had discussed with Tesha my expectations for the trip (e.g., not interested in ticking off animals, willing to spend time to get a good photo, etc.). He told me that he had a client once who said to him ‘my friend saw a lion climbing a tree so I want to see a lion climbing a tree’. That story had amused me then and when I reminded him of it now, we both had a good laugh.

When I went out to join Tesha for the evening game drive, the parking area was full of vehicles and guides. Tesha came over to our vehicle and told me they were all talking about what had happened that morning. The guides who had participated in what I term the bad behavior had heard from another guide that I was a photographer, had taken license plate numbers and was going to report them to the rangers. They were worried because (and this is hearsay) a client had once posted a similar photo that included a guide on the internet, his company found out about it, saw the photo and fired him. I told Tesha I did not want him to speak for me and would talk to the guides directly if they wanted. He went over and came back with a guide representing the offending company. This person started off by saying that I hadn’t really seen what I thought I saw. When I refused to accept that, he changed tack and started apologizing, saying it would not happen again. I kept saying I wasn’t in charge and he shouldn’t apologize to me, if anything he should apologize to the cheetahs and talk to the Cheetah Watch people. Okay, I know an apology to the cheetahs wouldn’t mean anything to them, but I was uncomfortable with this idea that by apologizing to me, it made it all better for the cheetahs. It came down to they did not want me to report them to the rangers. The conversation was fairly polite and ended with me saying I would think about what to do next.

Needless to say, I was very upset. I certainly didn’t want to be self-righteous about this - I was a visitor, I didn’t want anyone to lose their job and as an American, I wouldn’t hold up the US as a shining example of how to manage natural resources. I also felt that it was not entirely the guides’ fault - I think the clients were probably as much, if not more, to blame. I heard from a couple of people that this behavior is often tip-driven - the client saying I’ll give you a better tip if I get close to the animal during the hunt. On the other hand, where does the line get drawn? I still don’t know if I did the right thing, but for the record, I reported the behavior to the rangers the next day, but without naming names. I don’t know how much good that did.

After this, I didn’t want to be around other humans, so I requested that we take our drive away from everyone else. I was still thinking about what had happened when Tesha stopped the vehicle and pointed out a giraffe. I had mentioned to him earlier in the week that I had not been satisfied with my January giraffe pictures because so many of them had been taken against the sky, which had often whited-out in the picture. This giraffe was standing against a background of trees and sky and what’s more, remained facing me for several minutes. She couldn’t have ‘posed’ better and she was lovely. After this, we saw more giraffes, Cape buffalo including a calf, lots of birds, and a small herd of impala. Our drive finished at the lake, which was beautiful in the twilight.

This was my last night in Ndutu, but we still had time for one more game drive the next morning before driving into the Serengeti. We took our breakfast as we wanted to stay out as long as possible before check-out time. Driving across the plain, we saw a large group of bat-eared foxes. They were under cover before I could get a picture, but it was exciting nevertheless to see so many of them. Our next sighting was a serval cat. We had seen one a couple of nights previously but it had disappeared. This serval walked towards us, looking glamorous (odd word for an animal, but it fit) in the morning light. It came surprisingly close before turning and walking into the brush. A little further on, we saw another one! Actually, I thought it was the same one and it had just covered a lot of ground quickly! However, when I looked behind me, I could see that another vehicle was where we had been and was watching the first cat.

Shortly thereafter, we found a cheetah with a dead gazelle. Tesha was fairly sure, based on last known location, that this was the mother of the six cubs, but the cubs were nowhere in sight. The mother started walking away from us, chirping as she went. I was following her through my lens and starting to worry that there was no response to her calls when I saw the cubs running and jumping out of the grass. They came frolicking towards us and it wasn’t until they were quite close that I could see that all six were there. Whew! It took the mother a few minutes to find the gazelle, during which time the cubs explored the vehicle next to ours. When the mother located the gazelle carcass, she dragged it a little way away and everyone started to eat. Seeing this family was a great way to end my time in Ndutu.

doohickey

OMG!!!! Such terrible breaches of safari etiquette and endangerment of wildlife. It never occurred to me until several days into my own safari last month that some people would BRIBE their driver to break the rules just for their own satisfaction.

My husband asked our guide what the fine was at Ngorongoro if a driver didn't get out of the gate in time. He said the first time the driver gets a warning. The second time the guide's license gets pulled. The rangers know that charging a fine wouldn't do any good because so many clients will pay the fine for the driver just so they can stay in late.

-doo

Kavey

I'm really appreciating your trip report. I'm sad to hear about the apalling behaviour from those guides - on one hand I understand why you might not name the company but on the other hand, it's frustrating for those of us reading such reports (similar to what Bill posted) without knowing which company we should avoid if we wish not to endorse this kind of behaviour...

If you prefer not to post but would be willing to email me about it I'd be grateful.

Thanks again,
Kavita

PredatorBiologist

Star: great report! I came on hoping to add to my own report having been in the area about 2 weeks before you but instead I got caught up reading yours late in the night. Very interesting to read about many of the same animals I saw as well as some new animals in the area.

I do know the cheetah mother with the 4 large cubs and was sad to read what transpired. I had my own cheetah vehicle issues and like Kavey I would like to know who is causing issues so I hope you feel comfortable sharing. My issues will be fully described in my own report rather than hijack yours and I'm going to start a thread now to name names.

Look forward to the rest of the report and especially the pictures!

star55

Kavey, I'll email you.

star55

After breakfast, we drove into the Serengeti. The plains were almost empty except for gazelles and topis here and there. We stopped for lunch at the gate, then continued on towards the Serengeti Serena, where I was staying for two nights. Mid-afternoon, there was a terrifc cloudburst. It let up within minutes, but in the meantime, I was able to get a photo of an impala male and his harem. Because of the rain, they were bunched together under trees, instead of being spread out as I had seen them at other times.

About twenty minutes later, the most wonderful thing happened. We came upon elephants crossing the road. At first, it looked like a small herd, but all of a sudden, elephants were all around us - on the road in front of us and in the grass on both sides of us. I was so overwhelmed, I could almost not take pictures. I had tears in my eyes at seeing all these elephants and I just kept saying ‘omigod, omigod, omigod’. There were young of all sizes, including babies that were barely higher than the grass. I was trying to look everywhere at once. Since I couldn’t, I was thankful that Tesha pointed out a baby nursing - I love scenes like that.

We were near the intersection where we had to make a turn towards the lodge, so when the elephants were clear of the road, we drove on and turned before stopping again. Still elephants everywhere! Tesha told me the next day that he and the other guides estimated the herd at over 200. I could hear them breaking down trees and see them pulling up grass and small bushes. Seeing the babies run was hysterical - they looked like badly animated cartoon characters. Even now, I get breathless thinking about all those elephants.

The next day, we started at the hippo pool, which I remembered from my first visit in 2003. I also remembered that the crocodiles blend in quite well with the rocks! It’s scary how hard they are to see. Our next sighting was giraffes, which included one nursing. I now have photos of a zebra, wildebeest, elephant and giraffe nursing - I like those signs of life.

After that, I think we visited every kopje in that area in search of lions, without much luck. Our only sighting was a group of three females high up on a kopje. I didn’t care - I was happy just to be in the Serengeti. After lunch, we saw a small herd of elephants. These were different in color from the ones we had seen the night before - grey whereas the ones the night before were reddish from the soil in their usual area.

Just before we started to head back to the lodge, Tesha spotted a leopard. I could not believe I was seeing two in a week. We were the first ones on the scene and this time, I had an unobstructed view. I find the way the leopard drapes itself over the tree interesting - you’d think it would be uncomfortable to rest its belly flat on the branch. But heck, I’m not a leopard, so what do I know?! We were quickly joined by several other vehicles, one of which was a bus filled with quite noisy people. I don’t know if it was the noise, but the leopard left the tree within minutes of the arrival of the vehicles and crossed the road in front of our vehicle. He went into the tall grass on the other side of the road, but just before he disappeared into thick brush, he turned around and looked back at the vehicles. I thought that might be my ‘farewell’ animal (thanks, MyDogKyle, for that term).

I got to do a good deed before the day was over - another guide stopped his vehicle to talk to Tesha. His clients were a family of four, one of whom had a Nikon D70 with a very dirty sensor. They had seen my D80 and wondered if I had any cleaning material. I had only a blower, which didn’t work, but I did have swabs and cleaning fluid back at the lodge. The lodge was a distance from where they were camping, but they decided to follow us back since the camera was basically unusable. It was when we were on our way back that I saw my ‘real’ farewell animal - a small group of elephants. It was great ending with a big cat AND elephants.

This was my third trip and I think I can say that I have now been truly bitten by the safari bug. Already thinking about next year!

And finally, here is the link to the album/slideshow from this trip. It’s heavy on cheetahs, but that is appropriate.
http://picasaweb.google.com/corcoran...66170692500722

Towards the end, there is a picture of a starling. As I note in the caption, the guides debated on this one. If anyone has a better idea on the identification, please let me know.

Leely

Wonderful pictures and not just of cheetahs. Great owl, starling (?), elephants, serval!!!, leopard close up, lions and so much more.

You did the right thing about the offending guide. What a mess.

Thanks for sharing all this.

safarimama

This is a wonderful trip report and great pictures.

I agree with Leely; you did the right thing. I'm trying to think of a way to help, as something has to be be done.

sallysaab

Thanks for a great report and fabulous photos, I hope mine turn out half as good.