‘Prepare your cameras, keep your eyes open and shout if you see someone coming! ‘
‘What are you gonna…’ My heart stops for a few seconds while he drives the jeep off road and straight into the endless savannah. It’s past 6 pm and park rules don’t even allow us to be driving around anymore, but full rainbows and almost pitch black silhouettes of trees against deep yellow and orange skies have made us loose track of time.
‘Shouldn’t we close our windows?!? ‘ … Silence…
This moment is what we came for. The two lions are standing so close to the jeep we could touch them, but we sense there’s no need to be scared. We aren’t. And neither are they. It’s magical.
Note: don’t be that stupid tourist who ACTUALLY tries to touch the animals, keep your arms and everything else inside the jeep!!
A safari in Serengeti national park
We’d left the camp site near Lake Manyara earlier that day and drove for a few hours before arriving at our camp for the night, inside the Serengeti. Dust had been the main theme of the ride, as dry season had arrived and there was not a drop of rain in sight. After dropping off our tents and luggage, it was time to get back out there, and take it a bit more pole pole – slowly.
We head out into the ‘endless plains’ (*) of the majestic Serengeti singing ‘Can you feel the love tonight’. Little do we know exactly how much love we’re about to get… (**)
(*) Serengeti means ‘endless plains’ in Maasai language. / (**) Disney’s Lion King was inspired by the Serengeti.
I get the best seat in the car, right next to the driver. It doesn’t take me long to open the roof, stand up on my seat and enjoy the show with a lot of dust the wind in my hair and the afternoon sun burning softly caressing my skin. #AllWorthItThough
The afternoon views are close to perfect, but as sunset approaches, it becomes nature’s best all together in one place. The sky turns from an almost threatening dark blue to bright purple, and as if the full double rainbow wasn’t enough, we get a lion walking right into it, and another one sitting in a tree…
As the sun sets, the sky’s on fire, and two more lions willingly pose right in front of it (look closely, there’s another one a bit further back). It’s past 6 pm and park rules don’t even allow us to be driving around anymore, but we’ve completely lost track of time.
‘Prepare your cameras, keep your eyes open and shout if you see someone coming! ‘
‘What are you gonna…’ My heart stops for a few seconds while he drives the jeep off road and straight into the endless savannah. The lions get so close to the jeep we could touch them. It’s the perfect end of an already unbelievable day.
The next morning we wake up early for a sunrise drive, before leaving the park and heading to Ngorongoro crater for our last day. It’s cold but we don’t care. If day two’s half as perfect as day one, we’ll consider ourselves the luckiest girls in the world. We open the roof, start driving and quickly discover that yes, you CAN get THIS lucky 2 days in a row…
The first rays of sun turn the dry grass into gold and warm us up slowly. We spot them shortly after. The male carelessly showing off his manliness, the female tirelessly trying to impress him. It’s a game of seduction, of push and pull, of not giving up, and while reality is probably less romantic than the image in our imagination, we can’t help but just stand there and dream of everlasting love.
It goes on for more than 30 minutes before they decide to leave. Another male lion is approaching from far and the nearby rocks offer better shelter. The male takes the lead, and it’s almost as if he’s inviting us to follow them. Another 30 minutes pass by as we advance slowly, but we don’t get bored for even a second. ‘Can you feel the love tonight today?‘ How could we not??
But our luck’s not over yet. A bit later we run into a whole group of lion cubs and their mothers, and right before we leave the park we spot a leopard jumping out of a tree. Big 5, 4 down, 1 left, with 1 day to go! With our fingers crossed for rhinos tomorrow (there are no rhinos in Lake Manyara or the Serengeti so our only chance to spot them will be Ngorongoro crater), we leave the Serengeti.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST TWO DAYS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
The scenery of the Serengeti is stunning, but mother nature’s show of rainbows, picture-perfect skies, animals showing up at exactly the right time and jaw-dropping sunrises and sunsets made it indescribable. It feels like there’s even more dust than when we arrived, but the only theme of this ride is gratitude.
A Serengeti safari - practical
Famous for its migration of wildebeest and zebras, the Serengeti covers and area of about 30.000 km² in the north of Tanzania. It is without doubt my favorite park of the ones I visited in Tanzania (Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro), and one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen.
Budget travelers often choose to skip it because entrance fees are higher than those of other parks and getting there is quite costly too as it’s far from any city and you have to drive through Ngorongoro. This means you have to pay the entrance fee for Ngorongoro, and you have to pay it again when you actually visit this park, or when you drive back in case you choose not to visit it.
My idea about this? Whatever you do, don’t skip the Serengeti! Skip ANY other park if you’re on a tight budget, but go to the Serengeti! #EnoughSaid
There’s several options to visit, according to your budget and time, but a combination of a sunset visit on day 1 with a sunrise drive the day after is just perfect! Depending on the time of the year you can witness the migration of the wildebeest, but you might need to go much further into the park, in which case you’ll need several days in total.
For more general safari information, head to my post about Lake Manyara, and stay tuned for more safari fun from Ngorongoro crater.
THOUGHTS? QUESTIONS? SEE YOU IN THE COMMENT SECTION!!
Disclaimer: this safari was fully paid for by yours truly and opinions are my own and straight from the heart, as always.
94 Comments
Hi,
Thanks for sharing! Your photos are amazing!!! Looking forward to more!
I can’t wait to hit there myself!
Wow! It seems like a place out of a film! Amazing photo gallery. Tanzania is definitely on my bucket list!
I went to Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti for my honeymoon and OMG IT IS SO AMAZING I NEED TO GO BACK !!! (hahah) I love it!! Great photos you got!!
Great article and amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing it Liesbeth!
Thanks Francisco!
This is amazing! What operator did you use?
These little gems look amazing, adding them to our visit list! Thanks for sharing
Wow! Sounds like a great safari. You were so fortunate to have spotted the lions, too! I am yet to spot a tiger or a lion in my life. Beautiful pictures.
wow, These are really very awesome photographs. I have heard about this National park many times. Thanks for sharing them.
Safari is definitely on my bucket list. I’ve been doing some pricing up and planning and your post helped me loads – thanks 🙂
Wow! Great post and amazing photos! I admire your bravery and I cannot imagine myself going on such an adventure. Anyway, really awesome photos and I enjoyed them very much. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing these photographs and your experience of this awesome National park. I will surely gonna visit this park. Last but not the least, these are really very lovely photographs.
This is such a great place to visit
These photographs are having power which can make anyone hypnotize. These are very beautiful photographs of wildlife creatures. Thanks for sharing them with us.
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This is so helpful. It’s certainly gave me some extra ideas for my upcoming trip x
OMG! What awesome pics, I want your life, this is simply amazing.Keep coming these blog posts, they give me life.
Tanzania is indeed beautiful, I hope to visit someday.
I’ve traveled to more than a dozen countries in Africa and I still haven’t been to the Serengeti. I need to add it to my bucket list.
That picture of the male lion with his mouth open is amazing!
Lesley
This is a fantastic account of the Serengeti with great photos. I enjoyed it. Thanks. – Jim
Loved the photographs of the lion and specially the lioness perched on the tree… Visiting Tanzania is in my bucket list and I intend to visit in next 2 years max…
Such a beautiful place. Bet the experience is awesome.
Great article and amazing pictures, Thank you!
It’s my dream to visit Serengiti! Beautiful pictures and love your story!
Hi Liesbeth
Thank you so much for your lovely article. It really help for every tourists.
keep it on writing.
Wow, this is amazing, but I’d be scared being so close to the animals! I love all your photos, this place is beautiful!
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I have been to Tanzania, but it looks like I have missed something very important. Need to come back!
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Thank you very much for sharing these beautiful photos. I have been to Kenya for safari. I guess Serengeti is amazing too
Hi! we are headed to the serengeti in September – cannot wait!
I would love to know the lenses you used while you traveled there – I’m trying work out if the one i have is long enough (up to 420mm full frame equivalent!)
These are some amazing pictures! I can’t believe you could spot so many lions just like that. I mean I have never ever spotted a lion or a tiger even in a jungle! Tanzania is on my radar now. Thanks for this virtual safari!
Wow, I bet that must have felt like a proper welcome to Africa! I’d love to hang out with some lions, I think my cats have fairly big yawns so I can only imagine what a lion’s would be like.
Do you know where you’re going next? I hope you’ll find your way to South Africa at some point, the sand boarding there is soo much fun.
Hello Lisbeth, thank you for your nice article and lovely photos, I would like to invite you to come to Uganda, to see the last remaining wild mountain gorillas.
I second you on getting everyone to visit this place. Serengeti National Park is one of the very best in the world. And your photos do so much justice to this place. Thanks for highlighting it.
Oh man I am so jealous. I have to do this now.
Amazing! Africa is one of my favorite reasons in the world. And the main reason is Safaris. I love nature. Your travel story and photos have made my heart ache. I want to go back!!!
Great article and those pictures are amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Nice article…
Wow! What a magical experience. I’d love to be able to do something like that someday.
Lovely blog..Loved reading your articles.
Hey
Very informative article about tanzania.
I have been on a safari in Serengeti National Park and it is stunningly beautiful! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Serengeti, to the best of my knowledge, is one of the wildest forests on the planet. Just amazed to see your super experience among those wild creatures. And honestly, I want to see more wildcat pictures. Enjoy
I have heard so much about Serengeti and your photos just affirm all the amazing stories I have heard
Tanzania is always fascinating for a wildlife explorer. A land where lions and giraffes roaming freely. It’s a rare opportunity to meet the animals in their original habitat. Your post covers it all.
Wow wow!! your blog always high in my mind..amazing photos..Nice content..please share your more experiences..
Awesome photos! Is impossible not to fall in love with Africa 🙂
omg i am jealous after reading this post want to go tanzania right now , nice post
Excellent blog post, and thank you for sharing some very helpful thoughts!!! Best of luck with your travels
The photos are amazing, especially the first rainbow one, truly breathtaking. Serengeti seems like an awesome safari.
Wow..I simply loved the pictures..They are simply amazing…It was breathtaking !!
These photographs are really very nice and amazing, I love to visit Serengeti and just want to do this Safari. Glad to see them.
Nice Post.
Just wow! My mum is from Tanzania and I’ve never visited so this has made me want to visit next year for sure!
Aaaauwh thanks! And karibu Tanzania!!
Hello Lili, this safari is already in my bucket list. Hoping I can have the time to do it. Thanks
Omg those all pictures are supperb, fantastic, awesome…
your are blogger and photographer too… keep it up..
Supperb,awesome article, thanks for sharing
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Wow, INCREDIBLE photos! I would love to have seen that gorgeous lion in real life. What a wonderful experience.
Wow Lili, I just can’t get enough of your adventure in this safari, especially your photos. They are all amazing.
I love wildlife captured in photos. Always a win in my book!
Hey, awesome Article. Keep it coming. Read 2 blog of yours today. Liked both.
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Nice nice article. Btw have you read about Daringabadi?
Baranti is a similar place in Purulia India. Nice article.
Lovely photos, absolutely beautiful wildlife!
Are you the photographer too? Awesome pics
Yes I am! Thank you
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Great read keep it up
Awesome.
Very good
Really interesting. I wish I were there.
Wow! What an amazing experience! Love your photos 🙂
A safari adventure! I have always dreamed of going into one! Your photos are so nice its like you have taken me there through your pictures, amazing!
Thank you so much Jade!!
Supperb,awesome article, thanks for sharing
The photos are really stunning. It could literally be featured in famous animal channels, whoa. Just by these pictures, even words can’t justify the beauty of this place. Wow, just wow, Lili!
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Nice pictures.
Thank you for your post. your one of the best photographer in the world.
The photos are really stunning. It could literally be featured in famous animal channels, whoa. Just by these pictures, even words can’t justify the beauty of this place. Wow, just wow, Lili!
Excellent article and wild animals pictures are amazing! You can watch lions at Gir Jungle
great picture and content about the place and i just loved your blogs
Baloons and gerafe in header of this site remind me of my first trip to africa.)
Amazing, thanks for sharing with us this wonderful article
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Just Awesome Lili! Great insight and photos. I can see why you are ranked as one of the top must have blogs to subscribe to. We did the National Geographic gig last year and your insights are spot on. If your ever in our neck of the woods look us up.
Tanzania is the place to be if anyone from USA looking flights for Africa we do best airfares do contact.
Tanzania was never on my list, but you make it sound like a wonderful place to explore. And you got too take so many great pictures of lions. I only got to do that at the zoo.
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It’s a Great article and amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing about Tanzania National Park.
That’s so great, thanks for sharing !
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Some great photos! And amazing tips, i can say i am always too focused on taking pictures of the moment rather than actually looking at it