Marietta & Markus on the road

Often ignored but really pretty are all the different gazelles here. Just whilst writing this blog I realised, that even I don’t have a lot of fotos of these guys, mostly because our guide only stopped for lions an elephants or upon our request…

😁

Somehow one wouldn’t expect a lake like the Salty lake Magadi in the Savanna. However, it’s there and full of life.

The number of offerent birds here is just amazing.

Sometimes it’s just the breathtaking landscape…

OK, ok, ok, when it comes to lions I’m not a bit better as anyone else, I just love watching these lazy cats. And we’ve seen many of them, some lying in the shade, even under cars…

… others drinking…

… Feeding…

… Stunningly climbing. Yeah, these are not leopards but lions. I’m still amazed, I’ve certainly heard of lions climbing trees, but so far never saw it. Here we go…

And then the all time favorite, lion cubs. Playing around, gnawing on sticks, cuddling, rolling down the little hill, teasing their mum and being all in all just to cute. But no, they are still all there, I’ve restrained from taking one with me…

Even being for severak days on safari we haven’t seen to many dotted cats. No leopard at all and only 3 Cheetahs. Well, with our guide trying to cut all game drives short we were a bit unlucky anyway. I already assumed we got not the best guide in the Serengeti, when he suggested 8 as a starting time for the first morning instead of the usual sunrise time. I just looked slightly shocked at him and insisted on leaving at the first daylight…

However, our first cheetah appeared in the hottest time of the day, sulking in the shade of a tree and not showing much of movements.

The second sighting was far more interesting. Two Cheetahs under a tree in the later afternoon.

Luckily we insisted not being Chineese tourists who want to stay at an animal for the time of one picture only but rather take our time to watch. Furthermore, there was a lonely Thomson gazelle just across the road. And amazingly they started their hung, seeking camouflage behind our vehicle, neaking closer and without any chase or attempt to run off they caught their prey. Crual, but nature and rather exciting to watch.

I damit I just adore this funny striped animals. The zebras with their to short legs, their to round bottom and accurate stripes are just to funny. They appear in big groups and as soon as a vehicle comes closer they always start running, stopp short after and turn aound ti stare at me. Unfortunately inly as long until I focus with my camera, this leads to a hundert of such fotos…

Now and then I get lucky 🙂

But a really great sighting was seeing them going for a drink at the waterwhole.

Since they are really vulnerable whilst drinking it’s a skittish thing, they keep lifting and lowering their heads and even run of and return.

However, no idea how they can stand the smell of the Hippo poop in the pool. I personally wouldn’t enter this water for a million and even less drink it.

There are some animals every tourist wants to see and the famous expression „the big five“ doesn’t really help. Originally meant for the 5 most difficult to hunt and kill the animals nowadays everyone seems to aim to see them on a safari, and not only the tourists but also the guests, lots of pressure for everyone. But, let’s talk about other interesting things like the hyanas. At the latest since „Lion King“ everyone thinks the are ugly and mean. But they are kind of the cleaners of the Savanna, imagine the stink if hyanas and vultures wouldn’t finish of the prey of the cute furry hunters like lions, Cheetahs and leopards.

And see them with their puppies…

Well, after the hyanas it’s usually the task of the vultures to finish off, amazing birds when it comes to size.

No idea why the wharthogs belong to the ugly five. I personally find them cute, especially the young ones.

OK, I admit the Gnu isn’t the most elegant animal in the Serengeti. However, Noone can deny that the mass of these fellows during migration is just impressive. Even I was stunned and these herds currently in Central Serengeti is only the beginning of the yearly wandering of over 1.3 million of gnus over more than 1000 km south to the plains where they head for besser meadows and for calving in February.

I just love to watch this gentle giants feeding on high grass and bushes.

It’s also amazing woh tenderly they protect their calfs. It’s very hard to get a clear picture of a baby elephant because the mothers always hide them behind their massive bodies.