re: Four Seasons Serengeti

Well, we just returned from our trip and all I can say is "WOW!" I'll post some pictures, but will give a rundown of what we did so hopefully that will help someone else.

Flew in to Kilimanjaro Airport late, around 10:30pm and had a driver take us to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for the night. This was a pretty nice resort and I think if we had more time, would have taken their coffee tour. Then caught the bush plane over to Seronera where our game driver picked us up. He had a bush picnic set up for us upon arrival. We then drove to the resort which took about an hour, but we were able to see elephants, a cheetah, tons of antelope and African buffalo.

We then participated in a walking safari which I thought was a really cool experience. I'm a hunter, so I know about tracks and whatnot, but these guys went into great detail. We had a small heard of African buffalo that we were able to observe and then had a leopard jump down out of a tree that none of us had seen about 100 yards away. Luckily, there are two game wardens with AK-47s on the walk with you. At the end of the walk, we had opted for the Bush dinner. They had a table set up for my wife and me with our own chef and a preset menu. All of the food we had was amazing.

The next day, we did an all day game drive in the Serengeti and saw basically everything except the Black rhino. We came upon a group of lions that had made a fresh kill. The three males had finished eating when we got to the site, but the lioness was still feasting on the buffalo. There was a large group of hyenas that started to close in and they actually shared the carcass with the lioness. Unreal. Another Bush picnic, and then the afternoon game drive.

The next day, we did an all day game drive to the Ngorongoro Crater. While on the way there, we came across the Great Migration. I had an idea of what to expect from what I've read and the pictures I've seen but neither of those do it justice. Just literally as far as the eye could see in all directions were zebras, antelopes, wildebeests, and warthogs (pumbas). I'll include a couple of pictures. We had the opportunity to stop at the Maasai Tribe village and see their traditional dance and to visit the inside of their hut. Talk about being appreciative for what we have. My bathroom at home is larger than their entire hut which consists of two tiny beds made of mud and sticks and a tiny kitchen that just has a few rocks for the fireplace. In the crater, we were able to see all of the same animals in addition to some flamingos and the elusive black rhino.

The next day we did the hot air balloon safari first thing In the morning. This was a really interesting perspective of observing the animals from above. Saw some elephants, fox, buffalo, antelope. Had a bush brunch after and then just relaxed at the hotel. The nice part about the hotel, is the giant watering hole just behind the swimming pool. Due to this being the wet season and the Serengeti was very green due to all the rain, we didn't get to observe any of the animals at the site but they usually have elephants and zebras regularly.

This is definitely a trip I would recommend for everyone even if the Four Seasons seems a bit over the top, there are plenty of other places to stay nearby that are reasonably priced. The game drives are just incredible as you are driving down the road, and you look on you left and there are ten giraffes 20 feet away and then you look to the right and there are 3 elephants 30 yards away. Just unbelievable.

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