With my granddaughter--Tanzania's incredible Ngorongoro Crater

view of the Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater is one of the best places in the world to see wild animals.  It was created 2.5 million years ago when a volcano exploded violently, creating a caldera with a surface area of 200 square miles and sides that rise steeply 2000 feet above the crater floor.  The crater has many ecosystems—forest, marsh, savannah, lakes, dry lake beds, grassy hills and heavily forested upper reaches—that encourage a broad diversity of animals to live within it. 

Grants gazelles with baby

While it doesn’t have the range of antelope that you find in the Serengeti, it does have thousands of Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles, wildebeest, and zebra, plus elephants, many hippos, lions and about 2 dozen of the desperately endangered black rhinos.  On earlier visits to the crater, I have seen cheetahs, but they seem to have moved out of the crater.  No one has seen them in several years.  The zebra, wildebeest, gazelles and hippos are permanent residents.  So are most of the other animals, but some of them roam in and out of the crater as they search for food.

Vervet monkey

Last year, my grandson and I saw 40 lions, including one pride of 15 lions, in one day.  We also saw a black rhino in the far distance.  This year, my granddaughter and I saw 22 lions and watched for nearly an hour as a black rhino approached us across the savannah from miles away, crossed in front of the 30 or more vehicles parked to photograph her, and lumbered off into the grassy plain until she became just a faraway dark speck. 

the rare black rhino--a female

We saw her early in the morning when she was quite active. 

the rhino-watchers

Dozens of animal-enthusiasts, were lined up on the dirt track later trying to get a glimpse and fuzzy photo of her, once again just a dark dot on the distant landscape.  I’ve seen black rhinos in the crater 3 times, but never this close, so it was a thrill.

This is a birdwatcher’s paradise also.  There are 430 species of birds in Kenya and Tanzania.  Many kinds of eagles, colorful kingfishers, lilac-breasted rollers (my favorite), so many different vultures.  It is always worth including bird-watching in your animal-viewing because they are beautiful and numerous.  

Martial eagle with kill

With my granddaughter--to the Mara area of the Northern Serengeti

Large crocodile on the bank of the Mara River

The central Serengeti, called the Seronera, is home to so many animals, year round.  Each of the 3 days we were there, we saw lions, cheetahs and leopards.  Elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, baboons and many kinds of antelope are abundant.

giraffes at sunset

We drove north from the Seronera to the Mara River area, on the border with Kenya.  In between, parts of the migration had filled the grasslands and hillsides with animals.  While we saw few zebra and wildebeest as we drove into our camp, the Mara Mara Tented Lodge, by the next morning they had come into the area along with elephants, hartebeest, Thompson’s gazelles, eland, waterbuck and giraffes, so the area began to fill up quickly.

baby hyena with mother

We drove for miles along the Mara River, hoping to see wildebeest crossing, but none of the large herds were interested in moving that day.  “The migration” is a year-round, constant movement as the animals search for greener grass.  “The crossing” is when the wildebeest decide to cross the Mara River one way or the other because they think the grazing is better on the other side.  They can go across once, or several times a day, or a couple of times a season—there is no set habit or time except that it all happens in search of green grass and better grazing.  So, climate change is causing variations in the animals’ timing because the rains may come earlier or later or not at all or last longer or shorter than usual.  This year, in Kenya, they were lasting well into the dry season.

Eland, the largest antelope

The Mara River this year was fast moving because of upstream rains.  It was about 50 to 100 yards wide, generally not too deep, but deep enough that the zebra—good swimmers—had to swim across while the wildebeest—not so good at it—had to struggle to get across.  There are crossing areas that are very rocky where the rapidly moving herd can cause some of the animals to break bones and be carried downstream to waiting crocodiles or low, sandy islands where their bodies get stuck.  Other areas are sandy, some shallow, some not.

the rarely seen, beautiful bushbuck

When a “crossing” is about to occur, a large herd gathers on one bank of the river.  Tourists gather nearby to watch.  Leaders may come down to the water over and over for hours, only to turn back for whatever reason occurs to them.  They may drift off back into the grass to graze for another day or two or a week, or one may finally decide to take the plunge and leap into the river.  At that point, the entire herd swarms into the river as well, many drowning in the melee.  You have to wonder why this same herd might decide to undertake this difficult venture again the same day or several days later. 

Meanwhile, there were a number of lions eating antelope they’d killed earlier in the day.  The stuffed male had eaten first and was asleep with his overflowing belly warming in the sun.  We watched the females ripping apart the rest of the carcass.  Whenever there is a “kill”, vultures, storks, jackals and hyenas are not far away, waiting for their turn at the remains.  A hyena will even drive off a leopard or cheetah to take over their kills before the hunters have had their fair share.

also rarely seen, beautiful reedbuck

The Mara Mara Tented Lodge has a gorgeous view over the hills nearby and valley below.  Park rangers burn the dry grass to allow new shoots to come up in the sunlight, so we watched the fires at night and did not enjoy the smoke during the day.  I think this is an archaic process that certainly contributes to global warming, but they are convinced burning adds nutrients to the soil. 

our tent at the Mara Mara Tented Lodge

In this year-old camp, the tents are quite large and luxurious.  Good food and wonderful staff, but it’s a little too polished for my taste and needs a bit more organization on logistics and training for all the staff.  There are many new camps scattered throughout the Serengeti, so there is some level of bush or luxury for all tastes.  Universally, the staffs are kind, thoughtful and very helpful.

With my granddaughter--lions, leopards and cheetahs!

cheetahs surveying the savannah

Our second day in the Serengeti was what an animal-lover and tourist can only dream of.  We began with watching a lioness resting in the tawny grass, taller than her reclining body so that she was only visible when she moved or stood up, which she soon did.

Cape buffalo mom with her baby

Next were 2 gorgeous cheetah brothers sitting atop an old termite mound surveying the savannah for a future meal.  Later in the day, we came back upon these two cheetahs when they were hunting Thompson’s gazelle, their preferred food.  They were unsuccessful in their hunt, which was disappointing since we’d hoped to watch their spectacular speed as they chased down their prey, but it was a pleasure just to watch them move through the grass so gracefully.

cheetah brothers resting after unsuccessful hunt

In the midst of the cat-watching, we looked at elephant families, full of new babies, huge giraffes, thousands of antelope, herds of Cape Buffalo, Secretary Birds prancing across the landscape and the incredibly beautiful birds, the Lilac-breasted rollers.  Hippos and crocodiles basked in the sunshine until it got too hot and they slithered back into the water (not the hippos—slithering doesn’t quite describe their lumbering, but still rather speedy, movements).

Secretary bird, named for the quills behind its head

The Serengeti is dotted with kopjes, large rock outcrops that are a haven for leopards.  We visited a kopje the day we arrived and saw a leopard hidden behind a cactus high up on the boulders.  But, this day, we watched her for over an hour as she taught her remaining cub (the other one was killed by baboons who eat anything they can get their hands on and prefer to kill baby leopards before they’re big enough to eat the baboons) to climb up the steep rocks.  The two of them perched on top of the highest pinnacle before leaping down to rest on some slabs below.  Such incredibly beautiful animals. 

the beautiful lilac-breaster roller

Later in the day, we saw many more lions—2 males with distended bellies sleeping under an acacia tree, 2 females with even more robust bellies, paws up to the sky, asleep not far from the hippo they’d killed and partially devoured earlier in the day.  My granddaughter had regretted not photographing the remaining 4 legs of a zebra killed by lions in Masai Mara, so she happily took photos of the half-eaten hippo. 

The lioness we had seen earlier in the day was off hunting when we came upon her again.  These are patient hunters, surveying their prey (a herd of Thompson’s gazelles, in this case) before slowly making their way towards the herd.  This lioness walked stealthily, stopping often, sometimes lying down in the tall grass, as she moved towards the gazelles.  Soon, the sentinels noticed her and all the gazelles stopped grazing to watch her approach. 

2 lions eating a wildebeest

It’s unusual for a lioness to hunt alone, so perhaps she had her pride nearby, but we didn’t see any help coming her way.  The nervous gazelles moved about restlessly as she circled them.  Suddenly, there was a stampede of gazelles with the lioness in their midst.  Amazingly, she didn’t get one of them.  Our guide said that lions prefer to stake out one animal and chase down that individual.  If the herd of gazelles or zebras or wildebeest all runs at once, the melee is confusing to the lion, who then has a hard time targeting one to take down.  This lioness seemed trapped in that confusion and missed her opportunity to eat. 

elephant family

Incredibly enough, at the end of the day, we found one of the few black rhinos that are kept in the Serengeti in hopes they will breed and begin to rebuild a black rhino population.  These few animals are closely monitored 24 hours a day by rangers, but are able to roam a large area of the Serengeti.  They are very difficult to find, partly because there are so few of them, partly because the Serengeti is so big, but mainly because they tend to hide if they think anyone or anything is watching them.  This rhino spent most of her time in the deep grass in a river bottom, but we were able to watch her walking through the reeds several times and to clearly see her 2 horns and enormous body (grey, not black).  What a thrill to actually see one of these rare and weird animals.

black rhino (this one in the Ngorongoro Crater)

White rhinos are actually darker than the black ones.  Their name is derived from the Masai word, weit, meaning square lips.  The white rhino’s head is long and looks a bit like a ski jump, with a rectangular mouth that aids its grazing.  The black rhino is really gray and has a shorter head, more pointed, with a rounder mouth better designed for browsing on bushes and low trees.  Both have 2 horns.

hippos sunning themselves

With my granddaughter--Masai Mara to the Serengeti

zebras and elephant at sunset

As my granddaughter and I drove to the air strip near Karen Blixen Camp in Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve, we saw literally thousands of zebra, more than I have ever seen before.  Babies were abundant, so, if the next rainy season is good, there will be many thousands more.  I think we saw at least 10,000 zebra during our 3 days in Masai Mara, stretching as far as the eye could see in massive herds.  The wildebeest with them also number in the many thousands, probably at least as many of them as zebra.  

herd of wildebeest

Instead of flying back to Nairobi, we took a bush plane to a town in Western Kenya where a bus met us to drive to the border between Kenya and Tanzania.  The driver shepherded us through customs and immigration on both sides of the border, a process that took about an hour.  From the border, we drove another 10 minutes to the Tarime airstrip in Tanzania where our bush plane to the Serengeti’s Seronera airstrip awaited us.  This is a much better route than flying or driving back to Nairobi, then flying to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania where clearing customs can mean long lines, before flying on to one of the Serengeti airstrips.  

our plane to the Seronera

It’s very easy to fly around East Africa.  The airlines are set up to manage multiple landings at the many airstrips all over Kenya and Tanzania.  The flight departures and arrivals depend on how many people are going where and how many airstrips each flight must visit.  It’s quite a logistical marvel.  The airlines notify each passenger’s travel agency and camp the night before a departure to let them (and you) know what time to be at the airstrip.  Since there is no customs or security, the plane merely lands, loads you and your luggage—small bags only—and takes off.  The pilots are excellent since they take off and land on dirt or grass runways many times a day.  They can find a tiny airstrip in the midst of the large savannah or forest, distinguish it from dozens of others that look just like it, and deposit you where you need to go.

Since the majority of the zebra and wildebeest had already moved north by late July, the remaining animals in the central Serengeti (Seronera area) had a little more space and grass. 

Thompson's gazelle

I have never seen as many of the beautiful, small Thompson’s gazelles as we did our first afternoon.  We watched a lioness eat a Thompson’s gazelle deep inside a bush, perhaps hiding it from the rest of her pride, and a large male lion snoozing under an acacia tree.  We finally found our leopard, beautifully camouflaged beneath an aloe vera cactus high up on a rock, sleeping off her recent meal.

View from Asanja Moru tented camp

Our first camp in Tanzania was Asanja Africa Moru Tented Camp, far out in the bush in the central Serengeti.  This is much more rustic than Karen Blixen, but still quite luxurious, given its location.  They have to haul their water from Seronera, so work hard to conserve water.  Their electricity is all solar.  The large tents face the golden hillside covered with acacias and wide open to any animal that wanders by.  At night, as in most camps, you need an escort to go to and from dinner in the main lodge, which is also open to the savannah and the stars.  There are no noises except the sounds of the animals and the wind blowing the canvas flaps of the tents.  As with most tented camps (which I much refer to the lodges and hotels), there are no windows, just large screened openings with flaps that can be lowered at night, via zippers, if it’s cold.  The entrance also zips and has canvas flaps.  A curtain separates the bathroom from the sleeping area which has large, comfortable beds and soft fleece robes.  

can you find the leopard sleeping behind the aloe vera?

I have always seen leopards in the Seronera area of the Serengeti and this time was no different.  More on these beautiful cats in my next blog.

Nairobi's great places for kids

Sheldrick's elephant orphanage--this 1 year old LOVED the mud

Last year, I took my 10-year-old grandson to East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, so he could learn about a different part of the world than his California and, now, North Carolina homes and see the magnificent animals that populate the East African savannah.

baby eager for its bottle of formula

This summer, I was back in Kenya with my 9-year-old granddaughter for the same reasons.  We spent 2 days in Nairobi, visiting Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, where orphaned and often injured baby elephants are cared for until they are slowly introduced back into the wild.  This is a highlight for any child, watching the keepers feed enormous bottles of baby formula to the eager babies (up to 3 years of age) and the babies’ frolics in the mud bath that is maintained for their play (the mud also keeps them cool in the heat of summer).

feeding the babies at Sheldrick's

Most of the babies have been found in one of Kenya’s many game reserves, wandering alone.  An elephant herd will try to protect an orphaned baby, but no other female will feed it, so unless it has learned to eat grass and foliage, it will starve.  Sheldrick’s has found that regular baby formula works best for these huge infants.  Slowly, they learn to eat leaves and grass.  When they are 3 and healthy, they are taken to Sheldrick’s sanctuary in one of the reserves and reintroduced to wild elephant life over 5 years.  They gradually go out to meet elephant herds until one admits the young elephant into its family life.  At that point, they are self-sufficient in the midst of the herd and wild once again. 
We also visited the Bomas, an outdoor museum with typical homes and enclosures used by most of Kenya’s tribes.  Some are thatched huts and others are mud and thatch.  There are about 20 different enclosures that show how people live in the countryside.  Both my grandchildren loved ducking into the huts and exploring the different ways people build houses.

a family compound at the Bomas, Nairobi

There is also a cultural performance showing a variety of tribal dances.  Almost all the visitors are Kenyan school children, dressed in their various uniforms and enchanted with one another.  Last year, the program ended with exceptional Masai dancing, which features incredible jumping by the men, and a superb acrobatic exhibition.  This year, the Masai dancing was lackluster and there were no acrobats.  I would not recommend this cultural show as it was very disappointing this year, though I do think the Bomas are worth a visit.
There is also a giraffe sanctuary, which you must visit mid-day when they're feeding the rescued giraffes and several museums.  For kids, a shorter day is better because they (and you) will be tired after a long trip.

Sheldrick's babies at play

Going on safari with a child--10 tips for a wonderful trip

leopard and cub in the Serengeti

Last year, I took my 10-year-old grandson to Kenya and Tanzania.  We spent 12 days in tented camps and a lodge (at the Ngorongoro Crater), in the Kenyan Highlands, Tanzania's fabulous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. 
This summer, I took my 9-year-old granddaughter on a similar trip, but visited Kenya's magnificent Masai Mara rather than the Highlands, which did not have the rich variety of animals that the Masai Mara has.

our tent in Masai Mara

 These two trips have brought me so much joy--traveling with one grandchild by myself, seeing an extraordinary part of the world with each of them.  I feel so incredibly lucky.
I learned a lot about traveling on safari with children, so thought I would share some of my lessons learned.  My granddaughter is a devoted animal-lover who quickly learned the names of many of the birds and all of the  animals we saw.  She loved being an animal spotter, became quite fascinated with the various carcasses provided by the large predators, and enjoyed the scenery. 

silver-backed jackal, a favorite on both trips

My grandson was deep into book 7 of the Harry Potter series and did not want to put his books down, even in the back of a bouncing Land Cruiser.  He loved seeing and photographing all the animals we saw, but was not as interested in spotting them as his sister.
Safaris can involve long drives between camps, sometimes without seeing a lot of animals.  To get around quickly, we also had quite a few flights on the tiny planes that hop around the game parks of East Africa, landing at small airstrips. 
All of this is worth it for the incredible experience of seeing such beautiful animals, some in very large numbers.  I am going to do several more blogs about what my granddaughter and I did and saw this summer, but will start with some suggestions on how to travel happily with a child.
We started both trips with 2 nights in Nairobi since our flights arrived in the evening.  That gave us a chance to have a lazy morning after a long day of travel, visit some of the fun sites for kids (see my next blogs) in Nairobi, and relax in the late afternoon.

a matriarch and her family

1.  Reserve your own vehicle and driver/guide, just for your family.  
I've been in Africa and on safari many times.  The most important thing to me is to have our own vehicle and driver/guide.  In East Africa, we always reserve a pop-top Land Cruiser that lets you stand up, look for game and take photos while having a roof to protect you from too much sun (Southern Africa more often has open vehicles, but you can usually still reserve your own).  With kids, the flexibility of having your own vehicle and guide is a huge bonus because you can decide when and where you want to go and how long you want to stay out looking for animals.
2.  Do not overdo the game drives.  
A full day game drive is a lot for a child.  So, I made sure we did not have 2 long days in a row.  We would spend one full day seeing animals, usually the day we changed camps, and break up the next day with early morning and late afternoon drives, enjoying a long, relaxing break with lunch in camp and time in our tents in between.  That way, kids can take a nap or read their books or play games on their tablets and relax.  I think this is really important since the drives can be very tiring.  Tired children cannot enjoy the experience.

mom and baby--all babies are a big hit

3.  Be very flexible.
My grandson wanted to read Harry Potter during our longer drives and I wanted him to watch for animals.  When I finally figured out that he would enjoy the trip much more if I were just more flexible, we both had a lot more fun.  We worked out a system where he would get 30 to 60 minutes to read while we were driving, but not when we stopped to see animals, and then he would spend 30 minutes spotting animals as we drove.  In camp, he got to do just what he wanted while I edited photos and wrote my blogs.  We both really liked this arrangement.
4.  Spend at least 2 nights at each stop.  Consider spending 3 nights at 1 or 2 stops.  This lets you have a place to return to for mid-day time rest and relaxation.  
On our trips anywhere, we always stay at least 2 nights in one place so we don't have to pack and move every day.  I think this is particularly important when you're on safari, and even more important with a child who needs a place to return to.  With my grandchildren, I spent 3 nights at our first camp.  We all liked coming back to our tent and our beds and our things for a couple of nights.  The rest of the time, we spent 2 nights at each camp.  If we were taking a longer trip, I would add a third night at one of the camps.

waterbuck right outside our room at the Ngogongoro Crater

5.  Don't make the trip too long.  Our trips were 12 days, including travel days.  This was plenty for my grandchildren.  Much as they loved the animals and enjoyed the tents, the guides, the different culture and the experience of being in Africa, 10 days of seeing lots of animals was plenty.  They were ready to go home when it was time to leave (and they're equally ready to go on another adventure).
6.  Take a tablet or similar for each child, loaded with several books they really want to read and a couple of games they love to play.  
My grandson and I had one very delayed flight from the Kenyan Highlands to Nairobi, where we were to catch a bush flight to the Serengeti.  Fortunately, we were at a small airport that had chairs and a little restaurant (with a grilled cheese sandwich).  The airstrips generally have no place to wait except in your vehicle--no guide should ever leave until your plane is in the air.  My grandson had his tablet with his Harry Potter books loaded onto it and some games.  He was perfectly happy curled up in a chair reading and occasionally eating while we waited 4 hours for our plane.  Fortunately, the local airlines going to the game parks (which are excellent) wait for delayed passengers.

zebras are another favorite

7.  A travel pillow in the vehicle can provide a more comfortable nap for a tired child.  
We took small travel pillows which made my grandchildren very happy, along with my fleece jacket draped cozily over their shoulders.
8.  Look for camps that are child-friendly, but don't believe everything they say.  
I took my grandson to a child-friendly camp in the Kenyan Highlands because they advertised lots of activities for kids and the owners have 2 young boys of their own.  The activities were fun when they were available, but required an iron nerve from me because they were a bit risky and under-supervised.  The boys did not always want my grandson to do things with them.  With my granddaughter, our camp in Masai Mara had crafts, walks and games for kids, which she really enjoyed.  So, check them out in the reviews before you reserve.

who wouldn't love a warthog?

9.  Take lightweight binoculars and a simple camera for children.  I found a Canon camera, very simple and lightweight, with a 40x zoom, which was great for photographing animals.
Both my grandchildren are very proud of their photos.  We put them into photobooks and they look at them constantly.  Having their own binoculars gives them the chance to watch all the animals in all their daily activities and lets you enjoy your own viewing with your own binoculars.
10.  Be extremely careful about what you eat and drink.
There's nothing that will destroy a trip faster than being sick.  I was extremely careful about what my grandchildren ate and drank.  Only bottled water to drink and brush teeth.  Only cooked food and peeled fruits and vegetables.  No food at all that might have been washed in unsafe water.  Many camps provide purified water for filling water bottles, which should be fine, but I strongly recommend against eating fresh, unpeeled fruits and vegetables and salads.  And, just in case, take some child-strength Imodium or prescription to relieve the miserable symptoms.  Better not to get sick in the first place.  We returned healthy and happy.
I think safaris can be wonderful for adults and children if you plan carefully and expect to be very flexible.  My grandchildren and I will remember our trips to Africa with so much enthusiasm and pleasure. 

the extremely rare black rhino--meandering across the Crater