Mama Laurel here…

This morning Elaine was feeling better than yesterday & joined us for breakfast, but Kevin and Nick weren't feeling too well. We set off anyway into the Serengeti National Park, but after an hour or so had to turn around to bring Kevin back as he was really unwell. Nick opted to continue with us and seemed to be on the improve… well, until lunch time anyway, then he really started going downhill and was quite unwell by the time we returned at 6pm. Other than that, the day was great!

We headed into the heart of the Serengeti plains. We were so surprised to see the country change to absolutely flat grassland with virtually no trees at all. There was the odd outcrop of large rock formations but that was about it… rolling grassland as far as the eye could see! (How different to the Western Corridor where we are staying - it has the grassland but lots of Acacia trees and bushes). On the way we passed through the wildebeest migration… they are heading south at this time of the year and it was just like in the documentaries, with a huge column of wildebeest & zebra moving across the plains… the column just kept coming & coming! Apparently the wildebeest and zebra like to stay together as the zebra have great eye sight & the wildebeest have a great sense of smell so they complement each other in detecting predators. We also saw a male ostrich moving along with 12 chicks in his wake. Once we reached the heart of the Serengeti we were in lion country - and we weren't disappointed! Our first sighting was of an older and younger male snoozing under a tree. Not far away were three lionesses with their two cubs. We were within a few metres of each, which was pretty amazing! Then a larger, older male lion lying by the waterhole. And to our delight, we found a very beautiful young lion & lioness lying atop a large rock outcrop. They proceeded to come down and mate on the plain at its base… a very special event for us to witness. And… he was a wonderful lover… biting her lovingly on the neck and whispering 'sweet nothings' in her ear throughout, then lying next to her with their paws touching afterwards. Not far away was the rest of his harem… 3 lionesses with 7 cubs. The cubs were all having a wonderful time tumbling over their mothers and play fighting, and the mums were so wonderful with them… it was a joy to watch!

Throughout the day we saw numerous other animals, as well as a couple of new ones we hadn't seen before - squirrels and a hyrax. On the way home we came across a group of 3 cheetahs, which is a little unusual as they are normally solitary animals, but we think these ones were siblings. They are such slender and graceful animals… it is 'beauty in motion' to watch them! By this time it had started to rain so we "headed for home". The going was pretty tough as the tracks turn very quickly to mud with the rain, and it was only due to the fourwheeling skill of Anton (our Tanzanian driver), that we made it without being bogged. Well done Anton!

Quote of the day - from John after watching the lions mating "I actually thought the lion was growling, but if you girls say he was whispering 'sweet nothings', then that's fine."

Sunny/Late Rain 26deg; Altitude 1,850m