World famous Serengeti National Park. Its name in maasai means "the wide endless plains". Everything about this place is big. The sheer number of animals(2800+ lions, 1.25million wildebeest and zebra to name but a few), the sheer size and area of the Ecosystem (25,000km2), the number of people drawn here every year(100 000+), the amount of money that it generates(hundreds of milliions of US$) and the range of emotions that it evokes (appreciating that the cycle of life here is absolute. Even lion cubs, cute as they are, are at the mercy of others).

But we were very surprised to see that our land rover contained what it did. We were expecting some roll up mattresses and a small A frame tent. Nope. We got a behemoth of a tent that had its own sheltered porch area for our bags and a bedroom for two beds complete with pillows, sheets and blankets. Adbul and Doudi got the same! Fires were made and meals taken at the dining room table and we were served three course meals! Amazing!

Game drives were fantastic as always with so much to see. Too many people rush from seeing one thing to another and tick their boxes. But the real pleasure is watching long after the others have left and seeing the "cameo" performances a little patience usually always delivers. We almost catch a catfish on the weir, we saw a cheetah attempting to hunt some thompson gazelles, we saw abandoned lion cubs, a leopard finish eating and then leaping into a tree to sleep it all off, we saw hippos in their own pool not more than 6 feet away, we saw lions drink together and groom each and we had tree hyraxs try and snuggle up to us and cox some popcorn away from us.Magic!

But the landscapes are the backdrops where this all happens and it is equally impressive! The grass seas are exactly that with granite kopjies sticking out of the plains like islands. But the hills are are alive with savanah and the Western Corridor to Lake Victoria is almost all woodland.It is truly an impressive place, one that deserves at least one visit in a lifetime and for as long as possible. Read and research a little beforehand, and you will be immensely enriched thereafter! Like the Grizmeks said, "The Serengeti shall not die!" and amen to that!