Friday, 19 January 2018

Why the Serengeti belongs on your bucket list



For most people, a Serengeti Safari is one of the items on their bucket list. 

For us, it was our ultimate holiday up until now for two reasons. Firstly, it's undoubtedly  a nature destination second to none. With nature so close to our hearts, it was incredible to experience the Serengeti plains, the great Rift Valley and the Ngorongoro crater in one holiday. Secondly, we were lucky enough to spend our honeymoon there - and what a romantic setting it is!





Serengeti, translated from the Masai language as Endless Plains, gave us exactly what we were looking for in a honeymoon: royal treatment, adventure and relaxation. On a vacation in the Serengeti, you are provided with a personal guide that drives you around every day according to your personal preferances. He organises all your extra excursions like walks or massages and meals, whether it is in the hotel or out in the field, and of course acts as a tour guide. Most guides have game vehicles with a roof that can open up, allowing passengers to stand up straight in the vehicle and turn around 360 degrees, allowing for great game viewing opportunities.

The lodges in the Serengeti are frequently ranked as some of the best in the world, and we now know why. The service and food is excellent and the locations provide magnificent views of the landscape. We stayed at the Lake Manyara Serena Hotel on the way to the Serengeti. Then we spent a night at the Serengeti Sopa Lodge and two nights at Elewana Pioneer camp close to the Seronera valley. We then travelled to the Western Corridor of the Serengeti where we stayed at the Serena Kirawira camp. We then left the Serengeti behind to spend two nights on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater at Serena Ngorongoro Lodge. We ended off the vacation with one last night at the Mount Meru hotel in Arusha. 




Our typical day in the Serengeti started off with an early wake up call to enjoy the sunrise with a cup of coffee, followed by a hearty breakfast. Our driver, Freddy, would then pick us up for our daily game drive across the Serengeti National Park. With his keen eye, we did not miss a thing and he showed us all the most beautiful spots to have lunch. We preferred to spend most of the day exploring the plains and the kopjes (Maasai, Simba, Moru). In the Serengeti it is not uncommon to come across many Wildebeest herds of a few thousand strong more than once a day. We enjoyed standing at the edge of the herd, seeing it stretch as far as the eye can see. Other notable sightings we were lucky enough to see is a lion kill, a beautiful leopard on Maasai kopjes and a majestic elephant Tusker in the Ngoronogoro crater.

The perfect end to our honeymoon was witnessing the amazing views over the crater and I challenge anybody to name a more beautiful view anywhere in the world. We have been to a few island destinationss that are usually most people's first choice for a honeymoon, but the Serengeti was the perfect choice for ours.






The Serengeti will no doubt see us again. Many people have the idea to visit the Serengeti at the age of 50 or 60 as a retirement vacation. We feel that you can’t go soon enough! It is so much fun to be able to hop around in the game viewer to ensure the best view of whichever amazing creatures you see. Make sure that a Serengeti safari is not only on your bucket list, but that you tick it off as soon as possible.

#theluckytravellers

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