Starting the new year in the Serengeti

I honestly don’t know how I’m going to cull my photos for this blog entry. We saw so many amazing things that it’s going to be hard to do.

We were very happy to have Elizabeth and Sevn finally arrive after cancelled flights and long travels. If they enjoyed the safari half as much as I did, then I think they’ll go home happy. For me the trip was momentous because after a year of living here (plus a safari pre-move), I finally (!!!) got my leopard sighting..and not one sighting, but two in one day. We also saw more lions than I’ve ever seen before. Other highlights included the hyena that walked right next to our tents one night, the elephants mating, the young elephants practice fighting, the baby elephants, the gorgeous views, celebrating Sevn’s birthday (twice) and all of the great family time.

Marabou Stork at Ngorongoro Farm House

View from Ngorongoro Crater Rim

Maasai cultural tour included going into one of the bomas

Lions, lions, and even more lions

Nursing mamas with their babies

You can tell how rare it is to see a leopard because the word spreads quickly and safari vehicles come out from everywhere. She was beautiful and walked right next to our car.

Then we saw another (more private viewing) later that evening.

Elephants of every shape and size (!): mamas, big daddies, babies, and teenagers practicing their fighting skills. Also, one poor elephant who had lost part of it’s trunk (snare?)…she was having a hard time eating, but seemed healthy.

Hyena that hardly seem dangerous while taking a snooze in a puddle

We went out with Thomson Safaris again and specifically requested the same guide, John, that we had before. The kids ran up and jumped into his arms when they first saw him – very sweet.

Happy New Year to everyone that we couldn’t celebrate with this year!