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Day 13 (9th August 2025) We reached the rim of the crater at about 11am after a long drive back through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation area from early this morning. To descend into the caldera there is one road down and one road up and it takes about 20 minutes winding down the steep…
Day 13 (9th August 2025) As we slowly made our way out of the Serengeti on penultimate game drive of the trip we came across three huge male lions – brothers. They were on the move, slowly walking in a line across the open grassland. They would occasionally stop, survey the land around them and…
Day 11 (7th August 2025) The route to the Serengeti requires a bit of grit and determination. Once you have exited the rim of Ngorongoro crater you weave your way down the steep hillsides to the flat plains below of the Ngorongoro Conservation area. This is a mixed land use area with the Maasai living…
Day 12 (8th August 2025) This afternoon we had a talk at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute which has a small campus in the Seregenti. Our speaker was a wildlife expert called Ellen who is working on 2 projects – one for lion’s which is well-established and a new project that she has started herself…
Day 12 (8th August 2025) We got to see some really cool lion behaviour today. It’s great to see the animals when they are resting as it gives you an opportunity to get really up close and grab some amazing pictures. But it is even better when they are doing something and you can learn…
Day 12 (8th August 2025) The last of the big 5 we had not yet seen until today was the elusive leopard. Our guide had managed our expectations that this animal was going to be tricky to spot but that we would try our best. It’s not just a matter of luck – these animals…
Day 11 (7th August 2025) We had the most incredible first afternoon in the Serengeti. Our home for the next 2 nights was going to be Tortillis Camp in the Central Serengeti, within the Seronera region. But we would first explore the grassland areas on the way there, for a couple of hours. This area…
Day 11 (7th August 2025) Oldupai Gorge (this is the correct spelling and not Olduvai) is one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world. It is located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and we arrived about 1.5 hours after leaving the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Not every tourist stops here. Some continue on…
Day 11 (7th August 2025) To get to the Serengeti Plains in Northern Tanzania you must travel up and over the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. This includes everyone – not just tourists heading off for safari, but big buses full of locals heading to Northwest Tanzania beyond the Serengeti and truck drivers maneuvering goods…
Day 10 (6th August 2025) The entrance to Lake Manyara National Park is just a short 5 minute drive from Mto Wa Mbu. One of the big differences between Kenya and Tanzania is that there is no fencing around the parks and reserves in Tanzania. The animals are free to wander where they want which…
Day 10 (6th August 2025) Our first stop today was to the town of Mto Wa Mbu. It is a couple of hours drive from Arusha and sits at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment and close to Lake Manyara National Park. It is on the main route to Ngorongoro Crater and the…
Day 9 (5th August 2025) I have now arrived in Tanzania and will be here for the next 9 days. We travelled from Nairobi to Arusha (where most northern circuit safaris start) with a quick 1 hour plane ride this morning. The highlight of the flight was spotting Mount Kilimanjaro so clearly out of the…
Day 8 (4th August 2025) As I near the end of my time in Kenya there is still so much wildlife to talk about. The ecosystem of the places we have visited is finely balanced and all the flora and fauna play a key role in maintaining that balance. If you didn’t have the scavengers…
Day 7 (3rd August 2025) Each year, over 1.5 million wildebeest, and hundreds of thousands of zebra and antelope make the journey from the Serengeti in Tanzania into the Maasai Mara in Kenya and back again. The animals follow the rainfall that nourish the grasslands. The spectacle happens between late July to September each year…
Day 7 (3rd August 2025) The Maasai Mara is one of the world’s most iconic and well-known wildlife destinations. The golden savannah is absolutely teaming with animals across large swathes of jaw-dropping scenery. It forms part of the Maasai Mara-Serengeti ecosystem that spans across both Kenya and Tanzania. The rolling hills and open grassland landscape…
Day 6 (2nd August 2025) Immediately after we left the three brothers, we found ourselves at another kill site. Two lionesses had also killed a wildebeest and again we must have just missed the kill as the lions were taking a rest before they tucked in. We think they might have been might slightly younger…
Day 6 (2nd August 2025) On our first trip out into the Maasai Mara we were so lucky to see three cheetah brothers who had just killed a wildebeest. We missed the kill action itself, and as we arrived the first cheetah that we saw was taking a well-earned rest and catching his breath. Initially…
Day 6 (2nd August 2025) Today we have driven from Lake Naivasha to our new home in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. We will spend 2 nights here at newly re-built Fig Tree Camp which sits right along the edge of a river. The first couple of hours drive was along the main highway that…
Day 5 (1st August 2025) New day, new adventure! We have now moved to a camp on the edge of beautiful Lake Naivasha. This rift valley lake is fresh water and an open basin, so it has both inflow and outflow of water. Similar to the other rift valley lakes it has a huge range…
Colette's Grand Detour 