Chapter Twelve: Leopards, Lions & the African Storm

Into the Endless Serengeti

Wildebeest wandered around the area near camp.

Vultures rested high in the trees.

In the distance were hills that our guide explained were toward the Kenyan border.

Only then do you begin to understand the scale of this ecosystem.

The Serengeti National Park itself covers roughly 5,700 square miles in Tanzania, while the broader Serengeti ecosystem extends across northern Tanzania toward Kenya’s Maasai Mara.

This enormous connected wilderness supports one of nature’s greatest spectacles: the Great Migration, involving roughly 1.5 million wildebeest along with hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles moving in search of water and fresh grazing.

But statistics don’t adequately describe the Serengeti.

You understand its size only when you stand inside it.

The horizon seems to have no end.

Giraffes stood above the plains like watchtowers.

Zebras mingled with wildebeest.

Large antelopes grazed nearby.

Elephants moved slowly in the distance.

And then something else began moving toward us.

Dark clouds.

Rain had not been part of our plan.

Apparently, nobody had informed the Serengeti.

We decided to keep moving.

And that decision paid off.

The Leopard Under the Tree

Our guide suddenly spotted something beneath a tree.

A leopard.

A magnificent leopard was resting quietly in the shade.

Cameras came out instantly.

Other safari vehicles eventually began arriving as guides shared the sighting over their radios.

Soon our leopard realized it had become the afternoon celebrity.

Apparently unimpressed with its growing audience, it slowly stood, walked away from the exposed area and settled somewhere quieter.

I could almost imagine what it was thinking:

Can a leopard get some privacy around here?

After spending time watching it, we continued.

And then our guides found something even more extraordinary.

Our First Pride

Seven lions.

Four cubs.

Three lionesses.

One by one, they appeared walking down a hill.

And for a while, there were no other safari vehicles around.

It felt like a private premiere arranged exclusively for us.

We stopped.

They kept coming.

Closer.

And closer.

The cubs played with one another and with their mothers. Some stopped to rest. Others wandered curiously around.

Soon they were within ten feet of our vehicle.

Then even closer.

At moments, lions passed only a couple of feet away.

The remarkable thing was not simply their proximity.

It was their complete indifference to us.

They didn’t appear frightened.

They didn’t appear aggressive.

They barely seemed to acknowledge that we existed.

We were simply another object in their landscape.

Watching lion cubs playing beside their mothers at such close range was one of those experiences you know, even while it is happening, will remain with you forever.

And then the Serengeti gave us some comedy.

Tom and Jerry — Serengeti Edition

Suddenly, two lionesses began chasing a much smaller cat.

What followed looked like a scene from an African version of Tom and Jerry.

The little cat was chased, harassed and knocked around while desperately trying to escape two animals many times its size.

Whatever the lionesses’ intentions were, I am fairly certain the little cat considered the situation a life-threatening emergency.

Then cleverness won.

The cat spotted a small hole and disappeared inside.

The lionesses searched.

Nothing.

You could almost see the frustration on their faces.

The little survivor had won this round.

Between the leopard and our extraordinary encounter with the pride, we felt our day’s mission had already been accomplished.

But the Serengeti wasn’t finished.

Racing the African Storm

The clouds that had been following us were becoming darker.

Our camp was roughly 45 minutes away.

Time to move.

Before the rain arrived, we caught a spectacular sunset—the sinking sun fighting through dark storm clouds and painting the sky in extraordinary shades.

Then the heavens opened.

Heavy rain transformed the tracks into water and mud.

Our Land Cruiser suddenly became less safari vehicle and more amphibious assault vehicle.

The tires slipped.

Water covered parts of the track.

Mud flew.

And somehow the Land Cruiser kept going.

Our tour director and driver lowered the protective covers around the vehicle to keep us dry. In doing so, they became soaked themselves.

We were extremely grateful.

Eventually, through the darkness and rain, we arrived safely back at camp.

Dinner followed, along with the traditional recap of another unbelievable day.

Then everyone headed back to their tents.

But before sleeping, there was one critical piece of planning for the next morning.

What time would you like your Talking Shower?

Priorities.