
Manyara Ranch and Tarangire National Park





Ngorongoro Crater






Southern Serengeti and Njozi Ndutu Camp





We drive out onto the open plains, coming across a single male cheetah hidden low in the bushes, and then Deo and Sosy find the two males we have been looking for: Coffee and Milk, brothers to our girl Sugar. Coffee and Milk are in a coalition and we hope to see them hunt. We spend a few hours watching them sleep in between driving to other areas nearby where we see wildebeest (including calves) jumping over a gully and being circled by hyenas who attempt an unsuccessful hunt.







Njozi Camp staff and wildlife biologists with TWS guides and group.
Masai Mara and Enaidura Camp

Upon arrival at Enaidura, we are met by the Maasai staff with a traditional song and dance and escorted to our tents along the Talek River. We head out for a game drive that evening, the highlight being a visit to the river to watch dozens of hippos splash, grunt, snort, yawn and wake up for the evening to get out of the water and feed on grass. There are a multitude of young hippos, and it’s paradoxical to imagine how something so tiny as a baby hippo can become so massive as an adult. The sunset on the way back to camp takes our breath away, and we feel the magic of the Mara landscape.















The matriarch turns abruptly toward a lion nearby and stampedes at him, chasing him all the way down the hill with her calves in tow. She trumpets and bellows as she charges after him; her anger is palpable and relatable as she chases him away from her lost family member. He circles back and ends up near the carcass again, and she continues to chase one lion after another, about four times, before she takes the calves and moves into a wooded area away from the carcass. My adrenaline pumps at what we have just witnessed, and the interaction is seared in my mind and heart. Later that night around the campfire, we all agree that it has been a highlight of this safari, and of our lives.


