Channeling my inner Def Leppard

And not just because of the fortuitous pun on "leopard."  I'm thinking of the chorus to their 1987 hit: "And I want / And I need / And I love / Animal."  Because if it's animals you want, need, and love, the Serengeti has got you covered.

[Endless hippos, my absolute fave critter in Africa.]

"Serengeti" means "Endless plains" in Swahili, which pretty much sums it all up.  It's about 6000 square miles of grasslands, with very few roads in very small number intruding into its grassy expanse.  Given the large numbers of visitors to the park each year, I asked my driver about why the government did not improve the roads--single-lane dirt tracks bucked with potholes, seasonal washouts, and spontaneous irruptions.  He told me that the road conditions keep out poachers.  The roads are virtually impassable unless you have one of these purpose-built Land Rovers, with extra-high clearance and snorkels for flash flooding.

[That's me on the left, out the observational pop-top. Man, I'd love one of these rides, but like the poachers, I'm priced out.]

My Subaru definitely couldn't handle the Serengeti.  But one of those Land Rovers runs to over $150,000, far beyond the socioeconomic capacities of the standard poacher.  So potential evil-doers just can't really get in there to be dastardly. As with the N'gorogoro Crater, limited human entry means that the place belongs to the animals. And in the Serengeti, there is a more visible predator presence than in the crater.  Lions, cheetahs, and--yes--leopards are everywhere.  People are not permitted to leave their safari vehicles because the lions are just hanging out all over the place.  Staying at the bush camp, a cluster of heavy canvas tents deep in the heart of the park, I was not allowed to walk between my sleeping tent and the dining tent without an armed guard, and the sound of lions roaring haunted the camp all night long.  It was a bit surreal, but also sublime.  

[Thwarted picnic lunch: table already occupied]

[Lions just hanging out in the tree, like big kitties. Or killer fruit.]

I spent 2 days in the Serengeti, and saw, again, a mindblowing array of wildlife.  Would I do it again?  Well, after 2 full days (12 hours+) getting bounced around in the big jeep, unable to exit the vehicle, I think I'd had my fill.  But what a revelatory landscape.  I was so amazed to see in the Serengeti a realm where human interference has been kept to a minimum, allowing the proverbial circle of life to do its thing.