Travel in Tanzania: Grumeti Wildlife Reserve and Serengeti National Park

Posted on by Megan G

Grumeti Wildlife Reserve is at the northwest corner of Tanzania, and was our entryway into the great Serengeti National Park.

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Grumeti Wildlife Reserve

While driving through Grumeti, we spotted hoofed mammals, including zebra, gazelle, giraffe, waterbuck, topi, and wildebeest.DSC_9928

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Grant’s Gazelle

Sometimes I wonder who is staring at who. 😛DSC_9585

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Maasai giraffe
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Wildebeest
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Waterbuck
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Topi

We also spotted various predators, like cheetah, lion, black-backed jackal, and even a few lazy hyenas.

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male lion
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cheetah with cubs
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Black-backed Jackal
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hyena

These blue and black cloths are used to trap Tsetse flies.DSC_9722Feel free to click this link to learn more about the Grumeti Wildlife Reserve. 🙂

https://singita.com/region/singita-grumeti/
From there we made our way to the famous Serengeti National Park. 16422574_10106346151737927_3203258011642600548_oSerengeti stands for ‘endless plains’ and this national park is best known as the location for the world’s largest animal migration.DSC_9756During the great migration, millions of animals can found frantically moving among the masses, as well as, slowly staggering single file across the open plain.

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wildebeest in the great migration

Serengeti National Park

The stunning Serengeti sure did not disappoint our group, as in less than 24 hours, we were able to spot nearly 30 lions! Check out the crazy hair on this guy! 😮DSC_9922The most interesting lion sighting was a group of eight, with 3 females, 1 male, and 4 cubs. The females were found with 3 different animals they had killed, and one of them also had a tracking collar placed around her neck for monitoring.

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female with tracking collar for monitoring

According to the general pecking order, the male lion will eat first, then the female and cubs will get the leftovers.

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Although the male lion doesn’t hunt, he gets first dibs on the meat.

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By far though, the sighting that really left us on the edge of our seat was when we spotted a female leopard with her two cubs!

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on the edge of our seats when we spotted the leopard

The leopard literally walked right past our truck! 😮DSC_9773We found the two cubs lounging in a tree nearby. ❤16402664_10106345537044777_2996750323179663903_oSo tiny and adorable! DSC_9787Other unique finds included a Dik-Dik, plus a variety of other birds and reptiles.

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Dik-Dik

DSC_9881The birds and reptiles were incredibly colorful, like this Lilac-breasted Roller and this Superman Agama.

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Lilac-breasted Roller
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Splendid Starling
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Superman Agama lizard

Others were quite bizarre, like this cautiously moving chameleon, and this massive Marabou Stork.

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chameleon we found in the same tree two days in a row
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Marabou Stork
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Eastern Chanting Goshawk
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Black Kite
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White-bellied Korhaan
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Grey-backed Fiscal
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Saddle-billed Stork
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the female ostrich is a dull gray and the male is more colorful in order to attract other females

Aside from the animals, the scenery was absolutely spectacular, with an eclectic mix of Savannah grassland teeming with Acacia trees, and an occasional oasis, with flowing water and lush leafy palms. DSC_9818DSC_9978Some people in our group even took a hot air balloon ride to see the Serengeti from above. ❤DSC_9824Feel free to check out the link to learn more about this national park. 🙂
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http://www.serengeti.org/

Published by Megan G

Qualifications: - BA International Economics - AS Veterinary Technology - CELTA Pass B teaching certification Hi! My name is Megan. I'm an American expat who loves traveling and teaching ESL abroad. I'm currently pursuing a master's in English linguistics in Barcelona, Spain. I also teach English online to children in China. I previously taught in Thailand, Turkey, and Mexico. Come along and follow me on this ESL Venture! :D

19 thoughts on “Travel in Tanzania: Grumeti Wildlife Reserve and Serengeti National Park”

  3. Wow this is a great excursion! And the hot air ballooning would be wonderful to see all of this from above, though it might be hard to make out! We’ve read about the tsetse fly. Ooh they are nasty!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks! Actually, they were able to get very close to the ground in their balloon. They followed a few hippos swimming in the river, watched lions hunting, and even spooked an ostrich at one point. The tsetse fly is definitely nasty. Apparently they are attracted to blue and black, so we were supposed to avoid those colors. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yes indeed its really been a fantastic journey so far. Hope you are enjoying the comraderie with all your tour mates! You know they say if you will travel with someone, they can be either your life partner or very good friend!
        Oh good tip about that colors for the fly too. No blue and black for us then!

        Like

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