TRAVEL : Unforgettable wilderness experience at Serengeti

My recent tour of the Serengeti National Park in the western corridor was nothing short of excitement and entertainment. It was an experience that spoke volumes to the soul and mind, from the moment I breathed the fresh wilderness air.

I arrived on a glorious early afternoon at Kirawira Airstrip aboard a Tanganyika Flying Company flight from Arusha. Here, tourists mingled with drivers cum guides to start their day’s experience in the country’s second largest park.

Situated nearly 500m from the Kirawira Airstrip, and beyond Grumeti, Serengeti Tented Camp was my temporary abode. The high-end camp strikes a delightful balance between wilderness and pure luxury in the remote wilderness.

The lodge-style camp is an ideal location from which to experience one of the famous migration routes in the Serengeti - the Grumeti River, wherein hundred thousands of wildebeest cross the river yearly.

The free-flow of wildlife within the camp’s boundary makes for an exceptional experience and is a major attraction for the residents in the exclusive ten safari tents, in which evening turn down services are all part of the gentle charm here.

The airy tents incorporate the use of natural thatching materials blended in novel ways to individualise the décor with the top-open-air bathroom wall built using stones, offering privacy without distracting from the natural ambience.

Overlooking the restaurant open terrace and a relaxing swimming pool, is a bustling pool in which hippos’ families are submerged and snort in 24/7. There is complimentary Internet connection and I was lucky to access the service at the restaurant area. Otherwise the signals are very strong in the guest rooms.

Animal lovers here may enjoy the company of resident colobus monkeys, while herds of wildebeest can be seen at a distance feeding all-day long. Buffaloes and elephants savour the camp’s grass and tree leaves as the night deepens.

A special moment during my stay was at the meal times (breakfast and lunch) served in the open air restaurant. Dinner was served in enclosure mimics of a traditional boma with the trees acting as umbrellas; I sipped drinks and ate yummy food. The bar offers some of the best cocktails you’ll find and dining was a faultless experience.

The staff were friendly, efficient but unobtrusive, the food outstanding in presentation and flavours. For guests, it is a relaxed, unhurried affair while chefs under camp manager, Musa Mathayo, and smiling staff make it all happen.

Something that perhaps sets this camp apart from its contemporaries is that it operates a tailor- made superb safari outfit (game drive). Safaris take visitors to see some of the park’s most spectacular landscapes and an extraordinary variety of wildlife, bird life and plant life within the western corridor of the Serengeti.

Late afternoon I drove off with Hassan Mohamed the driver-guide in an open air vehicle from the camp. This was a chance to savour the game-rich western Serengeti, one of the most exciting wildlife friendly corridors in Tanzania to experience lifetime memories.

After just a few minutes, we spotted the herbivores – the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles grazing on the lush and green grass that blanketed the ground. We passed ubiquitous herds of impalas racing along the roadsides while at a distance buffaloes and a lonely giraffe joined them.

Next sighting was the ugly, yet proud family of warthogs trotting far from us. Continuing our drive we found lions on honeymoon: Hassan was in all smiles; no wonder his age bracket (in his early 30s) suggested his likeness.

We found a few tourist cars parked nearby and Hassan asked me whether I had seen lions on a honeymoon. I lied to him by saying no, so as to uplift his mood and motivate him. I had actually seen the same in Saadani National Park, a couple of years back.

And as we headed for another area, we spotted a pride of young lions relaxing under a tree. According to Hassan, the night before, the lions had killed a wildebeest in the neighbourhood, which provided them with a satisfactory meal for two days. We saw a few white-headed vultures perched atop trees in the area.

We drove through lands filled with herds of wildebeests, zebras, topis, buffaloes attracted by the area’s high density of plant life, which attracts a variety of birdlife also, according to Hassan. There are over 360 bird species that have been recorded in the western Serengeti.

Satisfied, we passed to see a famous hippo pool wherein over 50 hippos submerged, snorting and grunting to each other as they kept a wary eye on a crocodile basking on a rock nearby.

After a day’s memorable bush experience, all that remained was to retire to my comfortable room where the reassuring sound of the hippos in the nearby pool lulled me back to sleep, after dinner.

After two days, it was time to leave the wild, and I summed it up as a retreat to the heart of the bush and to a time uncomplicated by the burdens of modern-day life. Rustic and unpretentious in every way, andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti promises an unaffected, yet authentic bushveld experience teeming with wildlife - an experience that I will live with for years.

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