4 minute read
Making Memories in Tanzania
By Amy Arora
A mother and daughter head to Tanzania and the plains of the Serengeti for their first-ever safari.
Afew months after our safari in Tanzania, my mother told me that, far more than the pride of lions sunning themselves right next to our safari car, or the baby elephant who played in the mud like a child, it was the rolling plains of the Serengeti that have stayed with her. “I can see them when I close my eyes,” she says. “I’ll never forget the vastness of it all.” That’s the thing about a safari. It’s the unanticipated moments that will get you.
I had a few expectations before my first safari. I pictured animals as specks in the distance, seen through binoculars and captured on film with long, extravagant lenses. What I never imagined was animals so close that you could roll down the window and touch them. We didn’t, of course. But it was awe-inspiring all the same.
SAFARI GAME DRIVE
© ANDBEYOND / DOOKPHOTO
On the first day in the Serengeti, our guide spots something among the long grass. It was impossible to see without expert eyes. Our vehicle moves a little closer and suddenly there she is, a female cheetah, her spotted coat perfectly camouflaged, hunched over her lunch, which might have been a zebra or a wildebeest, but now was just red, bloody meat. “If you’re very patient, we might see something very special today,” the guide calls into the back of the car, where my mother stares in wonder and I take photo after photo on my phone.
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS IN THE PLAINS OF SERENGETI
When the cheetah starts to move, we follow her ever so cautiously in the lumbering car. After a few minutes, checking around for danger, she makes her way into a small clearing. Quickly, out popped three perfect, adorable cheetah cubs, their hair spiked up like miniature punk rockers. They play with their mother and nip at the meat she has brought. We watched them for hours.
CHEETAH CUBS PLAYING IN THE SAVANNAH
After lunch under a baobab tree, chilled white wine and the shade protecting us from the baking sun, we climb back into the safari car and, in just a few minutes, are greeted with the sight of a bull elephant in a small valley below. He is enormous and he stands completely still, except for his ears which flap with agitation.
FARMHOUSE-INSPIRED CUISINE
ANDBEYOND / DOOKPHOTO
Opposite the elephant is a lion, and it is clear that one had infringed on the other’s territory. Were we witnessing a standoff between these two majestic creatures? I stare, enthralled by the elephant in particular, wondering what he was thinking, and whether or not we were on his radar, clumsy and obtrusive in the khaki-green vehicle. Did he feel our eyes watching him? Before long, the lion slinks away and the elephant shakes his gigantic head in triumph, his trumpet echoing across the grass.
BUSH LUNCH IN THE SERENGETI
© ANDBEYOND / DOOKPHOTO
The national park is an animal playground, and by the end of the second day, we had seen all of the animals that my mother had first pointed out to me in children’s picture books 30 years earlier. The Big Five had been quickly ticked off the list: elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhinoceros. We’d even started to look for the Ugly Five on our journey and had seen them all, except the marabou stork. Armed with binoculars and cameras, with the wind rushing through the open windows, we were amateur animal sleuths, unable to believe what we were seeing. A safari is truly the stuff of dreams.
In the evenings, we stargazed around the firepit in our tented camp. When I had originally told my mother that we would be sleeping in tents, she wasn’t exactly thrilled. However, when we saw the tents, which were really five-star hotel rooms enclosed by canvas, she came around to the idea. The showers were hot, the rooms were beautiful and, by night, you could hear the sounds of the Serengeti coming to life. Was that a buffalo hammering its way towards the watering hole? Was that eerie cry a bush baby, sitting in a tree nearby, trying to scavenge a meal? Sipping on a Serengeti beer, in the Serengeti, with all of the noises of nature on every side, under that endless sky, I’ll never forget it. I don’t think anyone could.
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SERENGETI UNDER CANVAS
You can experience a classic tented safari in spectacular comfort at andBeyond’s Serengeti Under Canvas, with only the canvas walls of your tent separating you from the wonders of the Serengeti.
Moving five times a year, the camps attempt to anticipate the movements of the Great Wildebeest Migration, bringing you as close as possible to the action. Using only private campsites, these mobile camps are the ultimate in luxury camping, with private butler service, chandeliers, silverware, crystal, ensuite flush WC, heated outdoor showers and comfortable beds with fluffy duvets.
DINING UNDER THE TENT WITH BUTLET SERVICE
© ANDBEYOND / DOOKPHOTO
The guest areas also include a dedicated sitting and dining tent, with comfy sofas from which to contemplate the vastness and peace of the surrounding landscape. You’ll get to relax under the twinkling light of millions of shining stars and savour hearty food served on sparkling silver, before gathering around a roaring campfire to share stories and listen to the African night come alive.
