6/30 Serengeti Balloon ride and the afternoon of Simba

6/30 Serengeti Balloon ride and the afternoon of Simba

3:45am wakeup!!  We are picked up by a park driver and taken to the central plain, where we take a one hour balloon ride over the plains while the sun rises over Ngorongoro.  On or flight we see hundreds of Thomson Gazelles race across the plain and fly directly over three hippo pools- their stink finding its way all the way up to us- talk about nature’s port-o-poddy!! 

We land in a field and are treated to champagne in classic French ballooning style, after which we are taken in Land Rovers to a table set up in the middle of the Serengeti plain for an English-style breakfast.  Amazing!  The only living things that attacked us during breakfast were some harmless bees.  

Sampson, our driver, picked us up and we were off for what was an INSANELY awesome day!  Not two minutes passed before we saw a huge male lion with two females basking under a tree.  They soon rose and walked right past our truck!!  And we watched the big male leap across a creek with his powerful hind legs, which angered a nearby hippo.

Sampson then drove us to a section of the plains where a creek winds through, providing enough water for some tree-growth.  “Chui place”, he said, the perfect environment to find leopards.  As we scanned trees for sleeping cats, we noticed a group of trucks stopped 200 yards away.  When we arrived we began scanning a huge tree with our binoculars.  Ken saw a dead Tommie (Thomson Gazelle) laid in the crux of a large branch as it left the main trunk, ensuring that there must be a leopard in the vicinity that had made the kill and “treed” it for later.   As everyone else scanned the tree, I fixed my gaze on the shrubs surrounding the tree and saw it!  Of course, this bummed everyone out because I had promised a Safari Lager to the first person to spot a leopard.  Sorry gang.   

The highlight of the day came at the Simba Kopjes- the large rock formations that rise out of the plain.  We came upon the pride’s alpha female.  She sat and roared for about 20 minutes as she called her pride.  We kept waiting and waiting… finally, right down the center of the dirt road came her sister and CUB!  This cub was only a few months old, and was pretty cute.  He even got skiddish around the truck and took a circuitous route around us as he made for the alpha female.  All three disappeared into tall grass where we’re sure they ate a kill.  What a day!