lions – A Tangled Mind In Motion

SAFARI – CENTRAL SERENGETI
There’s a rhythm to your gravel and dirt road drives in the Serengeti that sorta happens after you’ve been looking at great stretches of grass that go on forever, your core working because you’re standing up as the jeep bounces around, and your eyes are straining for that single moving spot that turns out to be a rare animal, to be the one that finds what the rest of us–Wenga, our guide included–doesn’t. Irina was our eagle eyes, and it didn’t seem to matter whether she had the binoculars or not…she could and did spot a bunch of the rare stuff we saw, far more than the rest of us, except Wengapedia and his binoculars.

But this post didn’t require the eagle eyes, because we drove right up and there they were, a pride of lions whom Wenga said had recently mated. It’s mating season anyway…the boys were crashed hard, and so were the girls…all under a pair of shade trees beneath a cloudy sky. Very NatGeo, and who am I to look the gift horse in the mouth? We snapped away. Enjoy the post and the pics!

The Serengeti Pride - 2 Guys, 3 Girls. It Probably Got Weird. — CLICK TO EXPAND: The Serengeti Pride – 2 Guys, 3 Girls. It Probably Got Weird.

Out Of The Crater On The Way To The Serengeti - This Guy — Out Of The Crater On The Way To The Serengeti – This Hungry Guy

SAFARI – NGORONGORO CRATER – PART 2

Yeah, I know you can get burned out on too many animal pictures. One of the things I’m mixing up here to try and keep it interesting is closeups–or as I call them “The National Geographic shots”–and some wider views of the plains with the animals dotting the landscape, to give you perspective on what we saw, and reassure you this is not some open air zoo, but their homes. There is an unmistakeable vibe of peacefulness and contentment with the animals here, and though the law of the wild/circle of life still applies, the tranquility of the crater and these magnificent beasts is unmistakeable. That’s part of what makes a trip to Africa a spiritual journey of sorts. Which says a lot, since in my regular life, I’m an earthbound, pragmatic fellow in general. Moreover, if the zoos back home were hard to visit before the trip, we all agreed wed have a very tough time seeing these guys in small enclosures ever again. their spirits soared on these wide open plains, and ours with them.