Location: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

I don’t even know how to start talking about today, because so much happened… and I think it might have been one of the best days I’ve ever had.

I popped another gravol as we packed up our convoy of 4×4’s, eager to get to the Serengeti National Park. Pauline and I hopped into a truck with Aussie Brindha and Brit Emily, and the Swiss sisters Mascha and Elena (the Swissters). Our local driver Isaac was upbeat and immediately full of interesting facts about anything and everything we were seeing.

The car ride was rough, and I mean that in the most literal sense. It was basically off-roading for 9 hours on a wash board dirt road, switch-back up over the lip of the Ngorongoro (say that 5 times fast) volcano crater, quick stop for some photos, and then down into the savannah. Hehe! The drive down was so intense some people stopped for a quick vom on the side of the road! Our 3 vehicles zig-zagged across the plains, following deep, often muddy furrows in the ground. Issac tracked animals via a radio that all guides chattered on in Swahili to share animals sightings, and we could tell when something good was happening because he would go ‘oh oh oh’ kind of under his breath and then start going a little faster.

Isaac opened up the top of our jeep and we were allowed to kick off our shoes, stand on our seats, grab the metal bars up top and peek out into the wind while red dust was kicked up by the vehicles ahead. I felt like I was in a movie or a dream – it was magic.

Very quickly we were all clambering over each other to get to one side of the truck as a stand of more than a dozen giraffes peered at us from a hillside. First of all, how wonderful is it that a group of giraffes is called a stand?! Secondly they were gorgeous and graceful in a way I didn’t anticipate. Giraffes are often portrayed as lanky and awkward, which couldn’t be further from the truth as we watched them navigate their surroundings with ease. We didn’t stay long because Issac assured us we would see many more and a lot closer up. Within literally a minute we saw zebras and wildebeests… and I basically burst into tears from sheer overwhelm. I wasn’t like full on sobbing or anything but I was so emotional about seeing these things with my own two eyes.

Isaac was right and we saw over 30 other giraffes throughout the day, walking along the skyline, eating from tall acacia trees and snoozing in the midday sun, some of which were less than 50 feet from us!

We started seeing an absolutely bonkers number of Thompson’s gazelles and Grand gazelles grazing through the dry grass, and flicking their little black tails behind their bright white butts. We estimated we saw over 1000 (!!!) gazelles throughout the day and every single time I just had to breathe through the feelings.

The first big sight came as we were following a pair of ostriches, and happened across a sleeping female lion. She could not have cared less that we were there and continued her sunny snooze… but when we pulled up alongside her to snap some photos we realized just a few yards away was a second sleeping female, with six cubs all awake around her!! They peered at us. We peered at them. Eventually the second sleeping female woke up, let out a big yawn, did a biiiig stretch and got up to leave the area with her fluffy little spotted babies in tow. Fair enough, I wouldn’t particularly love having 30 people watch me nap either. Especially if one of them was being weird and crying about it.

God I’m going to have to get my shit together.

But like… I have seen lions in zoos, and it was absolutely nothing compared to this.

We came across a few groups of heartbeast antelopes, topi antelopes, some more ostriches, obviously more gazelles, and then chatter on the radio had us breaking new trail towards a cheetah sighting, despite the setting sun. Isaac spotted it and circled around a lone female cheetah, who was watching us warily, when the grass behind her shuffled and three baby cheetahs pounced out of the tall grass. I think they might have been the actual cutest little things I have ever seen. It was clear she wasn’t pleased to have vehicles circling her kittens, so when she broke into a run (babies bounding behind) we didn’t follow. I can’t believe I got to see a cheetah literally run off into the sunset. As we pulled away a couple of spotted hyenas padded off in the distance, and a dikdik (imagine a teeny tiny deer with two straight little horns) poked its head out of the bush next to the vehicle.

This is what being alive feels like, I think.

In one direction a red sun was setting over a cloudy horizon, with giraffe silhouettes standing out against the sky. In the opposite direction sheet lighting started to strike as a massive thunder head rolled closer. You aren’t legally allowed to be ‘on safari’ after dark, and due to our last minute cheetah run-in we were behind schedule. Isaac turned the headlights on and we had about half an hour to go when a storm hit. Rain poured down in sheets so strong that we scrambled to get the top of the vehicle closed and the fastest setting on the wipers barely helped! Did I mention it’s the middle of dry season??

Eventually we made it to the camp in the very middle of the national park, but the rain did not let up. It was creating a muddy quagmire out of the ground and preventing us from even comfortably exiting the vehicle. Despite half of us needing to pee semi-desperately we decided to wait out the worst of the rain and ended up visiting in the vehicle and eating snacks. When there was a break in the downpour we ran for the kitchen shelter where camp cooks had made us warm pumpkin soup and hot buns for dinner. Perfection.

Tents were set up for us, which feels luxurious to me, so I was quite pleased to just brush my teeth and fall into my sleeping bag, exhausted. I’m writing from my little sleeping bag now, while Pauline snores lightly beside me.

We both agreed that if the rest of the trip sucks, it would be worth it just for today.

Sav