It’s a long drive to the center of the Serengeti. We arrived at our lodgings around sunset.
The place appeared on my itinerary as “Kati Kati tented camp” but it was certainly the most elegant camp I have stayed in. And the mess hall had the best pumpkin soup I’ve had anywhere, tents or no tents.
The next morning we were up early for a game drive. Serengeti means “endless plain,” and it is easy to see how it gets its name. It’s the model for those scenes in The Lion King with the stampeding wildebeests and lions perched on rocky outcroppings.
We encountered one old lion resting by a wildebeest he’d killed. He had already eaten his fill and was saving the rest for later. For a time he found the shade of our vehicle more appealing than the hot sun, but when he saw the vultures landing on his wildebeest he went racing back to snap his jaws at them.