Serengeti Safari with Stephen Mills

In 2013 Stephen Mills hosted a wildlife safari to the Serengeti.

The safari included Tarangire National Park – famous for its immense baobab trees and for the large herds of elephants, wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, giraffe, eland, impala and warthog that are attracted to the permanent waters of the Tarangire River. It also included the famous Ngorongoro Crater –  a volcanic caldera and natural amphitheatre (60m deep and 16km by 19km wide), that provides a constant supply of water and food for its 30,000 resident mammals, making it one of the highest density game areas in the world.  The crater provides the best opportunity of seeing all of the ‘big five’ (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) in one day and it is one of the few remaining places in Africa where black rhino can be seen.  The Crater is also excellent for bird watching with over 350 species of birds, including the lilac-breasted roller, crowned crane and the secretary bird. However the focus and the majority of the time was spent on the Serengeti plains.

‘The Serengeti is the largest intact ecosystem left on earth. Its true boundaries are defined not by lines on maps but by the seasonal movement of millions of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles. They circle the great grass plains and thorn thickets East of Lake Victoria, following the rain and feeding on the succession of plants it nourishes. Nowhere else can you observe in such tranquillity the daily activities of such a variety and number of mammals – predators and prey. So many animals, so much behaviour to interpret: this is why, of all the wonderful places in the world where I’ve been privileged to work, the Serengeti remains my favourite’. Stephen Mills

To read the diary from this wonderful safari click here