Serengeti, means ‘Endless Plains’ in the Maasai language.

To them it was ‘Siringitu’, the place where the land moves on forever. And for us, Serengeti and has come to symbolize Wildest Africa. It is a place where encounters with big cats, elephants and leopards will exhilarate you! And the quiet conversations of the birds, while you gaze out at the awe-inspiring landscape will rejuvenate your spirit. Covering 14,763 sq. Kilometers, the park is roughly the same size as Northern Ireland, China’s coastline or the State of Connecticut and is the center of the Serengeti ecosystem, which is one of the oldest on earth and where the essential features of climate, vegetation and fauna have barely changed in the past million years.

The day you find yourself tracking lions through the early morning mist, watching leopards laze in the trees while two elephants intertwine their trunks in an affectionate embrace...you will know you are in the Serengeti.

This is a place where instincts and survival rule the uninhibited animal kingdom. As the sun rises each morning like the curtain unveiling “The Performance of the ‘Hunt’”, like a dangerously romantic play, the dance of predator- prey is evident everywhere across the plains of the Serengeti. It is because of this spectacular performance that images of ‘The Great Migration’ and ‘The Big Five’ leap to mind when dreaming of going on safari.

The Great Wildebeest Migration is one of the “Seven New Wonders of the World”.

It is an experience you will have like none other as you witness one of the last great migratory systems still intact.

When you find yourself standing in a place where the Maasai have grazed their cattle for a millennia - a place seemingly frozen in time – your breath will be taken away with the sound and sight of nearly two million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands zebras and gazelles on the move, stretched across the grasslands as far as the eye can see. This is where you will be amazed - watching a new born, mere second old and soaking wet, lying in the grass shaking its head to dry off. Within minutes its long spindly legs will attempt to support its tiny frame and while only wobbling for minutes after its birth this youngster will be walking with Mom ... in as rapidly as ten minutes, running with the heard.

The Big Five;

Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino and Cape Buffalo are probably the most famous residents of the Serengeti.

For years they have been the center of attention and the focal point of photographers from all around the world. It is exhilarating to view through the camera lens a pride of lions stalking their prey or witness the shear immensity of the buffalo strolling to a water hole.

Your heart pounds as you stare into the eyes of the rhino with their extraordinary horns and notorious bad temper weighing in at nearly 2,500kg (about5, 500lb). Then it hits you, in all probably you are one of the last to view this incredible animal and sadly realize that those who follow after you may only view it in books. The black rhino is almost extinct and if you are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of one, know that you are looking at one of the most endangered animals in Africa. The leopard’s beauty and remarkable stealth will leave you in awe.

Known as the master stalkers for their hunting skills, the leopard will render you motionless as you watch him peer at his prey, but your first sighting of a new born baby elephant will be one of your most unforgettable memories.

Watch out .... The Serengeti will steal your heart.

Although the big five have captured the fame, they have by no means stolen the show. When you find yourself sharing the same piece of land with a giraffe eating the leaves of acacia trees, a cheetah blazing by at 112km per hour or looking into a sea of zebra knowing each stripe pattern is as individual as a fingerprint, every living being you are sharing the day with will fascinate you. The first time you see the huge jaws of the hippo open, understanding that they can bite a crocodile in half, will be astonishing.

Effortlessly navigating a balance between predator and prey, this delicate and incredibly intricate ecosystem exist not only with the large creatures but the small creatures as well that can sometimes be hard to see but are essential to the balance of life.

The Little Five;

Elephant shrew, ant Lion, Leopard tortoise, Rhino beetle and Buffalo weaver, will remind you to refocus on the little things.

While everything, large, vast, and seemingly endless is reshaping how you define your world, remember to zoom in high above you on an Acacia branch or behind stones or in the tall grass for a glimpse of these fascinating and photogenic little, but integral participant residents of wild Africa.

When you catch sight of the little white cattle egrets moving in close harmony with the hippos, intent on feeding on the insects being kicked up from the grass as these massive animals stroll about, your heart is touched by the bizarre symbiotic relationships between these creatures large and small living in perfect harmony.

The Serengeti would not be the same without the rocky outcrops known as,

KOPJES, (pronounced ’copy’)

It is from the Dutch and means little head. Technically known as Inselbergs, the intriguing rounded shapes of these ancient granite rocks are the result of cracking and erosion from exposure to sun, wind and rain. They provide shelter and capture water for a wealth of wildlife and plants .In fact, without such environs, lions and other large animals would be unable to survive the dry season on the plains.

The main groups of kopjes are Barafu, Gol, Maasai, Loliondo, Simba and Moru. Each has its own individual beauty, just waiting for your camera. Moru kopjes are outstanding for their size and profusion of resident wildlife including lion, leopard, serval, caracal and even rhinoceros and elephant. There are early Maasai painting still visible at Moru including a special rock used for making music. Gol and Barafu kopjes provide important habitat for the cheetah and are used by wildebeest in the wet season. Maasai and Loliondo kopjes provide outlooks for resident lions and large cobras can often be seen sunning themselves on the rocks.

Simba kopjes support a great variety of animals and birds including giraffes, baboon and lion ‘simba’ for which they are named. These are the easiest of all the kopjes to reach as they are along the main road to Seronera, the centre of Serengeti.

The Ngorongoro Crater

is the world’s largest, inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera.

There really isn’t any bad time for you to visit this amphi theater, beautifully formed by nature, often referred to as Africa’s Garden of Eden, and the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Standing at the volcano’s rim, 610meters (2000 feet) above the 260sq km (100sq mile) floor, ‘Vastness’ takes on a whole new meaning. The enclosed nature of the crater has virtually formed its own ecosystem, giving rise to an incredible variety of flora and fauna found all year round in a very compact area.

Watching the morning fog and mist recede with the shadows as the sun comes up in the crater is like witnessing the unveiling of the world’s greatest masterpiece. A scene painted complete with lion, elephant, hippo and rhino. Where wildebeest and zebra walk with leopard and hyena. The buffalo roam with cheetah, jackal, serval cats and bat eared foxes.

Over head approximately 400 species of birds fly above the gathering of flamingos on the central soda lake. The mineral-rich floor, covered in nutritious grasses feeds the high number of herbivores that supports the densest population of predators found anywhere in Africa.

Lake Manyara National Park ... Fantastic way to start your Safari

This is a small park by African standards, however it is a scenic gem defined by Ernest Hemingway as, ``the loveliest I had seen in Africa``.

The moment you enter through the gates, the lush ground water forest greets you. You will find yourself surrounded by ancient mahogany trees where the largest concentration of baboons in the world lounge around along the roadside and the striking blue monkey scamper between the branches.

In contrast to the lush forest, the expansive grassy plains is host to wildebeest, buffalo, hippo, zebra, warthog, water buck, giraffe, impala and a range of other game.

Inland of the flood plains the acacia woodlands is where you will experience Manyara’s famous ‘tree climbing lions’ and the always impressive elephants.

The shallow soda ash lake , which expands and contracts with the seasons, occupies most of the park. Vibrant pink of the flamingo`s and brilliant yellow-billed stork`s cover the surface in a beautiful mosaic of color. Flocks of pelican`s and cormorant’s join in and are all drawn to the high levels of salt and white soda in the water.

With more than 400 species of birds inhabiting this park, many of them waterfowl, even the most reluctant bird-watchers will find something that makes them stop and stare.

Why you don’t want to miss Lake Manyara National Park on your safari adventure is, because this is the only park that allows night game drives.

A once in a life time experience, under the star lit sky you never know who or what you might find.

Tarangire National Park

You know you are in Tarangire when you find yourself standing beside a bayobab tree with a trunk as wide as the Land Cruiser you are traveling in.

Once inside the gates the grassland savannah with ebony and the classic bayobab trees can’t conceal the termite mounds, taller than the average mounds, dominating the view. Don’t be surprised if you catch a cheetah using one of those mounds as a view point scouting out a potential prey.

It is in this park that you will find the greatest concentration of wildlife outside of the Serengeti eco-system with landscape and vegetation that is incredibly diverse, a mix not found anywhere else in the northern circuit.

The Tarangire River often referred to as the life –giving river, runs directly through the center of the park and is the only permanent water source for the animals.

Tarangire is famous for its huge number of elephants that migrate from the Masai steppe to the south of the park. You don’t really appreciate the immensity of these beautiful creatures until you see them push up against one of those massive bayobab trees and snap one of their very large limbs like it was a twig.

The swamps in Tarangire are alive with the greatest selection of breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. Over 500 bird varieties have been recorded here.

Ending your day in Tarangire with a classic African sunset, Acacia’s, Bayobab’s, and Elephants silhouetted against the blazing horizon, will etch a memory that will last forever.

Lonely Planet, 5th Edition.