Serengeti Day 4 Part 1 - 3 brothers, Visitor Centre

Despite being up and in the car by 05:40 this morning, we somehow don't seem to leave until 06:10. The good thing about this, of course, is that we actually get to see the Ole Serai Luxury camp in (almost) daylight.

This is the view at 05:40

It's getting lighter

Almost daylight

The lodge reception. It is sad to leave Ole Serai behind as we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, but it is time to move on to our next accommodation and more adventures. When we depart, all the staff come out to wave us goodbye.

The sun rises really quickly this close to the equator.

The Three Brothers

Malisa explains that these three male lions are brothers, and that each of them has a distinct purpose: one is a fighter (we can distinguish him by the scars), one the lover (no physical scars visible, but he maybe has some mental ones?) and the last one acts as the lookout.

Look at those scars!

This must be the lover, he is very handsome

Judging by their flat bellies, they are all hungry. Because of their large, heavy size, they are more likely to take the easy option, however, and steal another lion's kill as it uses much less energy than trying to make a kill themselves. They are not the least bit interested in the Thomson's Gazelle in nearby.

The lions have drawn quite a crowd.

The brothers settle down to enjoy the warmth of the early morning sun and we move on to “see what else nature has to offer us today”, one of Malisa's favourite sayings.

Long Crested Eagle

Spotting something on the ground, he takes off, dives down, tries to grab whatever it was he saw, but returns to his lofty perch empty-handed. Or should that be empty-taloned?

Coke's Hartebeest

The long pointy ears make it look like the hartebeest has four horns.

Serengeti Visitors Centre

This is always a good place to spot birds and small mammals, as many visitors have their picnic here leaving crumbs for the residents. We are stopping for breakfast today.

Red and Yellow Barbet

Hildebrand Starling

African Paradise Monarch

Speckled Fronted Weaver

Female Mwanza Flat Headed Rock Agama

Rock Hyrax

Tree Hyrax

After our picnic we go for a stroll along the interactive boardwalk around the kopje while Malisa goes off to get petrol for the car. Last time we came with Lyn and Chris (in 2016) it was closed for renovation, and last year (2017) when it was just the two of us I was unable to partake in the walk because I was suffering badly from pneumonia, so it was good to be able to see what they had done to it.

It's a fun walk, sympathetically created to blend in with nature, complete with lots of metal sculptures and explanation boards.

Dung Beetles

Those of you who have followed my blogs for a while, may remember that I have a soft spot for dung beetles.

Another good reason for stopping here is to use the very decent modern toilets.

A great big “THANKS” goes out to Calabash Adventures for organising yet another fantastic safari for us.