wildebeest migration tanzania

Celebrating the Lion King

With so many reliving, or seeing for the first time, the fantastic story of the Lion King, it’s time to celebrate some of its characters.

We reckon, from the landscapes, that the Lion King story was based in the Serengeti/Ngorongoro ecosystem and even in the famous Ol Karien Gorge.

Why not come and experience Lion King country for yourself and see some of the films best characters really up close and personal with Shadows of Africa.

The lions, obviously, are a must; Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Sarabi and Scar. Interestingly, and what you might not realise when watching them laze in the sun, is that male lions are highly competitive, and are well known to practice infanticide if they take over a pride of females that have young cubs, ensuring that their genes, and not another’s, are passed onto the next generation.

And then there’s those terrible cackling hyena. Wonderful to see in the wild and additionally one of the most fascinating species, spotted hyena are the most social of all the carnivores. They are also matriarchal, meaning that the females are bigger and are more dominant than the males.

Pumbaa, that plump joker, full of life and laughs, is everywhere when you’re on safari. Tossing his head and running along with his tail held high like an antenna behind him. Warthogs live in burrows in the ground and the mother usually push their piglets in first and then reverse in behind them, able to charge out and protect them from any signs of danger. They really do love to wallow in mud, cooling themselves down from the heat of the sun.

We think the Lion King is fantastic, but the real thing is unforgettable!

Big Cats in the Serengeti

This month our Shadows of Africa safari guests have encountered amazing big cats and cubs. They are delighted and the photos rolling in from our guides are incredible.

Here’s just a few to samples to share with you and give you a taster of what Shadows of Africa can offer.

Big cat Serengeti. Lion - Yen Yu Li safari with Edwin Diah - June 2019

Big cat Serengeti – leopard on rock - Michael Morris safari with Edwin Diah, June 2019

Big cat Serengeti – older lion cub – Robert Humphrey & friends with Moody Kabongo, June 2019

Big cat Serengeti – lions mating – Robert Humphrey & friends with Moody Kabongo, June 2019

Big cat Serengeti – cheetah - Robert Humphrey & friends with Moody Kabongo, June 2019

Big cat Serengeti – huge scarred male lion - Robert Humphrey & friends with Moody Kabongo, June 2019

Impressed yet?

Take a trip with Shadows of Africa and you will be.

Contact us now!

What is the Best Time to See the Wildebeest Migration?

A Tanzania Safari Adventure

A ten day safari multi country safari that became an adventure of a lifetime. Our client arrived in Arusha excited to go on a journey through the African bush. Her safari would take her into the depths of Tanzania and Uganda, finding animals that are awed among all others. 10 days and 6 parks was her itinerary for her epic adventure.

Many of us including myself are jealous of this tailor made itinerary. Her first stop was Tarangire National Park. Here she stayed in Sangaiwe Tented Lodge it is has a beautiful view from the room balcony, after the drive and game drive through the park it was a great place to relax and see wildlife still. In the morning after breakfast, she had another game drive through the park seeing various animals and particularly having a few special moments watching elephants by the river.

Exiting the park the went into the Ngorongoro region and spent the night at Country Lodge in Karatu. This is just a stopover before carrying on in the morning in the Serengeti where she headed to the central part to catch the plethora of animals there this time of year. This trek between parks is known for its “serengeti massage”, a term coined because of the continuous corregations on the dirt roads. Lomayani, our driver made this trek as pleasant as possible with colourful conversation and information to keep her happy. Once in the park, she had sightings of leopard, lion, buffalo and rhino allowing her to check of seeing the ‘Big Five’. On the game drives that day and the next two in the Serengeti she had the ability to the wildebeest migration in the Central Serengeti. Tanzania is wildly known for this great migration of animals moving in a southern to northern pattern and back again depending on the season and time of year. This specific time of year the main herd of the migration was in Northern Serengeti and Maasai Mara as the rains have hit that region before the southern and central parts. This guest had sightings of the smaller groups of animals, during her entire trip. Her stay and Serengeti Kati Kati camp was amazing they treated well and made her stay exceptional.

Leaving the park on the third day she headed for Ngorongoro Crater. Some consider this to be the “The Eight Wonder of the World”. With the help of her driver they spotted. Overnighting at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, she had the perfect view of the crater right in front of her. In the morning, after an early breakfast they headed down into the crater to capture the beauty of this bucket list location. A few factors affect this awe inspiring crater; firstly, the scenery of how this crater has become an animal sanctuary; secondly, the diversity and plethora of wildlife; finally the combination of the previous factors has left people speechless and thankful for such amazing places on Earth. Our guest truly enjoyed herself here seeing the range of animals around.

The next day was spent in traveling across to Uganda, where she would have a very different experience on her 10 day African safari. We will dedicate a full blog to her adventures in Uganda with the Gorillas. Send us an email if you want to know more on booking a safari with us and going on an amazing adventure.

Adventures on Safaris this July

The safaris in July were absolutely fantastic, our clients truly enjoyed themselves, and were left awestruck. The parks traveled to were mainly the Serengeti, Tarangire and Manyara. We had a variety of clients, from families to just single people traveling in groups or by themselves.

Our drivers are some of the most experienced locals in the industry, because of this the guests leave not sightings species but also are able to tell stories to their families and friends back home about these beautiful creatures. Our goal is to create experiences for our guests and educate them about Africa and the beauty of it. As distances are far getting from one place to another, it is guaranteed that our drivers will make the drive pleasant filled with laughter and stories about this great continent.

Most of our safaris have a cultural tour inserted inside which allows the guests to experience first-hand shooting bows and arrows, watch how domestic animals are skinned if you have the stomach for it that is. Otherwise, you can learn how to throw Maasai spears. In these tours, you learn about the culture of the native people in the area and how they live, their traditions and history, sources of income and food. What amazes myself and I am sure most of you, is how they have integrated their cultures etc into the modern world, yet the simplicity of their lives is outstanding. Could you live like this even for just a week?

As this particular dry season, this year has been drier than normal, the wildlife was pretty scattered across the parks in search of water and food, having a great sighting of animals was pretty lucky. By the photos in this post, you can see that the guests made great memories and had lots of fun. If you have not been to Africa yet, or not this part of Africa we can assure you that memorable experiences will be created with us.

The migration in July was in northern Serengeti, the river crossing sightings were spectacular! As this is the time of year that they are moving in between the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti. The Mara River is one of the best places to see the famous wildebeest river crossings. Here you will how the animals cross and how the predators take advantage of this movement of animals. In Africa, survival of the fittest and strongest is essential to life. At first, the wildebeest are shy then they literally surge across, here picking out prey is easy for the crocodiles; lions sit and wait for them, and catch them whilst they are weary or the stragglers that are hesitant to cross. Watching the circle of life take place in right in front of you is truly amazing!

Those that visited Tarangire National Park, got the opportunity of seeing the largest mammals in Africa, the African elephant, this park holds the largest elephant population in East Africa, thereby you won’t drive far without seeing these majestic animals. You will also have seen the ground hornbill, those big black birds with red beaks. Did you know that the elephants are ruled by the Matriarch, the females are the ones who control what is going on in the herd, and the males get kicked out at times.

If you read our reviews on TripAdvisor you will be able to read the personal stories of the guests on safaris. Join us on an adventure and tick of those items on your bucket list! You can contact us at info@shadowsofafrica.com

Why Travel to Tanzania?

The Wildebeest Migration of Kenya and Tanzania