Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. --- Mark Twain

Monday, October 17, 2011

Tanzania - Serengeti

Day 270
28,708 km since the beginning of the journey.

Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is one of the world's most famous natural parks, the area is 14,763 km2 and it is probably one of the world's most filmed National Park.

The word Siringet means Endless Plains in the local Masai language.
 
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The western entrance - Gate Ndabaka. And as this park is really huge - the planning of this visit needed more time than usually. The ticket is valid for 24 hours since the moment one has passed the gate entrance and entered the territory. Before the onset of darkness, it is necessary to reach the overnight place, which is nearly 140 km away from the entrance. There are certain places to stay for the night and after 7 p.m. moving around in the park is not permitted (in fact, it happened that I could not reach the overnight place before dark).

So when to start moving at 11 a.m. then 8 hours should be enough to cover 140 km, but as it turned out - if one still stops and watches and takes pictures - it is not enough.



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Wildebeest. One of the most common animals in Serengeti.

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And the sky was cloudy, like promising rain, and before it got dark there was a real decent downpour.

Gazelles beside the road in the shade of a large tree

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A little later, after heavy rain.

You are driving and shooting, and shooting and driving. And you have completely forgotten to look at the clock.

And then there are wildebeests by the road.

And there are really so many of them.
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And the last 10 km to the camping- site were covered in the dark.

The next morning was beautiful and sunny.

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Now there was left 55 kilometers of dusty Serengeti roads to the next gate and more time than 3 hours. Logically, should be enough time to reach in time.

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Naabi Hill Gate is the eastern entrance to the Serengeti Park. And here the next attraction - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) begins. This place is also in the UNESCO World Heritage List. But in the next post more about it.

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