I have spent the last couple of days at a lodge called Faru Faru, which is located in the Grumete Reserves, north of the Serengeti National Park. Before I go into detail on my stay at Faru Faru, I'm going to start by documenting one of the most amazing game viewing nights of the trip. Basically, we got to watch two male cheetahs, probably siblings, hunt young wildebeast in the Serengeti. We watched them hunt, mark territory, and we also watched them interact socially with each other. We got very close to the cheetahs (without disturbing their hunt) and with telephoto lenses, were able to get some pretty amazing photos and video. It was just a stunning display of nature to watch and we were lucky to see it.
Anyway, upon our arrival at Faru Faru, we were met by a new guide, Abdullah, who was driving the type of open jeep that reminded me of one of the trucks you'd see at a theme park safari ride. We loaded up and left for the lodge, and on the way, accidentally found ourselves in the middle of a feeding herd of elephants (they were in front and behind us and very close) and we got the chance at some more great elephant pictures. Once we arrived at the lodge, it was clear that we were in for a completely different type of experience than the one we had in the national park. For one thing, this lodge is the most luxurious place I have ever stayed in my life. It's build technically of "tents" but it's hard to use the word tent to describe this place. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the highlight of the room is that one wall is made of glass, which looks out on the Serengeti. It is also possible to open that glass wall with the push of a button and just have the room open to the outside. Our room has an enormous soaking tub situated in a glass corner so it's impossible not to see the outside from the tub, and the shower is actually outside. It is an interesting an enjoyable experience to take a hot shower on a cool morning basically standing outside in the Serengeti. Finally, the lodge had two lovely infinity pools, a library, and covered and uncovered eating and relaxing areas. There is also a spa (which I used) and a small gift shop. I can't do this place justice by trying to describe it, so I took lots of pictures. Up until now, we'd basically been doing morning and evening game drives, but for two nights in this wonderful place, we elected not to do the evening drive so that we could spend more time enjoying these amazing facilities. There wasn't much point in doing a lot of game driving around here anyway - most of the game is a bit south of here and is either migrating or following the migration - but when we move to Sabora Tented Camp today, we will be back in the middle of the big game. We were in the area of that camp when we saw those amazing cheetahs.
One of the interesting things we did here was go on a walking safari around the area. We were led by a new guide, Nick, who took us on a three hour walk. He carried a rifle in case of trouble (there wasn't any) and then we got a chance to see the area up close. We didn't see much game other than at a distance, but we did get to see some unusual birds we hadn't seen before and also got to see some migrating safari ants (very creepy). Our guide said those ants have been known to kill people who were too young or infirm to get out of their way.
Anyway, on to the next location. Two more nights in the Serengeti and then it's back to Nairobi and home.
The pictures I posted are of the cheetahs we saw. I'm going to post pictures of the lodge and walking safari a bit later, assuming I have internet access at the new camp.
Anyway, upon our arrival at Faru Faru, we were met by a new guide, Abdullah, who was driving the type of open jeep that reminded me of one of the trucks you'd see at a theme park safari ride. We loaded up and left for the lodge, and on the way, accidentally found ourselves in the middle of a feeding herd of elephants (they were in front and behind us and very close) and we got the chance at some more great elephant pictures. Once we arrived at the lodge, it was clear that we were in for a completely different type of experience than the one we had in the national park. For one thing, this lodge is the most luxurious place I have ever stayed in my life. It's build technically of "tents" but it's hard to use the word tent to describe this place. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the highlight of the room is that one wall is made of glass, which looks out on the Serengeti. It is also possible to open that glass wall with the push of a button and just have the room open to the outside. Our room has an enormous soaking tub situated in a glass corner so it's impossible not to see the outside from the tub, and the shower is actually outside. It is an interesting an enjoyable experience to take a hot shower on a cool morning basically standing outside in the Serengeti. Finally, the lodge had two lovely infinity pools, a library, and covered and uncovered eating and relaxing areas. There is also a spa (which I used) and a small gift shop. I can't do this place justice by trying to describe it, so I took lots of pictures. Up until now, we'd basically been doing morning and evening game drives, but for two nights in this wonderful place, we elected not to do the evening drive so that we could spend more time enjoying these amazing facilities. There wasn't much point in doing a lot of game driving around here anyway - most of the game is a bit south of here and is either migrating or following the migration - but when we move to Sabora Tented Camp today, we will be back in the middle of the big game. We were in the area of that camp when we saw those amazing cheetahs.
One of the interesting things we did here was go on a walking safari around the area. We were led by a new guide, Nick, who took us on a three hour walk. He carried a rifle in case of trouble (there wasn't any) and then we got a chance to see the area up close. We didn't see much game other than at a distance, but we did get to see some unusual birds we hadn't seen before and also got to see some migrating safari ants (very creepy). Our guide said those ants have been known to kill people who were too young or infirm to get out of their way.
Anyway, on to the next location. Two more nights in the Serengeti and then it's back to Nairobi and home.
The pictures I posted are of the cheetahs we saw. I'm going to post pictures of the lodge and walking safari a bit later, assuming I have internet access at the new camp.
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