A great safari in the quiet season By Paul Kirui

If you are planning a safari to Tanzania-Kenya around April May, most people will advice against the idea. this is mainly because being a rain season, there may not be much to see, coupled with the challenges of getting stuck in the bush.

however, recently embarked on one such trip, and what could have been boring, turned out to be one great safari of the season. My guests, Kym Illman (owner of Perth-based audio production company Messages On Hold Australia and his family planned their trip for this period. Seeing how much rain we had, i reluctantly agreed to guide them. however, on the very first days of our trip things turned out great and warmed up our hearts. the trip took us to Ngorongoro crater, Ndutu area, Central Serengeti, Masai Mara and Naboisho conservancy. Kym who is a serious photographer, introduced me to new photography techniques. I am now a better photographer, and i promised to beat him in our photography competition on his return trip!

The highlights of our trip were Elephants at Ngorongoro crater (one really gave us a scare by charging from the back of our vehicle) the other highlight was a sighting of 11 lions on one tree near Seronera. the lions had been feeding on a buffalo then all went up the tree after feeding. we stayed here till they started coming down the tree one after the other. We left when the last lion came down. when we came back the next day, we were hoping to see them up the tree again, but we had only 2 go up and the rest came walking past the tree and all headed to lay on a big rock!

our other excitement was seeing this Cheetahs stalk and chases wildebeests on Ndutu plains. the dust and confusion in the herds made it difficult for us to take any decent pictures, except for a video camera we had left running on its own, capturing an amazing footage. Leopard sightings were great too. i must say, on this trip we saw lions almost every day. I was also amazed at the number of elephants we saw in Central Serengeti and the Mara. i will not forget the Giraffes we saw at Naboisho conservancy while staying at Naboisho camp. there was a herd of 35 giraffes walking across the plains. At first we were complaining of lack of light as it was approaching sunset and the sun was behind some clouds. However, our patience paid off when we finally had a streak of light coming through, illuminating our subjects in the most stunning evening light. From then on, we just clicked away!. The trip in the end turned out to be one of my best. Everywhere we went, we were almost the only guests in the camps/lodges and on game drive, leaving us to enjoy the sightings all on our own.