Serengeti means "endless plains" in Masai, and it's an apt description. It was a long drive to the Seronera Wildlife Lodge from Lake Manyara. But the drive was quite interesting. One of the first animals we saw was the rare serval cat. Then we spotted two male lions waking up after their siesta, and drove the van right up beside them. They looked at us sleepily, as if to say, "Oh, just more tourists." As we approached the lodge, we saw a cheetah posing on the stone sign where the road forks. Photo op! We thought at first that he was part of the sign, but then he moved. Our driver/guide and the staff at the lodge said they'd never seen cheetahs standing there. The Seronera Wildlife Lodge is built around an outcropping of rocks known as kopjes. It's a stunningly beautiful setting, with some of the rocks actually forming the walls of the dining room and bar. You can sit outside and have a drink or a cup of coffee and watch the sun rise or set as animals pass by just outside the grounds of the lodge. On the several game drives we made while in the Serengeti, we saw more cheetahs and lions, elephants, hippos, Thomson's gazelles, an eland, Coke's hartebeest, tawny eagles, yellow-billed storks, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, hyenas, silver-backed jackals, reedbucks, vervet monkeys, serval cats, Kori bustards and more. As we were leaving the park, we saw a pride of lions - thirteen in all - just snoozing in the midday sun by the side of the road. We learned that lions sleep wherever they want! People have asked me why I love Africa so much. "Is it the animals, the people, or the landscape?" It's all of that and more. It's the beauty of a Serengeti sunrise, the chance to see fascinating animals in their own habitat, and the almost mystical feeling you get when you're out on the vast savannah and for as far as you can see in every direction, there are no buildings, vehicles, electrical wires or other indications of human life. Home | Lake Manyara | Ngorongoro Crater | More Information

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