The most authentic way to experience the African wilderness is by doing it the traditional way….by camping out in your own small tent with your own food and provisions – sleeping bag, roll mat, chairs, table and firewood to make a cosy campfire to sit around at night while cooking your meal – as I discovered on my recent trip to Northern Tanzania. Myself and my husband joined Krissie Krook and Wayne Lotter from PAMS Foundation for an adventurous 5 day trip to Lake Natron, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. The PAMS foundation is a not-for-profit conservation organisation whose mission it is to help sustain and conserve biodiversity, wilderness, habitats and ecological processes through actions that benefit nature and communities (for more info visit: www.pamsfoundation.org)

We set off from Arusha early morning on the first day for Lake Natron in our rugged 4x4 landcruiser, the best vehicle suited to the bumpy roads. No more than 20 mins out of Arusha we almost bumped into three huge bull elephants crossing the main road on their way to who knows where. We had hardly even left civilization and we had already encountered one of the big 5! The journey had already been eventful and we knew that it was only going to get even more exciting. As soon as we turned off towards Lake Natron it felt like we were catapulted back in time. Buildings became small huts on the side of the road, and the local people dressed in western clothing were ‘replaced’ by traditional Masai dressed in traditional Masai blankets or ‘shuka’ as they are known locally. The landscape suddenly turned dry and barren, with the red clothing of the Masai a stark contrast to the surrounding land.

As we carried on driving along the dusty road, we were dwarfed by Ol Donyo Lengai, a 9,650 ft active volcano that dominates the landscape. To hike it is quite demanding, but also unique and outstanding – we decided to avoid the challenge after hearing how tough the climb is from Krissie who had hiked up the volcano the year before! Stopping for a better view, we were greeted by beautiful Masai women selling their bead work, a common site in this part of Tanzania.  After a short break, we headed off again on the last leg of our journey for the day, to a small campsite within a few kilometres of the Lake. Lake Natron is a salt Lake and due to this it does not support much wildlife, although giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and other wildlife is seen passing through the area. The lake does support a big population of birds and is the only regular breeding area in East Africa for the 2.5 million endangered Flamingos.  After enjoying a much needed sundowner drink overlooking the lake, we set up camp for the night.

Waking up at 05h30 the next day we set off early in order to make the long drive to the Loliondo gate in the Eastern part of the Serengeti national park. The drive took us through villages and small towns giving us an insight into the local people and their culture. We reach the Serengeti by mid-afternoon, and no sooner had we set up camp in the unfenced campsite, we spotted a lion dragging his kill up a kopje no more than 100 metres away! Needless to say, we didn’t sleep at that well that night in our tiny tent and we were up early again the next day to allow plenty of time to find the migrating wildebeest. We were told that the ‘super herd’ of up to 1.5 million wildebeest was close to the Grumeti river, at least a 4 hour drive from where we were. So off we ‘sped’ to try and catch this awesome sight, and as soon as we reached the river, there in the distance were thousands and thousands of them, their grunting deafening. We decided to drive up a kopje to have a better view of the massive herd below, but when we got out of the car and walked towards the viewpoint, we thought twice about sticking around when we caught a glimpse of two dozing lying in the bushes no more than 5 metres away from where we stood! Our second lion encounter in less than twenty four hours and this one was even more unnerving than the first.

After a few hours watching the wildebeest, we headed for the Seronera, one of the best areas in the Serengeti for resident game and known for its excellent wildlife sightings all year round.  We were not disappointed when we got there – within an hour we saw a big herd of zebra drinking, a family of dwarf mongoose, two lionesses’ with about nine cubs, plenty of giraffe, Thompson’s gazelle, warthog and buffalo. We set up camp for another night in the bush, falling asleep to the night sounds ready for the next day’s journey to the Ngorongoro crater. Another early start and they day began with sightings of hyena and a lioness, with a hot air balloon flying over in the distance. Our trip took us through the Great Plains of the southern Serengeti and onto our final destination, the Ngorongoro crater. As nobody is allowed to camp inside the crater itself, the campsite is located on the crater rim over 6000 ft. above sea level and usually very cold and misty. So once again early to bed it was this time with hyena calling in the background all night.

Another early start and we took advantage of being one of the first vehicles to descend down into the crater. The crater floor is literally teeming with wildlife and is arguably one of the best places in Africa for wildlife photography due to the sheer numbers of animals and the fact that they are so used to vehicles so one can get really close. We spent seven hours in the crater driving from one end to the other and we were not disappointed. I have never in my life seen so many hyena, more than fifty in total, plus hundreds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, a black rhino, bat ear foxes, warthogs, flamingos and eight different lion sightings! Once again we had a close encounter with two lionesses – lying in the sun baking in the heat of the day, one lioness decided to use our vehicle for shade and she was soon joined by another. Before we could move the vehicle, they had made themselves quite comfortable and it was quite tricky trying to drive away without driving over their feet. Never a dull moment!

The end of our Tanzania adventure was here and we made our way back up the crater rim and onwards to Arusha, stopping at the magnificent view of Lake Manyara, part of the Great Rift Valley, on the way. Northern Tanzania offers the ultimate game viewing experience and I recommend a visit here at least once for any avid wildlife enthusiast.  For more information on creating the perfect safari for you in the Northern Serengeti, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it