We moved on to the northwest nether regions of the Serengeti for our second night in the park. This was an area called Lobo. It reminded me of the rocks and rough territory from the lion king movie. The lions perched on high rocks and the migration was starting to slow down. We passed a number of streams with crocodiles sunning themselves on the muddy banks.
The weather cooled as we drove to higher ground. This night we camped in Lobo but unlike the Pimbi camp from the pervious night we appeared to be the only campers. Our driver and cook assured us others would come and that no lions would be around our camp. We set up the tent in the open very near a group of kicking buffalo with the curled horns. Our driver, Lawrence, said they could be dangerous but they just chewed and stared at us as we helped unload the land cruiser and our cook, Dubay, started to make his magical meals with minimal equipment and supplies.
This was by far the most isolated and solitary place. I was somewhat concerned with the baboons that appeared plentiful as we we dropped our companions off at the their lodge. The tent was set up and we were waiting for dinner as the sun was setting and the rain clouds appeared. We debated moving the tent to the dining shelter which it appeared we had to ourselves as no other campers arrived. Our driver/guide said no rangers would be at the site, but again assured us it was safe.
Finally we moved the tent into the dining area when the light rain started. Two travellers from Cape Town arrived driving a newly imported and modified RV camper which they planned to stay in for the night. We invited them to join us for dinner and as the rain ended set our table up next to the buffalo. We enjoyed a terrific pasta dinner and some bottles of wine that we brought with our guests. They were both of German descent but had lived and travelled extensively. The park ranger dropped by to check our passes and then after sitting around the campfire for an hour went to bed. We didn't sleep for long though because a lion decided to join us for the night. He sat under the big tree where our table was set up for night and roared every 15 minutes for the entire night. It was deafening. We were so glad to be in the enclosure. We could have been his dinner if we stayed in the tent unprotected. Our driver and chef were in the wired enclosure used by the chefs so we all had protection for the night but I couldn't wait for the sun to come up in the morning. I was sure the door to our enclosure had been pushed open and the wild animals were all around our tent. The wind had come up and the tent walls kept moving but no lions were to be seen in the morning. We saw vultures circling nearby, like the hyena they were waiting for their turn to feed. The hungry lions found something to eat that morning.
We continued on our travels after an early morning game drive. Our exciting night took a toll and we really found the drive back to Ngorongoro challenging. Our next day included a drive in the crater. We were looking forward to this as we headed back to the savannah grasslands.
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