05/26/2026
“We expected something splendid. What we experienced was magnificence with the volume k**b removed.
As many Nat Geo shows as we’ve watched over the years, nothing prepared Karen and me for the impact of seeing wildlife in person and up close. Karen had read Hemingway’s descriptions in 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 of the vastness of the Serengeti Plain and the marvel of the great migration of wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, impalas, and other species, but she was awed to see the plains stretch to the horizons and herds by the thousand moving in their clockwise search for water and better grazing.
In our Toyota Land Cruiser, we moved with the herds and lions, leopards, and cheetahs waiting for their chance to down a newborn wildebeest or gazelle. At one point in the Serengeti, we came upon a sated pride of lions—aging patriarch surrounded by females, with younger males at a distance—sleeping lazily together near a half-creek after gorging themselves on a fresh kill.
None of the animals, predators or prey, are bothered by safari vehicles drawing close to them. ‘They don’t see you,’ explained our tour director, Emmanuel (Emma) Mollel. ‘If you get out of the truck, that’s another story.’”
Click the link below to read multi-time Odysseys guest Brooks Clark’s full travelogue, penned after returning from his 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 small group safari in February. Many thanks to Brooks and his wife Karen for the sparkling prose and excellent photos, and to Cityview Magazine for publishing his tale!
