The Time I Stayed Over Night in the Serengeti
Safari Itinerary
Day 1drive in to Tarengire National Park and do a full day game driveovernight at Highview Hotel
Day 2drive in to Serengetifull game drive in Serengetiovernight at Serengeti Wildebeest Camp
Day 3half day game drive in Serengetidrive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Day 4 - Last Daygame drive in Ngorongoro Craterback home
Travel Tip The other cool part about staying overnight in the Serengeti is that there is no such thing as a bad viewSerengeti literally means ‘endless plains’ and it is exactly thatIt does not matter where you are in the park, the plains are flat and endless so you can see for miles ahead of and around youMy trip back to the motherland was a long-awaited dream that finally materialized on the calendar this past August. This trip to Tanzania turned out to be a healing experience, opening my eyes to the wonders of my ancestral homeland. While there are countless aspects of this African trip that deserve attention in a separate blog post, I’ll share the unforgettable story of Serengeti lodging first.
To be completely honest, when I first considered traveling to Africa, my thoughts primarily centered around reconnecting with my roots and immersing myself in the heritage of my people. The notion of going on a safari had never really piqued my interest. However, as I got closer to the departure date, my excitement for the safari skyrocketed (and of course safari tiktoks and ads began popping up on my phone more frequently the closer I got to departure so that definitely added to my excitement).
Lucky for us, we had the privilege of having family in Tanzania who graciously organized our safari itinerary.
Again, I can write completely separate blog posts detailing Terengire and Ngorongoro further, but this post is just to highlight my STAY in the Serengeti. After an exhilarating first game drive in the Serengeti, we arrived at the Serengeti Wildebeest Camp, nestled in the heart of the park. Each room at the camp resembled a tiki hut with authentic African decor. The highlights of our accommodations included the tall people friendly bathtub, conveniently located next to a large window that overlooked the park, the outdoor shower, allowing us to indulge in a MUCH needed cleanse (your body and hair are covered in dust after each day) while immersed in the sights and sounds of the surrounding wilderness and especially the 10-foot-long balcony offering a stunning panoramic view of the park with endless opportunities to observe the wildlife. Now that i’m thinking about on the accommodations and reviewing the pictures I took, this camp in the middle of the Serengeti might have been one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever encountered.
The dinner and breakfast buffets were both very intimate, special moments that kind of shaped the nature of the entire trip. Before you check into your room after the game drive, you coordinate with your safari driver what time you should meet up for dinner. After checking in to your super cozy room, showering and putting on fresh clean clothes (and more bug spray), you head down to dinner in the main building (… hut… main building-hut) where you meet back up with your guide. You are then guided to your reserved table and prompted to dig in to the buffet. After filling up our plates, we sit down and relive the day we just had on the safari together. The really fun part about the whole set up is that everyone in the camp, who were also out on the game drives that day, eat at tables right beside and around you with their own safari drivers. So people from all walks of life who happen to be doing the same safari you are on share stories with each other about the animals we each saw, what we are hoping to see in the days to come and our favorite parts of the trip so far. Its a really special moment to be able to talk with people that you normally would have nothing in common with about something everyone there can relate to.
Once the sun went down that first night, we were able to witness what, to me, was the most beautiful starry night i’ve ever seen. From shooting stars every few minutes to an incredible view of the Milky Way, I can admit that I may have gotten slightly emotional whilst staring at the sky (slightly emotional meaning balling my eyes out while repeating how beautiful the universe is). Emotions swiftly pivoted to slight fear when we started going to sleep and the sounds of hyenas cackling near our hut (along with other animal sounds that I could not quite place) started to come into play. Thats when we decided its time to lock the doors and call it a night. But the next morning, we got up bright and early, witnessed a quiet, colorful sunrise over the park, filled our bellies at the buffet and started day 2 feeling more connected to nature than ever.
