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The slender neck blended into rows of gold on gold - the colours of the Serengeti.
A Grant's gazelle was looking right at us, just metres from the track, picture perfect and impossible to resist. I snapped the shutter as we took the bend. What happened next may be my most treasured memory of Africa. As the gazelle stood up, there was something grey, something that just fell away, something with ears.
The vehicle came to a halt as all aboard gasped. There was an unwieldy, wobbly, impossible shape in the grass. It was a foal - tiny and utterly adorable. We stared at the newborn in awe. As it took its first breath, we began holding ours.
A mother gazelle must make her baby walk before it can suckle. With hearts in mouths and fingers crossed, we watched for exactly 19 anxious minutes as the youngster faced its very first battle for survival, just finding its legs.
Right there, with every unsteady step and stumble, the risk of predators never very far, was the stuff of life and death - utterly mesmerising.
An endangered black rhino, one of about 3000 left in the world, grazes in Serengeti National Park.Source: Supplied
It was an incredible moment on a day that was already extraordinary. That morning we had seen a black rhino, of which there are only 3000 left on the planet. We had also lingered alongside sleepy lions, with their big paws and fat tums sunny side up.
We were three journalists in a safari car (arguably more than enough for any occasion) and had barely paused for breath since the journey to Tanzania began. Today, however, we were running out of words for this special place.
To the north of us, broken-toothed mountains along the Kenyan border glowed. Everything stretching out before them was tinged with green. Africa is more lush than imagined. Even the vultures seemed too full to pick carcasses clean.
Belly up and feet stretched out, a young lion sleeps with others from the pride. Source: Supplied
The lions we saw lazed about as though they'd just had Christmas dinner and needed to sleep it off. Clumps of cats, part of a pride of 19, were simply flopped together on a shady embankment, lolling about without a care in the world.
When familiar with the presence of vehicles, most animals ignore them, as though they are just another kind of creature, just noisy and metal. They remain oblivious to the individuals inside. And there we were, safe in our pop-top LandCruiser, a mere 10m away from glorious predators. We basked in the presence of the pride as they stretched a paw and occasionally rolled over.
Animals in game parks, we are told, are never this relaxed. It is with some pain I later learn that Tanzania still allows hunting in designated areas. And because this practice brings big money, policy makers are resistant to international pressure to ban hunting altogether.
Thankfully today's safari is in an area that is strictly controlled, monitored and defended.
A zebra stands proudly in the afternoon sun in the Serengeti National Park. Source: Supplied
All inside the vehicle are hushed. All eyes are fixed on the grass and the movements of a fragile, delicate creature.
The baby gazelle's bottom bobs up and down into sight with each attempt to walk. His mum coaxes him a little further along with gentle nudges.
Finally he lurches forward, with several solid steps in a row. He finds mum's tum, then teat. The little guy makes it to the finish line and there's a small cheer from the audience in the front row.
Then, when we thought our hearts had already burst, the baby, our baby, takes a breath and one more hilarious, theatrical topple.
As the Tanzanians say, "asante". Thank you, little foal, for this precious moment.
A vulture looks over to those enjoying lunch, parked in the shade of an umbrella thorn acacia.Source: Supplied
FROM JOURNEY TO SAFARI
Getting to the Serengeti is not done on a whim. From Australia, we fly to Johannesburg then into Dar es Salaam, where there's the added adventure of getting through Tanzanian immigration and the clogged roads of a port city outgrowing its infrastructure.
From "Dar" we fly to Arusha, a regional hub where travel takes on a very different pace. A sign on the three-storey airport building welcomes us to "the Geneva of Africa" with dry Tanzanian wit.
Nearly every flight on our journey will pass through here, with the ramshackle departure lounge facing the still active volcano of Ol Doinyo Lengai, meaning mountain of god. We watch planes land and depart against a plume of white steam.
Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, as seen from the window of a 14-seat Cessna. Source: Supplied
In the office of our aviation company is a framed notice with strangely specific listings of prohibited items, which read like the props list for a Bond villain with blow guns, umbrella swords and sword canes. None of which we notice aboard.
There's some novelty to the Cessna, with safety cards in Swahili and a crate of bottled water in the back. The cockpit is in full view including the steering column, which aptly bears the brand Caravan.
Unless you are fortunate enough to have your own private jet, getting to the national parks requires a tolerance for these small planes and their bus route stops, the order of which seems subject to change. One such hop, Arusha to Tanga, gives us an unexpected delight - flying past famed Mt Kilimanjaro. For the young pilots who work this part of the world, the office view isn't too bad.
Otherworldly. Looking out over the spectacular Ngorogoro crater, Tanzania. Source: Supplied
The flight from Arusha to the Serengeti is no slouch either. It takes us across the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater - a relic of a volcano with a beguiling stark interior. It looks almost desolate from above, but the crater is a national park unto itself, wildlife teeming within its walls.
At times it seems inhuman to fill the 14-seater to capacity. Every pocket of hot air gives us a bump and of course we are flying through the hottest part of the day. At last we land at the red dirt airstrip of Kogatende.
Lions ignore those on safari, just metres from where the pride are sleeping. Source: Supplied
One couple is standing in the airport car park; the lodge transfer has not arrived. It is about 35C. Another driver kindly hands them a soft drink while they wait. It's pause for thought. We are on a "luxury" holiday, but what we're really counting on is the safari company to take care of details. After all, game drives, airport transfers, park fees, meals and drinks are usually included in these packages.
Our guide, Stephen, like all the guides from safari company andBeyond, is immaculate, waiting for us with a warm handshake, cold drinks and packed lunches. The safari vehicle is clearly marked, clean and comfortable. Stephen shows us a tiny dot on the national park map. With confidence we sit back and enjoy the ride, burdened only by flies. The bitey buggers sneer at 80 per cent DEET repellent, so I swat away with something that looks like a cow's tail and (I hope) gives me a vaguely regal air.
A cheetah, perched on a rock, looks about and calls for her cubs. Source: Supplied
CATS ON ROCKS
An important benefit of staying at an in-park lodge is that there's more time. Tanzania's conservation areas have limits on the number of visitors and have strict access hours. While day-trippers head home early, we have the afternoon to dawdle to accommodations deep within.
There's chatter on the two-way about cheetahs, spotted (pun intended) by fellow guests. We head for a rocky outcrop and pull up behind another vehicle, about 5m from a creature that can outrun a sports car and whose looks alone could kill.
The mother cat is resting in the shade, front paws stretched out in front like a sphinx. She is on our left. Her two cubs, not quite full size, are laying about on the other side of the track to our right. We have just parked in the cheetah family living room and no one seems to mind too much, except that now, Mum cannot see her kids.
A cheetah and her cubs reunite and greet each other with affection. Source: Supplied
The fastest creature on earth meows like a little cat. She's calling her cubs. No answer. She lifts herself up and looks about, calling a few times more. Perhaps she sighs to herself before climbing to the top of the rock and calling again.
Like lazy teenagers, the kids wander over, first around the front of the vehicles, the second around the back. We are treated to an intimate family reunion, with much nuzzling and affection. As the kids flop down together, Mum reclines on the rock above.
This part of the Serengeti is called Wogakuria, Stephen explains, owing its name to the Swahili word for rocks. "Big cats like to lie on rocks," he adds, which makes it a pretty good place for a safari company to pitch a tent.
Where the wildebeest roam, at home in The Serengeti National Park. Source: Supplied
We drove into the camp just before dusk. I never go camping so even with the 5-star rating, was unsure what to expect from Serengeti Under Canvas.
To sum up luxury in a single word, "chandelier" will do the trick - posh three-tiered affairs in the bar and dining, baby ones for each guest tent, just to prove the point.
We piled into the main tent where leather lounges were arranged near a fully stocked bar. The camp manager, Mussa, waited for the chitchat to die down before he began. At this point one might imagine lines delivered by any Hollywood heavyweight, perhaps wearing a few medals of honour.
"There are no fences here," said Mussa, with the gravitas of a general. He spoke kindly, but firmly. We listened.
"There's a horn in the tent. It is for emergency. An emergency is not 'I need a gin and tonic'," he smiled. "Use the horn and the whole camp will come running."
General manager Mussa runs a tight operation making possible the luxury camping of Serengeti Under Canvas. Source: Supplied
The light dropped outside as we were told it was forbidden to wander anywhere at night unescorted. The reason we came here, to be as close to nature as possible, is the very reason we are getting this particular welcome speech.
There are 10 guest tents per campsite, all spaced far enough from each other for peace and privacy. Each of us is assigned a "butler" who is part guard and part attendant. James shows me to my tent and explains the essentials: electric lighting, room safe, bottled water and - believe it or not - a flush toilet.
Porcelain aside, the washbasin and fittings are all in colonial-style brass. On the other side of the tent flap is a private, open-air, bucket shower that can be filled with hot water given 15 minutes notice.
There's a day bed and deck chairs, robes and slippers, a bedside torch, a mini bar in the trunk, and a walkie-talkie that means James is available to charge camera batteries or deal with any aforementioned G-and-T- related crises.
The night is a blissful blur of campfire chat as guides and guests talk of what sounds we will hear through the night. We have the best meal of our journey, and forgo desert for more slices of beef cooked in the dark by chef "KK", who wears a headlamp while he works.
With hot shower, good meal and comfy bed, I listen to the sounds of the night and pick out the hyena. How quickly one becomes attuned to new places.
A giraffe grazes in a rocky area of The Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Source: Supplied
Sunrise on safari, with hot coffee and coconut biscuits in bed. Source: Supplied
THE OTHER GREAT MIGRATION
There's a friendly "good morning" outside my tent and James greets me with piping hot French press coffee, with milk and sugar, and cookies made from pigeon pea flour.
He rolls and fastens the east-facing tent flaps and leaves me to this joy. The sun is just up. I am in love with the day already. I take pictures of the coffee, of the view through my tent, from my bed. If it were possible, I would still be there now.
Amazingly the camp itself won't be in the same place by the time you read this. It moves every three months with the precision of a small army, following the usual path of the great wildebeest migration.
I can only imagine the effort of disassembling the flush loos and massive beds. Mussa says it takes only four days to relocate and receive guests again.
The famed migration took an unusual detour this year. The herds, which are usually measured by the number of days they take to pass, went to Botswana instead. Yet, incredibly, hundreds didn't get that memo.
By the Mara River, and seemingly everywhere we looked, there are wildebeest. And rather than risk their lives on a river crossing, they graze alongside the zebra, giraffe, antelope and ostriches.
It's strange to see so many different species going about their business in harmony in the same open spaces.
Among the lions, rhino and gazelle we have squeezed every possible moment from the day and included a very civilised picnic under the iconic umbrella thorn acacia.
Our one full day in the Serengeti is coming to an end. We head back to camp as the light begins to drop.
A long-neck beer bearing the image of Kilimanjaro is handed my way.
At camp, Stephen tells us we've covered 98km. It feels like it. We are covered in dust and exhausted from a day of incredible highs. All I want now is to hear five magic words: The hot water is ready.
Asante, Serengeti.
The author travelled to Tanzania as a guest of African Travel Specialists.
A crocodile “smiles” from the Mara River in the Serengeti National Park. Source: Supplied
GO2 SERENGEIT NATIONAL PARK
Getting there
From Australia, fly South African Airways to Johannesburg for a one-night stopover, then on to Tanzania's main port city, Dar es Salaam, for domestic flights.
Planning
A safari company is essential for an adventure in Tanzania's national parks, of which there are 15. African Travel Specialists will help choose where to go and accommodation.
Packages include guides, safari vehicles, transfers, park fees and all meals and drinks (including alcohol).
The local knowledge included is priceless.
Sleeping
In Johannesburg, designer hotel TenBompas provides plush flawless service.
In chaotic Dar es Salaam, the Oyster Bay Hotel is an opulent oasis with flowing mosquito nets and daybeds.
Serengeti Under Canvas (various locations) is operated by andBeyond.
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If you are planning to Travel a Tanzania then there are a few things to consider so that you have the best possible time to visit and spend some time to ur family member and friends......
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