Serengeti National Park. One of the most famous nature reserves in the world, its located on Tanzania‘s northern border with Kenya. It is one of the most important African tourism circuits and an extension of the Kenyan Masai Mara National Park.

  It’s also the oldest eco-system on the planet. All three large cats can be found here – Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards.

Early morning inside the camp in Serengeti. No boundary wall, with lions roaring around you the entire night. And Zebras walking around the camp.

Hot air balloon ride over the Savannah. For a bird’s eye view of the wild.

Hippopotamus. It’s the 2^nd largest land animal in the world. They can weigh upto 3200 kgs. In the wild, they have a lifespan of about 40 years.

They can neither swim nor float! They are considered to be one of the most dangerous and one of the most aggressive animals in Africa. This means that they’re also very closely related to any women scorned.

The Hippo pool.

Ngorongoro Crater.  One of the 7 natural wonders of Africa.  A large volcanic eruption created the crater 2.5 million years ago.

There are nearly 30,000 animals here. But there are no giraffes. The sides of the crater are too steep for them to climb down. If my wife was a giraffe, you’ll definitely find me living here….

Gaboon Viper. This huge poisonous snake is a species of puff adders and possesses the largest fangs of any snake in the world, nearly 2 inches.

Cheetah. The world’s fastest land animal. They reach speeds of upto 110 kmph in about 3 seconds – the same as a Lamborghini Gallardo. They use their tail as rudders during chases. They are also one of the few hunters in sub Saharan Africa that hunt during the day, to avoid competition from other predators, which normally hunt during the night. Cheetahs have “tear marks” that run from the inside corners of their eyes down to their mouth. These marks help reflect the glare of the sun when they are hunting during the day. They work just like the black marks that football players put under their eyes during games. These marks also work like the sights on a rifle, to help them “aim” and stay focused on their prey when they are hunting.

Absolutely the LAZIEST predators in the world. They sleep for about 15 hours a day!

Mambo No. 5. The Black Mamba is THE most feared snake in Africa and one of the deadliest snakes in the world. It’ll make your mother in law look like Mother Teresa. The reason for this is its speed and venom. It’s the fastest land snake in the world, reaching speeds of upto 18 kmph and its venom can kill a human in 20 minutes. (That’s 5 minutes less time than it takes to die if you watch any Uday Chopra movie). They can very easily outrun most humans and are responsible for about 20,000 deaths in a year. The name comes from the fact that the inside of its mouth is black.

Nile crocodile. It’s the 2^nd largest living reptile in the world and the largest one in Africa. (Can you tell me which is the largest reptile?). Its bite exerts a force 8 times greater than a Great White Shark, 15 times more than a Rottweiler and 20 times more than your sister did when you were kids. Each year, during the river crossing of the Great Migration, they lie patiently waiting for the thousands of Wildebeests, Zebra, Buffaloes etc, to cross over the Mara River from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara in the north. It’s the greatest feast for them in the year and has been extensively photographed by wildlife photographers.