Serengeti

It is difficult to describe the Serengeti in a few words, except to say that it has a certain feeling to it - a feeling of serenity and calm, almost like a huge zen garden. In contrast, nearby Ngorongoro Crater feels more like a wildlife playground, even its name sounds comical, but the Serengeti is reverent and mystical. The vast panoramas and the gentle curves of the land inspire both awe and serenity. One of the most important qualities of the Serengeti is that is still offers us a view of what the world was like at the dawn of time, when volcanoes still flowed across the landscape, and man took his first steps in Olduvai Gorge onto the Serengeti plains.

Everything is still there, just as it was, as close to a pure ecosystem as you can find anywhere. One of the most amazing things about the Serengeti is that it has co-evolved its ecosystem alongside man, for more than 3.5 million years. Thus, man has always been a natural part of the Serengeti, both in the form of the Maasai people, and the hunter/gatherers that came before them. These native peoples have had no more or less influence on the ecosystem than the great herds of wildebeest that migrate thru like a massive lawn mower, or the thousands of elephants that regularly move whole forests across the landscape, with their sloppy eating habits - such as eating one tree while sitting on two others. No more or less than the animals, the influence of man has been just one force in many that have shaped the biological features of the area.

When you visit the Serengeti, you feel as if you have returned in time. No where else on Earth does the spectacle of wildlife match that of the Serengeti ecosystem. Perhaps because the Serengeti has remained so unchanged over time, very few visitors remain unchanged after experiencing it.