Serengeti National Park

"There's more to see than there is time to see it, and more to do than there is time to do it". Elton John and Tim Rice were discussing the "Circle of Life" when they created the opening song for Disney's "The Lion King". However, this melody is an apt depiction of the world-famous Serengeti National Park. This spectacular wildlife park in northern Tanzania, East Africa, spans 5,700 square kilometers. Stewart Edward White, an American hunter-turned-conservationist, recounted his first trip to the Serengeti in 1913 as follows: "We trekked for miles over scorched land. Then I noticed the river's lush trees and continued walking for another two miles till I arrived at heaven".

Thousands of animals may be heard inside the Serengeti's boundaries: Elephants trample well-worn safari routes, and hippos splash in drinking holes, as hyenas cackle. More than 2,000 lions are ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims at any one time, preparing to hunt their unfortunate prey across apparently endless waves of golden grass. The environment rustles with the loping giraffes' quick steps, and tree limbs tremble with each monkey's movement. But the most magnificent sight you'll see is The Great Migration, when over one million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles cross the Serengeti in search of richer pastures, drowning White's paradise in a sea of animals.