Along the way to Ngorongoro Crater

The landscape morphs so dramatically from the lower regions where savannah grass grow wild and eventually give way to acacia trees. As we ascend to the hill tops, the vegetation becomes a thick, rainforest-like growth, and the greenery becomes more intense.

A view of the Ngorongoro Crater....

Cape buffaloes graze along the road. These guys are pretty agile and can climb even the most precipitous inclines. They do look like domesticated water buffaloes found in Asian countries (like my own hometown of Philippines), but make no mistake, they are dangerous when cornered.

Serengeti Sopa Lodge

The swimming pool and lounging area overlooking the western Serengeti. There is an artifical watering hole that the lodge had created to attract the wild animals. We saw mostly giraffes, gazelles, impalas and warthogs feeding in the general vicinity.

When I was booking this place initially, I went on to TripAdvisor to read some reviews. And as to be expected, the comments were mixed. Some people complained of bug infestations, dirty rooms, etc. But honestly, I was impressed when I stayed here. The rooms were spacious, clean and bug-free! It could just be the time of the year. I was more concerned with the tsetse flies when we were out for the game drives because their bites were quite painful. And also, the whole African Sleeping Sickness thing was a little worrisome. All the places we stayed at had hot showers and very comfy beds with mosquito nettings.

Our bedroom had a balcony that overlooked the Serengeti. Since mosquitoes were not really an issue when we were there, my hubby and I sat outside at night with the lights turned off and just listened to the wildlife. We heard a pride of hunting lions make a kill and the deep, guttural roar of what I imagined to be a very large lion. It sounded like a Harley Davidson motorcycle but louder and more powerful. It was just incredible.

Mama and her cubs

This was a fortuitous sighting of a mama lion and her three babies, just along the side of a dirt road in the Serengeti. A whole pride of young lions just basking in the afternoon sun.

These were the rest of the siblings. The one on the left is a juvenile male.

The Seronera

A leopard napping up on a tree. We never did get a look at his face, even though we went back to check on him a couple of times.

King of the jungle. Also probably one of the laziest animals I've ever seen.

Cheetahs are not considered to be "true cats", as they do not have retractable claws.

A cape buffalo carcass. In the African savannah, a dead animal, no matter how big or small, never goes to waste.

Central Serengeti is lush with pockets of oases spread throughout the vast area known as Seronera. Here, life and death play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem. Apex predators such as the leopard, cheetah and lions can all be found in this region.

Big cats in the Serengeti

A young, female lion resting from the noon heat. We were going at a pretty good speed when all of a sudden I spotted her with my binoculars. I just happen to glance in that particular direction. So I asked our guide to stop the truck and we took about 30 photos of her. Little did we know that we would see so much more in the next couple of days. But this was our first lion sighting just outside the entrance to the Serengeti.

Welcome to the Serengeti

We drove for 4 hours, maybe even more, to get to the western part of the Serengeti. Although you can fly from Arusha, you would miss all the amazing scenery along the way. We knew that this was going to be exciting as we already started to see big cats, even before we reached the gateway.

The New Valentino

My heart stopped when I laid eyes on these beautiful, airy confections at the Valentino Spring 2010 Fashion Show....

Not a single red dress to be found. Nevertheless, I love the pastels, the organzas and chiffons that are cleverly twisted, tied into bows and transformed into a million ruffles. Sigh.

Photo Credits: Style.com