Serengeti Hippo Pool, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Even during the dry season, there is water in the Serengeti. One of the region’s most notable watering holes is the hippo pool. Fed by the Seronera River, the site is located towards the northwest border of this Tanzanian national park and is most easily accessed via the Ikoma entrance.
When you step outside your Land Rover, the first thing that you notice is the odor. It is strong – unpleasantly so. The methane-laced air grows stronger and stronger as you near the water. Once the pool comes into view, it’s quickly evident why the smell is so powerful.
The pond, which could more aptly be described as a mud hole, is home to over 100 hippos. It’s difficult to count them; they are either completed submerged or partially submerged. Those large herbivores not resting on the lakebed’s bottom expose only the tops of their backs or the tops of their nostrils. They look like large gray stepping stones strewn across the waterway. The animals are in such close proximity to one another, it would be easy to walk across the pool without getting wet.
Epic Tanzania Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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