The jeep left the city, and the bustling traffic, market noise, and dust slowly disappeared, replaced by expansive grasslands.

In December, the Serengeti was filled with the moist scent of earth, signaling the lushness of the grass and the rising of the lakes, almost as if it were a prelude to the upcoming animal migration. Near the Mara River, herds of wildebeest had gathered, zebras following closely behind, hippopotamuses submerged in the water, crocodiles lying along the riverbank, ...