Seronera, in the heart of the Serengeti plain is really not that far from Ndutu, certainly well within what can be achieved in a day and we’d always planned to take the day-trip into the heart of the park to see what we could see. So, an early start for the drive north, a packed lunch and a fair bit of driving for Roger.

Even as we headed north towards the main road and the Naabi Hill Gate, north-west of Ndutu, there was no shortage of wildlife to be seen. We soon spotted hyena and a family of jackals near to the roadside. Formalities at the gate were quickly dealt with by Roger and we continued our drive towards the centre of the park. Once you leave the gate, the road leads arrow-straight in a north-east direction for a number of kilometres across flat and uninterrupted grassland.

As our drive along continued, Roger spotted movement off to the south and slowed to a stop directly in front of a pair of lionesses walking slowly towards the road – and now towards us.

They approached steadily and then split slowly apart, one passing in front of the truck and the other behind. They joined back together on the other side of the road and continued on their way. I’d never been so close to a lion – maybe 2m with only the open window to protect me.

They both looked to be in superb condition, well fed and sleek. Slowly they walked away and we continued our journey into the heart of the Serengeti. We spent the rest of the morning driving along almost-deserted tracks, catching a good view of some bat-eared foxes and a tantalizingly short view of a black rhinoceros at Moru Koppies. I’m only quick enough for a back-end image that’s flattering to neither the rhino or myself.

Our lunch was eaten in the picnic site at Seronera, with dwarf mongoose babies running around our feet looking for crumbs. Soon back out on the trail, we spotted the thinnest lion cub on a roadside stump, with his equally thin mother just a few metres away. Comparing the middle of the park with where we were staying at Ndutu, it was clear that once the migration has passed through there is little to eat and the grass slowly dies back to reveal the unrelenting dry plain of white volcanic dust.

Soon enough it was time to start heading for base and Roger headed in a generally south-east direction on a different set of roads than we had used earlier. Some distance ahead, at the base of the only tree visible for more than a kilometre in any direction, a couple of vehicles were stopped. This is always a sign – not always something interesting as people will stop for the most mundane of sightings, but we were soon on the scene.

High in the bole of the thorny acacia, a male leopard was clearly trying to get some sleep. I’d never seen one before and they’re truly beautiful – even when they are trying to hide their heads and get some rest.

Every so often during the next ten minutes or so, he would look around briefly before burying his head before I could get the camera back to my shoulder. Fred was travelling in the front with Roger, but got quietly out and into the back with us to try and get a better view. We had just about given up, so Fred got out again and back into the front seat. He was a little harsh with the door and the leopard looked around at the sudden noise. I was too slow again, but bent down and said to Fred “Your door isn’t shut properly! You’ll have to shut it again.”

He looked at me and smiled, muttering something about not disturbing the wildlife in the National Park, but opened the door and gave it a bit of a bang. I was ready this time and got the shot I was looking for as our spotted friend looked right at us from no more than 5m away and almost at eye level. I may have only had about eight hours in the Serengeti proper, but I’m pretty sure I made the most of it!

We still had three more days to spend at Ndutu and we continued to explore the area around the lodge and also further afield. There was always plenty to see, meeting the lions or the cheetahs almost every day. I can now never decide whether cheetahs or leopards are my favourite cat. I always wanted to see lions, but they’re sometimes a little less interesting in real life. Leopards always seem to be so in control, but cheetahs just tend to be so relaxed.

That doesn’t mean that lions can’t appear to be totally zoned out as well, but they’re more often seen in a group with cubs and such like. We were fortunate enough to see them on a fresh kill, the lioness responsible still panting heavily in the late afternoon sun and the wildebeest down to the ribs and skin after just a few minutes. We also saw them just dangling from the branches of trees. Almost every park in Africa makes claims about having tree-climbing lions as if it is something unique. It isn’t really that unusual at all as I would find out over the years to come.

When they do sleep in the crotch of a tree though, it can give you a chance to get very close without disturbing them. As I sit at my computer and write this, I have a Ndutu lioness looking down on me from the wall. She has her chin resting on her paws on a thick acacia branch, looking right over my head with my reflection visible in her eye.

We didn’t see any leopards at Ndutu, but it was clear from the hanging carcases that we encountered a couple of times that they were about and immensely powerful. It takes massive strength and determination to haul a wildebeest five metres up into a tree for later consumption.

On our last full day in this location, we were delighted to come across a honey badger (ratel) in daylight. They have a reputation of being smart, aggressive and fearless. Our specimen, caught out in the open in daylight by a vehicle full of tourists and a driver keen to get us the best view – whatever it took – was all of the above.

He turned to trot away from us, but Roger sped round him to get a better view. This got us an angry growl and a change of direction. When Roger once more manoeuvred to put us in front of him, he stopped dead. Turning directly towards us, he growled again before turning away again and trotting off. We thought at this point it would be better to leave him in peace.

When we returned from lunch we were talking to the manager about our little encounter. He implied that we’d been very lucky he hadn’t attacked the vehicle. Apparently, it had happened before, with at least one vehicle getting a savaged flat tyre for their trouble. Clearly not an animal to be trifled with and a honey-badgered tyre is not something that can be fixed with a puncture kit!