WILDLIFE SAFARIS
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
The fierce sun sucks the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red, the withered grass as brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has shriveled to a shadow of its wet season self. But it is choked with wildlife. Thirsty nomads have wandered hundreds of parched kilometers knowing that here, always, there is water.
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem - a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared Oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors scatter over a 20,000 sq km (12,500 sq miles) range until they exhaust the green plains and the river calls once more. But Tarangire's mobs of elephant are easily encountered, wet or dry.
The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world.
On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world's largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.
Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting.
Tarangire's pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.
SIZE:
2,850 sq. km (1,050 sq. miles).
BEST TIME:
year around but dry season (June – September) for sheer numbers of animals.
ACCOMMODATION:
lodges and luxury tented camp inside the park.
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
A million wildebeest... each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival of the fittest as 40km (25 mile) long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north; replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile) pilgrimage begins again.
Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th worldwide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.
The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.
But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite kopjes. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills.
As enduring as the game-viewing is the liberating sense of space that characterizes the Serengeti Plains, stretching across sun burnt savannah to a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth. Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And there are also wooded hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust.
Popular the Serengeti might be, but it remains so vast that you may be the only human audience when a pride of lions masterminds a siege, focused unswervingly on its next meal.
SIZE:
14,763 sq. km (5,700 sq. miles).
BEST TIME:
Wildebeest migration, December – July. To see predators, June – October.
ACCOMMODATION:
Lodges, luxury tented camps and public campsites.
NOTE:
The route and timing of the wildebeest migration is unpredictable. Allow at least three days to be assured of seeing them on your visit. And if you want to see the main predators as well.
MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience.
From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.
Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.
Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.
Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks.
SIZE:
330 sq. km (127 sq. miles), of which up to 200 sq. km (177 sq. miles) is lake when water levels are high.
BEST TIME:
Dry season (July – October) for large mammals; wet season (November – June) for bird watching, the waterfalls and canoeing.
ACCOMMODATION:
One luxury tree house-style camp, public bandas and campsites inside the Park. One luxury tented camp and two lodges perched on the Rift wall overlooking the lake.
ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
A small but very accessible park located 16 miles northeast of Arusha. It is a great place for a day trip. Although it measures just 53 square miles (137 square km), it has a remarkable range of habitats. The most prominent feature here is Mount Meru, the second highest peak in Tanzania.
The park also contains a miniature volcanic crater (Ngurduto Crater), a river (Jekukumia River), a highland rain forest, acacia woodlands and a string of crater lakes (Momella Lakes).
When it comes to wildlife, Arusha National Park is home to Colobus monkeys, velvet monkeys, buffalo, hippos, elephants, and giraffe. Waterfowl is abundant here as well. The park offers many beautiful panoramic views, including spectacular views of both Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.
SIZE:
542 sq. km (205.96 sq. miles).
BEST TIME:
To climb Mt. Meru, June – February although it may rain in November. Best views of Kilimanjaro is December – February.
ACCOMMODATION:
2 Rest houses, Campsites (3 public and 2 special), 2 lodges inside the park, 2 mountain accommodation centers.
NGORONGORO
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area spans vast expanses of highland plains, savanna, savanna woodlands and forests. Established in 1959 as a multiple land use area, with wildlife coexisting with semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists practicing traditional livestock grazing, it includes the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest caldera. The property has global importance for biodiversity conservation due to the presence of globally threatened species, the density of wildlife inhabiting the area, and the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and other animals into the northern plains. Extensive archaeological research has also yielded a long sequence of evidence of human evolution and human-environment dynamics, including early hominid footprints dating back 3.6 million years.
Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest inactive unbroken calderas in the world which is unflooded. It has a mean diameter of 16-19 km, a crater floor of 26,400 ha, and a rim soaring to 400-610 m above the crater floor. The formation of the crater and other highlands are associated with the massive rifting which occurred to the west of the Gregory Rift Valley. The conservation area also includes Empakaai Crater and Olduvai Gorge, famous for geology and associated palaeontological studies.
A population of about 25,000 large animals lives in the crater, mainly ungulates, along with the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa. They include the critically endangered black rhinoceros, hippopotamus which are very uncommon in the area. There are also many other ungulates: wildebeest, Burchell's zebra, eland, Grant's and Thomson's gazelles. The crater has the densest known population of lion, which are classed as vulnerable. On the crater rim are leopard and the endangered African elephant, mountain reedbuck and buffalo.
LAKE EYASI
This shallow soda lake located to the east of Ngorongoro Conservation area and to the south west of Lake Manyara is home to one of the most fascinating culture tours - a visit to the Hadzabe and Datooga tribes. The Datooga are pastorialists who have also turned to some agriculture. They are a very isolated tribe, resisting outside influence and education. Only 5% speak Swahili and their literacy rate is at 1%. They are skilled craftsmen and are experts at melting scrap metal and molding arrowheads and knives which they trade with the Hadzabe tribe. Outside of this interaction, they are not a friendly tribe towards outsiders typically but will welcome your visit with a local guide. In the past young Datooga warriors would improve their status by killing any outsider. Fortunately this no longer is the case. They are a shy tribe but, when escorted by a local guide, welcomes visitors.
The Hadzabe (Hazda) are one of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes left in the world. They love their lifestyle and have completely rejected government attempts to assimilate them into modern society. Free houses and schools were left abandoned as they quickly returned to their traditional ways. They are very opportunistic, hunting anything with bow and arrow from mice to giraffe, with baboon being their favored prey. For large prey they use poison tipped arrows. Their dwellings are very primitive and temporary to the extent that if a large animal such as a giraffe is killed, they will move to the kill site rather than bring the animal to their camp. Since their huts of sticks, mud and leaves can be built in a few hours. They are experts at gathering wild honey and foraging for edible roots and berries. You can accompany them on a hunt, learn how to make fire without matches, compare your archery skills and join them in dance. They are a very friendly tribe.
The surrounding area is a very harsh environment with onion farming being the mainstay. We can arrange a visit to one of the small farms for an insight into the local life of the inhabitants.
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