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Tanzania is famous for its vast wilderness. Twenty-five percent of the country is designated as parkland and conservation areas. We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Parks. Each park has its own characteristics and distinctive landscapes.
Tarangire, with a river flowing right through it, has dense acacia vegetation and a variety of unique trees. Huge baobabs, with their thick trunks and upward clawing branches, are a favorite of elephants; they like to bore holes in them to get to the tender, moist center. During the dry season in October, many wildebeest zebras showed up in Tarangire in search of water. We stayed at Tarangire Simba Lodge, where a water hole in front of the lodge attracted many wild animals, including a big family of elephants. What a luxury to observe wildlife sitting at the lodge’s platform.
Lake Manyara Park, situated between the high ridges of the Great Rift Valley, is dominated by a lake brimming with thousands of birds. We also caught a glance of a ‘tree-climbing’ lion. In this park, we found large troops of baboons, buffalo, and hippos. Two new animals for me—banded mongooses and black-backed jackals—were fascinating and very cute.
The Ngorongoro Crater formed 3 million years ago during a volcanic eruption. In 1974, a team of scientists discovered the earliest human form (dubbed Lucy) nearby. A museum is now being built to display this important part of human history. The geology of the crater floor makes it a great place to spot the ‘Big Five’—elephant, buffalo, lion, rhino, and leopard—and we saw them all!
Serengeti – ‘Endless Plains’ in Maasai language – spans 12,000 sq. mi. What makes it so unique is how active the animals were. The migrating wildebeest and zebra walk in a single file that stretches miles long. Any movement nearby would spook them, running frantically through the plain and river. I had never heard of Zebra making noises before and was surprised to hear them barking like dogs. We saw a lioness dragging her newly killed zebra to the shade; a comical-looking warthog marched toward a lounging leopard, challenging her authority (the leopard just ignored him). A group of Marabou Storks, spreading their 7-foot wings to cool off, giraffe stretch their neck to pick leaves from the treetop. A magnificent male Impala was herding his large group of females away from potential young bucks, and Kirk’s Dik Dik (the smallest antelope) darted around under bushes. At the visitor centers, we found the Rock Hyrax (who looks just like a very tamed big rat) snuggled under our picnic table. Who can believe this little creature is the closest living relative to the elephant? The hippos piled on each other in a smelly, slimy pool while two alligators sun themselves nearby. All this wildlife in their natural environment made the long, bumpy landcover ride and dusty road all worthwhile. After a full day’s game drive, we relaxed in the sunset over a tranquil Serengeti plain – now that is paradise!
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