You'll depart from Arusha after breakfast for the approximately two-hour journey to Tarangire National Park. Along the way, your eyes will be opened to all the colours and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions. Once you've entered Tarangire, you'll begin your game drive across a rich vista of endless golden savannah that surrounds the Tarangire River. Tarangire is huge. As you stand at the park gate and look south, it stretches as far as the eye can see. Known as the ‘Elephant Playground,’ this spectacular park contains largest population of these mighty mammals. But Tarangire is also home to buffalo, lion, gnu, zebra and gazelle and the park can rival Serengeti for sheer animal densities. What might you see today? Perhaps a solitary male lion stretched out beneath a tree, perhaps a trio of male cheetah enjoying some lazy bonding-time in the sun. Maybe some graceful Grant’s gazelle or zebra bounding away from the road or a couple of giraffes munching happily from the choicest acacia branches. For Tarangire specialties, look out for kudu and oryx.
Here as in other parks, it pays not to ignore the small animals. It is so easy to be mesmerized by the power and majesty of an elephant or the elegance of the giraffe. Ask your guide to find you an agama lizard, especially a male one who changes colour in front of you according to the temperature! Or a hyrax, known as pimbi, an insignificant-looking creature of around 30 cm in length…who astonishingly is related to elephant!
Not many trees will pass you by without something of avian interest catching your eye. A memorable flash of colour might be a lilac-breasted roller or superb starling. Ostrich are plentiful and it is hard not to chuckle at the sighting of the well-named, studious-looking secretary bird as it awkwardly pads across the grasslands.
The park is also famous for its noble baobab trees, rolling savannah and acacia woodland. It can be dusty – wear a scarf over your mouth - but this is a minor inconvenience for sighting wildlife in such abundance. After an extensive game drive and a picnic lunch, you will leave the park to make your way to the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro highlands.
Destination: Tarangire National Park
Meals: Full Board (B, L & D).
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Oldeani Mountain Lodge
