Safari in Northern Tanzania

It helps having a long neck 

Next on the agenda was a safari. Eli and our new guide came to pick us up in the landcruiser. The plan was to have safaris, or game drives as they called them, firstly in Tarangire National Park (NP), Lake Manyara NP, The Serengeti NP and finnaly the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. We would stay in a different "tented" Lodge each night. The first animals that we saw in the Tarangire Park were lots of families of warthogs. They kept popping up all over the place. The grown males looked impressive with their upward curved tusks and they can weigh up to a 100 kg. 
 

A Warthog family

 

Elephants under a huge Baobab tree

The area is flat and densely vegetated and was especially green since the short rain seasonhad just ended.

The numerous Baobab trees are so huge that they make the elephants look tiny next to them. The elephants in Tanzania were so obviously bigger than the Pygmy Elephants we saw in Borneo. It was fun to see the younger baby elephants walk along underneath and between the legs of the adults for safety. The Tarangire has a large number of zebras, giraffes and antelopes and we saw alot of them.

We didn’t only see big animals. Suddenly we saw a tortoise on the side of the track which we luckily managed to avoid driving over.

A tortoise by the side of the raod

Flamingos on Lake Manyara

The Tarangire River runs through the National Park and in the dry season the animals congregate there. When we were there though, the animals were spread around the area since there was enough water from the rain available in other places. Later that day as we drove to the lodge we could see a pink haze in distance by Lake Manyara and wondererd what it was. Our guide informed us that it was a famous sight and was in fact thousands and thousands of flamingos. From the lodge we could see them through our binoculars. Iren had always wanted to see this and here they were! A special experience!

Breakfast with Eli and our guide

Our "tent" at Roika Tented Lodge

The first lodge we stayed at turned out to be the best. There

were zebras grazing just outside so we could watch them from our table. There was also a small swimming pool. The food was excellent as well. We had our own "tent". It was on a solid base with stilts, had a straw roof and an on-suite bathroom. Not excatly like a normal tent. It would have been nice to have had more time to enjoy it.

Our safari landcruiser

Our new binoculars were well used

The safari accommodation is booked in advance and so it's not possible to stay an extra night. Each night was spent in a new lodge after travelling to a particular area and then doing a game drive. The National Parks that we were visiting are relatively close to each other although there were some long drives. This gave us a good opportunity to see some more of Tanazania although it was easy to fall asleep by the motion of the landcruiser and the heat and then get rudely awaken by a bumpy part of the road.

"Old men", "Undertakers" or
Marabou Storks

An Ostrich running out of our way

The next morning we continued exploring the Tarangire National Park. We saw lots of Marabou Storks. They are large storks that look like old men wearing black coats. They can be up to 150 cm tall and have a wingspan of up to 4 meters which is among the largest spread of any land bird alongside the Andean Condor (which we hope to see when we go to South-America.) The Ostriches were pretty big too and it was fun seeing them run across the grass with their neck moving backwards and forwards with each step. There were plenty of other colourful birds to watch. Most of them were difficult to get good photos of without having an expensive camera with a huge lens and tripod. We did our best with our camera and by using a function on the camera of creating a new picture by zooming in on an area of an existing picture we were able to get som ok close ups of birds.

Phil's favourite: Lilac Breasted Roller

Iren's favourite: Grey Crowned Crane

Phil decided his favourite bird in Tanzania was the Lilac Breasted Roller. Iren settled on the very elegant Grey Crowned Crane (Ugandas national bird). On the way out of the lodge area the next morning we saw some Love Birds by the side of the track. These were also a contender as a favourite because of their behaviour and colours. They are social small birds where the couples stay together for life. We even saw them “kissing”, so cute!

The Love Birds



A Kirk's Dik Dik

The Kirk’s Dik Dik were very sweet. They are only 70 cm tall and of course the babies are even smaller. The white around their eyes makes them look frightened.

There were a few Tsetse flies in certain parts of the Tarangire Park. They can give you sleeping sickness so we were careful with insect repellant and wore long sleeved light coloured shirts and trousers to minimise the chances of being biten.

Cycling on the edge of Lake Manyara

Exited local childen wanting to see
their picture on the camera 

The next stop was at Mgunga Forest Lodge close to Lake Manyara. The food was also really good there and was French inspired. We had a carrot soup with coconut and ginger that was so tasty that we have tried to recreate it at home. In the afternoon we went for a 3 hour cycle ride with a local guide down to the shore of Lake Manyara and back through several small, simple villages. On the lake people went fishing in dug out canoes that looked the same as they must have done hundreds of years ago. There were lots of birds, zebras and buffalos around. The size of the lake varies enormously throughout the year so that during the wet season people have to move up into the hills. When we were there the water level was low and grass was growing instead of water. Lots of children were interested in us as we cycled through the villages and were fascinated when Phil showed them a film of themselves.

A yawning hippo

A yawning Nile Crocodial

The next day we visited Lake Manyara. The highlight of the day was seeing the flamingos up a bit closer and our first chance of watching lots of hippos lazing around in the hippo pool, occasionally blowing water up in the air and play fighting. There were also large groups of olive baboons in the trees along the side of the track. Some of the cheeky ones jumped up on the bonnet and roof of the landcruiser. We were also lucky to see a Nile Crocodial that we just managed to photograph before it disappeared into the river.

Looking down on the clouds over
the Ngorongoro Crater

A long road through the Serengeti

Day 4 began with a longish drive to the Serengeti National Park and a stop off at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater to look at the view and see where we would be going on our last day. It was a spectacular sight. The open top roof of the landcruiser had to be closed for the rest of the drive since the gravel road to the Serengeti was so bumpy. The guide was afraid it would break if it was left up.

A Red Headed Agama

Part of the Great Migration

We drove past Maasai villages in a lush, green hilly landscape before getting into the Serengeti Park and its large plains. It was the right time of year for the wildebeest migration. We had seen it before on TV and now we could see it for ourselves and it was amazing! The wildebeest were moving across the Serengeti making their way slowly up to Kenya. In fact, there are thought to be about 1.8 million of them.

Zebras standing defensivly head-to-tail

Leopard hanging out in a tree

From a distance they looked like small stones covering the large, flat plains. Up close we could see that lots of them were small calves running alongside the adults. There were large groups of zebras on the move as well. The animals did not seem to be bothered by our presence, they just ignored us. We drove past a young calve just lying on the side of the track. The guide thought it had lost its mother. It looked tired and lonely and it would only be a matter of time before it was devoured by a lion or a cheetah. Just as we were saying this we spotted a leopard lying on a branch in a tree, paws dangling from either side. Then we spoted a lion. They were both so well blended into the trees but their dangling paws gave them away. The guide informed us that it was a female leopard as the males can't lie on braches in that way.

Lion on a fallen tree

It was exciting to see the lion and leopard. Being so close to them and yet being safe in the landcruiser. The guides are very strict in telling everyone that you are not allowed out the landcruiser for any reason. Even though the wild animals we saw looked fairly dosile, they would of course change quickly if they thought that you were presenting yourself as an easy evening meal by getting out of the landcruiser.

We had had such a lovely day. Just as well since the night was not so great staying at the Ikoma Bush camp. It started pouring down with rain just as we started dinner in the lodge restaurant. The rain started dripping through the roof in several places, the food was cold and not very tasty and in addition there were ants on the bread and insects in the salad! During the night we heard animals scratching around in the roof. We never saw anything, but wondered what they were. When we woke up in the morning Iren had a headache and there was an unpleasant smell of sewage. Maybe the septic tanks were overflowing due to the heavy rain? We were glad to be off in the morning. Luckily the sun was shining and we were looking forward to another day in the Serengeti.

A group of Impalas

More giraffes

The day started off with more hippo watching. It’s so fascinating watching the animals in the water moving around with just the eyes and ears showing and then suddenly disappearing under water. There were so many of them it wasn’t possible to count their numbers. This was the first day that we saw a lion up fairly close. Again we saw plenty of elephants, impalas, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest and buffalos.

Water Buffalo

Water Buffalo wispering in ear

Our last night was at the Rhino Lodge near to the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. The food was great and there was a lovely sunset showing out of our window. In the morning we were off to the Ngorongoro Crater. It's the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, a crater which was formed by a giant volcano exploding and collapsing on itself 2-3 million years ago. It was thought to be bigger than Kilimanjaro. Various forms of humanoid have been in this area for 3 million years! The crater is like a natural enclosure for a lot of African animals. There is a lake in the middle ensuring that there is always a good water supply. Since it became a Conservation Area in 1958 the Maasai are no longer allowed to live there. A compromise was made with them so that they are allowed to take their animals down to the crater floor to Lake Makat and back again on a daily basis. That's 600 meters down and up each day!

Botttom of the Ngorongoro Crater

The floor of the crater is mainly grassland supplying food for many grazing animals. The lions are physically larger than those not living in the crater due to the plentiful and easy supply of meat. Other lions coming into the crater can't compete since they are smaller. This has led to inbreeding and therefore some genetic problems. There are an estimated 25000 animals in the crater. The 600 meter high walls of the crater are fairly steep. The crater is 14 km across. From the top of the crater we could look down and see animals grazing. It was a beautiful view from the rim. When we were down there it felt like visiting the Garden of Eden. You could see so many different types of animals apparently living peacefully side by side. Of course, it is not as peaceful as it looks. The carnivores are out hunting at night and there is no shortage of meat for them.

A Ngorongoro lioness

Male lion in the Ngorongoro crater

We were hoping to see more lions and sure enough we did see several groups of them. They liked the shadow falling from the landcruisers and one of them lay down in it. In the heat of the sun most of the lions were just lazing around, but at one point it looked like the male in the picture was chasing after a gazelle but it soon gave up. It is normally the females that do the hunting. The males just wait around and are the first to eat. We saw several hyenas as well and more zebras, wildebeest, gazelles and the rare black rhino. The elephants in the crater are mainly old and male. You can see that they are old as the skin is more wrinkled and one had a broken tusk.

Eli  looking for wildlife in the crater

Saying farewell to Eli and our guide

After visiting the Ngorongoro Crater our safari had come to an end and it was time to return back to our hotel in Arusha. We had seen everything we could have wished for. We can understand how proud the Tanzanians are of their amazing nature. One instinctively understands the immense value of such large areas of uninhabited wilderness. The area is full of a type of wildlife that is of a different world, so rich and exotic. Visiting these areas made it feel like we were on a wild, exotic, rich and untouched planet. Thank you Africa and Tanzania. Please continue to look after this wonderful nature!

We are now off to Zanzibar via a short stopover in Dar Es Salaam where we will hopefully have a relaxing end to our trip to Tanzania.