Tanzania 2016

Safari

TDP Map

The map above shows the areas where we went on safari. The first day we drove from Arusha to Tarangire National Park and did a game drive mid-day and another in the late afternoon after having lunch at our lodge. We also did an early morning drive the next day in this park before heading on to Lake Manyara National Park, where we did a game drive in the afternoon of the second day. The third day we drove to Ngorongoro Crater and dropped down to its bottom for our last game drive which lasted until early afternoon. At this point we had to drive back to Arusha to catch flights home.

We stayed in two safari lodges during this part of the trip. The first was Tarangire Safari Lodge located inside the national park. The accomodations here were tent cabins with zippered screens. There were vervet monkeys living nearby (in the tree across the path from my tent cabin) that like to steal food if it is left out. The lodge has a pool and a large patio with an expansive view across the plains of Tarangire.

The second night we stayed at Lake Manyara Lodge, on the bluff high above the park but with views of Lake Manyara. This lodge was more of a luxury hotel, with manicured landscaping, also with a swimming pool. We went down a bumpy dirt road to arrive at this lodge.

Enough about accomodations. The main attraction on safari is, of course, the animals! We were pretty lucky in that we saw lions both at Tarangire and Ngorongoro, with a zebra kill in the latter! Other large animals seen include the following:

Elephant - lots at all three locations
Hyena - Ngorongoro
Jackal - Tarangire and Ngorongoro
Mongoose - Tarangire
Hippo - Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro
Rhino - Ngorongoro
Giraffe - Tarangire and Lake Manyara
Impala - Tarangire and Lake Manyara
Thomson's Gazelle - Ngorongoro
Zebra - Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro
Buffalo - all three locations
Wildebeest - Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro
Waterbuck - Tarangire
Warthog - all three locations
Baboon - Lake Manyara
Vervet Monkey - Tarangire
Blue Monkey - Lake Manyara
Ostrich - Tarangire
Flamingo - Lake Manyara

Tarangire National Park

This park was characterized by mostly wide-open grassy plains with areas of thicker trees.

Yellow collared lovebirds, male impalas, elephants

Posing lions, elephants with young

my tent cabin and dining room at Tarangire Safari Lodge, waterbuck

lion resting in shade, male and female ostrich, lilac-breasted roller

sign at the lodge and more scenes from the park

giraffe watching us, and more of the lodge

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mongooses on a termite mound

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giraffe with young

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young elephants playing

vervet monkeys and babies on beach

Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara National Park contains a large lake that is somewhat alkaline, and the part of the park we drove through was mostly jungle with heavy trees and brush.

Our safari vehicle, baboons

blue monkey, hippos, zebra (one laying down is not dead!)

wildebeest, flamingos in Lake Manyara, large beast on the road

Lake Manyara Lodge, view of the lake from the lodge

Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater is a large crater of an extinct volcano. The crater is around 2000 feet deep from its rim, and the floor of the crater is flat and grassy with very few trees. There are several lakes in the crater. The crater walls present a barrier to some of the animals, keeping them in the crater.