Tanzania Safari

August/SEPTEMBER, 2013

Tarangire National Park

On our second morning at Onsea House in Arusha, we prepared for our departure on the first leg of our safari. This would be a driving adventure where we would travel approximately 500 kilometres by safari vehicle to Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai and the central section of Serengeti National Park.

The plush city "safari" vehicle that we thought was going to be our ride for the safari turned out to only be used for picking people up at the airport etc., and it was replaced with a considerably more seasoned version of vehicle for what was to become a rather dusty and bumpy ride.

The seats were less comfortable, but we had extra because it was an eight passenger vehicle carrying only the four of us. We could ignore the really bad seats in favour of the better ones. The key features of this vehicle was the roof that could be rolled back providing a three foot wide by eight foot long opening, and the bimini top that provided shade over top of it. This allowed us to stand and look out above the vehicle with a 360º unobstructed view of the landscape. It also provided a curb around the opening that was wide enough for us to put our camera rest bean bags on for stabilizing the long lens shots.

The start of the journey took us west from Arusha on a highway that was in the process of being resurfaced. The sections that were finished were wonderfully smooth, except for the frequently annoying "sleeping policemen". This was the name the locals called the massively big speed bumps that were stretched across the highway. To not slow down would see you launched into near earth orbit. Why they would put these menaces to smooth flowing highway traffic is beyond me. But they were there, and we had to endure them. The sections of the highway that were under active construction saw us shunted off onto a gravel secondary road that ran alongside the highway. Sometimes it was smooth, but most often it was not.

The reason for us driving this first 500 kilometres instead of just hopping from location to location by small bush plane like everyone else was it gave us the opportunity to experience the everyday life of the local population. We travelled through small towns and saw the local markets, and got to see the farmers fields and the tools used by them for working the land. None of this would ever be seen if bush plane travel was used exclusively. That being said, we were very happy when this first leg of the journey was concluded. Once outside of the populated areas the roads were exclusively gravel, and that gravel only got graded a few times each year. The result was the worst wash board roads you can imagine, and unending dust beyond all comprehension.

Entering the park

Whenever we entered a national park, our guide had to endure the bureaucracy of the park officials. Everyone entering the park has to be registered, the number of days they would be in the park recorded, and the appropriate fee paid based on that length of stay. It was something that the guides had to be very careful about because overstaying the registered time could result in that guide losing entrance privileges. The process of registering took some time, but I guess that the guides are used to it, as ours took it in stride. We would have to stop here when we left the park, so our departure could be registered.

A Special Place In Our Hearts

Tarangire National Park is a special place for us. It was the place where we had our first face to face contact with wild African animals. There's something special about rounding a corner in a vehicle and seeing an elephant, lion or zebra for the first time, and seeing them as close as ten feet away. Our first lions were like this. Two females, probably sisters, under a tree at the side of the road. We saw no other lions in the immediate area, so didn't know if they were part of a pride or not. But we did see another group of lions a few miles away who were just in the process of taking down an ostrich for dinner. Something that elephants nearby didn't much like. They actually came over and pushed the lions off the kill. Something that we learned they do quite frequently.

Our Camp In Tarangire

Highly acclaimed by safari enthusiasts, Oliver's Camp was a permanent camp located in the centre of Tarangire National Park, just to the west of the Larmakau Swamp, and south of the Silale Swamp. It wasn't at all like what we were expecting. Although we didn't really know what to expect when it came to a safari camp in the middle of Tanzania. It was, in a word, luxurious. At least by African standards... well, even by our standards. Remember, this is a place in a wild part of the country, many hours drive from even the smallest town. So to create and run such a place is certainly an accomplishment.

This camp had eight bungalows that were spread out along the ridge line of a small hill, and they all had a view of a grassland area below. When we were getting set up in our bungalow there was a large elephant off in the distance. It must have been an older animal as it had enormous white tusks that clearly stood out against the green background.

As with most safari camps, there's a common building that has a lounge/library, dining area, fire circle and staff areas. The bungalows were located along a wide sand path and stretched out from twenty to fifty yards away from the common building. Wild animals often came through camp at night, and often there were telltale signs of elephants along the path. When it got dark, we weren't allowed to walk along the path without a camp staff member accompanying us. We hoped this was to give the lions someone else to chase after rather than us guests when they came looking for a nighttime snack. But this got us thinking... if they're concerned about us running into a predator on the path, what about when we're in our bungalow and the only thing between us and the wildlife outside was the thin mosquito netting that acted as our walls. Hmmm...

Let The Game Viewing Commence

It's pretty standard when on safari to have two game drives each day. The first starts very early in the morning when the guests are woken each day around 5:30am, with breakfast at 6:00, and then we're in the trucks and gone by 6:30. The early game drive lasts until about noon or 1:00pm when the trucks return to camp for lunch and an afternoon siesta.

The second game drive happens each day around 4:00pm. By this time, the heat of mid-day is starting to dissipate, the animals begin to come back out into view from their afternoon siesta, and guests have another three hours to enjoy the animals and landscapes before returning to camp just as it's getting dark. Dinner is usually served around 8:00, and then everyone heads to bed around 9:00pm.

Some camps are flexible, and can accommodate some variation to the morning start times, but others aren't. So it just depends on the camp and its manager. Generally the smaller camps are more considerate. Something that we took advantage of when one of us wasn't feeling a hundred percent.

The Birds of Tarangire

The Elephants of Tarangire

Tarangire National Park is well known for its elephants. In fact it was for that reason that our safari organizer recommended that we visit there. By doing so we were pretty much guaranteed that we would see large family groups, and elephants of every size. We weren't disappointed.

Other animals to gaze upon

Although there are a great number of elephants in Tarangire, there's an even greater number of other four legged creatures to fill up the landscape… and a few two legged ones as well.

Unforgettable Landscapes Aplenty

Growing up back in the sixties, it was quite common to see amazing African landscapes on the National Geographic specials on television. Those images, burned into memory, now come alive right in front of us as we putt along on the park's dirt tracks.

The Last Scene Before We Left Tarangire National Park