Tarangire National Park

We drove 125 km from Manyara to Tarangire and stayed at the Tarangire Safari Lodge. The setting was magnificent with wonderful views over the valley floor, far into the distance. Wildlife is in abundance and during our stay we had many 'wild' visitors including a herd of elephants who took it upon themselves to break an external water pipe next to our tented hut and then took a shower!

We were very fortunate to see a very large pride of lions (at least 14) and also to see the tree-climbing lions, including one that came down from the tree to stalk a zebra (pictured on the right returning from her hunt).

The 2 600km² Tarangire is far from being the biggest of the Tanzanian parks, but it’s unrivalled landscape of open plains, dotted with thousands of baobabs, is unforgettable. This is one of Africa’s little-known gems and should be on the itinerary of all lovers of wilderness and solitude.  About 120kms south of Arusha on the Dodoma road, Tarangire rivals the Serengeti for the size of the game herds that congregate here at peak season (June to November). This is when many of the animals crowd around the only source of permanent water in the park, the Tarangire River.
 
This is also the best place in Tanzania to see really big herds of elephant – up to 300 at a time. Tarangire is known for its tree-climbing lions, and for its very big herds of buffalo. The game numbers are staggering: 30,000 zebra, 25,000 wildebeest, 5,000 buffalo, up to 40,000 elephant, 2,500 Masai giraffe and over 1,000 fringe-eared oryx (gemsbok). Predators include lion, cheetah and leopard. It’s excellent for bird-watching with over 300 recorded species including the endemic ashy starling, rufous-tailed weaver and black-collared lovebird.